# verses

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That he will surely deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the pestilence of destruction.


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With his pinions will he cover thee, and under his wings shalt thou find shelter: shield and buckler is his truth.


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There shall fall at thy side a thousand, and ten thousand at thy right hand; unto thee <i>however</i> shall it not come nigh.


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Upon the fierce lion and asp shalt thou tread: thou shalt trample under foot the young lion and serpent.


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Because he hath fixed his desire upon me, therefore will I release him: I will set him on high, because he knoweth my name.


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He will call on me, and I will answer him: with him will I be in distress; I will deliver him, and grant him honor.


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<i>A psalm or song for the sabbath day.</i> <n>(92:2)</n> It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:


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<n>(92:4)</n> Upon a tenstringed instrument, and upon the psaltery; and with the sweet sound of the harp.


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<n>(92:5)</n> For thou hast caused me to rejoice, O Lord, through thy doing: because of the works of thy hands will I triumph.


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<n>(92:8)</n> When the wicked spring up like herbs, and when all the workers of wickedness do flourish; it is that they may be destroyed evermore.


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<n>(92:10)</n> For, lo, thy enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thy enemies shall perish: all the workers of wickedness shall be scattered.


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<n>(92:12)</n> And my eye looketh on <i>the punishment of</i> those that regard me with envy: of the evildoers that rise up against me my ears shall bear it.


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<n>(92:13)</n> The righteous shall spring up like the palmtree: like a cedar in Lebanon shall he grow high.


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<n>(92:15)</n> They shall still flourish in high old age; they shall be vigorous and covered with foliage;


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<n>(92:16)</n> To declare that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no faultiness in him.


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The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with excellency; the Lord is clothed, he hath girded himself with strength: <i>therefore</i> also the world is firmly established, that it cannot be moved.


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The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers lift up their waves.


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<i>But</i> more than the noise of great waters, than the mighty billows of the sea, is the Lord excellent on high.


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Thy testimonies are exceedingly steadfast: in thy house abideth holiness, O Lord! to the utmost length of days.


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Who will rise up for me against evildoers? or who will stand forward for me against the workers of wickedness?


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Unless the Lord had been a help unto me, but a little would have been wanting that my soul had dwelt in the silence of death.


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Can there be associated with thee the throne of destructive wickedness, which frameth mischief as a law?


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They band themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and innocent blood do they condemn.


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And he will bring back upon them their own injustice, and in their own wickedness will he destroy them: <i>yea</i>, he will destroy themthe Lord our God.


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For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the flock of his hand: yea, this day, if ye will hearken to his voice,


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Forty years long did I feel loathing on that generation, and I said, It is a people of an erring heart; and they truly acknowledged not my ways:


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Ascribe unto the Lord the honor <i>due unto</i> his name: bear hither a present, and come unto his courts.


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Say among the nations, "The Lord reigneth;" <i>therefore</i> also the world is ever firmly established that it shall hot be moved: he will judge the people in equity.


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Before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness, and people in his truth.


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Clouds and thick darkness are round about him: righteousness and justice are the support of his throne.


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The mountains melt away like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.


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Made ashamed shall be all that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: unto him bow down all the gods.


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Zion heareth it, and rejoiceth; and glad are the daughters of Judah, because of thy decrees, O Lord.


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Ye that love the Lord, hate ye the evil: he preserveth the souls of his pious ones; out of the hand of the wicked he ever delivereth them.


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<i>A psalm.</i> Oh sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done wonderful things: his right hand and his holy arm have gotten him the victory.


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The Lord hath made known his salvation: before the eyes of the nations hath he revealed his righteousness.


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He hath remembered his kindness and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.


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Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness, and people with equity.


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And to the power of the king who loveth justice and righteousness hast thou truly executed in Jacob.


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Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel among those that call on his name; they called on the Lord, and he answered them.


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In the pillar of cloud he used to speak unto them: they kept his testimonies, and the statutes which he had given unto them.


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O Lord, our God, thou didst answer them: thou wast a forgiving God unto them, yet also an avenger for their wrong doings.


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Exalt the Lord our God, and bow yourselves down before his holy mount; for holy is the Lord our God.


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Know, that the Lord is God indeed: it is he that hath made us, and his are wehis people and the flock of his pasture.


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<i>By David, a psalm.</i> Of kindness and justice will I sing: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing praises.


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I will carefully regard the way of the perfect: oh when will thou come unto me? I will walk in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.


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I will not set before my eyes a godless thing; to commit a departure <i>from righteousness</i> do I hate; it shall not cleave to me.


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Whoso slandereth in secret his neighbor, him will I destroy: whoso hath proud eyes and a haughty heart, him will I not suffer.


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My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me: he that walketh in the way of the perfect, he it is that shall serve me.


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He that practiseth deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that speaketh falsehoods shall not succeed before my eyes.


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Every morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off from the city of the Lord all the wrongdoers.


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A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out before the Lord his complaint. <n>(102:2)</n> O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto thee.


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<n>(102:3)</n> Hide not thy face from me on the day when I am distressed; incline unto me thy ear; on the day when I call, answer me speedily.


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<n>(102:5)</n> Struck <i>by heat</i> like the herb and dried up is my heart; for I forget to eat my bread.


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<n>(102:11)</n> Because of thy indignation and thy wrath; for thou hadst lifted me up, and hast cast me down.


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<n>(102:13)</n> But thou, O Lord, wilt sit enthroned for ever; and thy memorial is unto all generations.


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<n>(102:14)</n> Thou wilt indeed arise; thou wilt have mercy upon Zion; for it is time to favor her, for the appointed time is coming.


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<n>(102:16)</n> Then shall nations fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory:


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<n>(102:18)</n> <i>When</i> he hath regarded the prayer of the forsaken, and doth not despise their prayer.


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<n>(102:19)</n> This shall be written down for the latest generation; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.


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<n>(102:20)</n> For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; the Lord hath cast from heaven his view to the earth:


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<n>(102:25)</n> I will say, O my God! take me not away in the midst of my days: throughout all generations are thy years.


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<n>(102:26)</n> In olden times didst thou lay the foundations of the earth; and the heavens are the work of thy hands.


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<n>(102:27)</n> These will indeed perish, but thou wilt ever exist: yea, all of them will wear out like a garment; as a vesture wilt thou change them, and they will be changed;


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<n>(102:29)</n> The children of thy servants will dwell <i>securely</i>, and their seed will be firmly established before thee.


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Who satisfieth with happiness thy spirit, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles <i>plumage</i>.


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Not in accordance with our sins hath he dealt with us; nor according to our iniquities hath he requited us.


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But the kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting over those that fear him, and his righteousness unto childrens children,


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Bless the Lord, ye his angels, mighty in strength, that execute his word, hearkening unto the voice of his word.


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Bless, O my soul, the Lord. O Lord my God, thou art very great; with glory and majesty art thou clothed.


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<i>Thou art he</i> who wrappeth himself in light as with a garment; who stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain;


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Who frameth of the waters the beams of his upperchambers; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh along upon the wings of the wind:


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By them have the fowls of the heaven ever their habitation, from between the branches they send forth their voice.


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Who watereth the mountains from his upperchambers: from the fruit of thy works is the earth satisfied.


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<i>Thou art he</i> who causeth grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs by the service of man, that he may bring forth bread out of the earth;


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And wine that maketh joyful the heart of man, <i>and</i> oil to brighten his face, and bread which strengtheneth the heart of man.


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How manifold are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.


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Here is this great and wideextended sea; therein are moving things without number, living creatures both small and great.


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There the ships make their way: <i>there also</i> is the leviathan, whom thou hast made to sport therein.


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Thou hidest thy face, they suddenly vanish: thou takest away their spirit, they perish, and to their dust they return.


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May the sinners cease from off the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless, O my soul, the Lord. Hallelujah.


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He remembereth his covenant for ever, the word which he hath commanded, to the thousandth generation.


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And he brought them forth with silver and gold: and there was not one that stumbled among his tribes.


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That I may look on the happiness of thy elect, that I may rejoice in the joy of thy nation, that I may glorify myself with thy inheritance.


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Our fathers did not reflect on thy wonders in Egypt: they remembered not the multitude of thy kindnesses; but rebelled at the sea, even at the Red Sea.


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He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; and he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.


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And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.


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He therefore spoke of destroying them: had not Moses his elect stood in the breach before him, to turn away his fury, that he might not destroy.


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And they shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with bloodguiltiness.


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therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, and be felt disgust for his own inheritance.


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Many times did he deliver them; but they rebelled with their counsel, and they were brought low through their iniquity.


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And he remembered unto them his covenant, and he bethought himself according to the abundance of his kindnesses;


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Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, to give thanks unto thy holy name, to triumph in thy praise.


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Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel from everlasting even to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen, Hallelujah.


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And whom he hath gathered out of the <i>various</i> lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the sea.


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Then they cried unto the Lord when they were in distress, <i>and</i> out of their afflictions he delivered them.


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They <i>therefore</i> shall give thanks unto the Lord for his kindness, and <i>proclaim</i> his wonders to the children of men!


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Because they have rebelled against the words of God, and have contemned the counsel of the Most High;


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They would mount up to heaven, they would go down to the depths: their soul was melted because of their danger.


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And they cried unto the Lord when they were in distress, and he brought them out of their afflictions.


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And they must exalt him in the congregation of the people, and in the assembly of the elders must they praise him.


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And they sow fields, and plant vineyards, that they may yield the fruits of the <i>annual</i> product.


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Whoever is wise, let him observe these things, and let <i>all</i> understand the kindness of the Lord.


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<i>A song or psalm of David.</i> <n>(108:2)</n> My heart is firm, O God; I will sing and give praise, even with my spirit.


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<n>(108:4)</n> I will give thee thanks among the people, O Lord: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.


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<n>(108:5)</n> For great above the heavens is thy kindness, and thy truth reacheth even unto the skies.


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<n>(108:8)</n> God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and the valley of Succoth will I measure out.


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<n>(108:9)</n> Mine id Gilad, and mine is Menasseh; Ephraim also is the stronghold of my head; of Judah are my chiefs.


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<n>(108:12)</n> Behold, it is thou, O God, who hast cast us off; and thou, O God, goest not forth with our armies.


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<n>(108:14)</n> Through God shall we do valiantly; for he it is that will tread down our adversaries.


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For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit are opened against me: they have spoken with me with the tongue of falsehood.


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Let his children be continually moving about, and beg, and let them seek <i>their bread</i> out of their ruined places.


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Let him have none that extendeth kindness, and let there be none that is gracious to his fatherless children.


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Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by the Lord, and let the sin of his mother not be blotted out.


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For the reason that he remembered not to show kindness; but persecuted the poor and needy man, and the grieved in heart to put him to death.


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As he loved cursing, so let it come over him: and as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.


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And he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, and it cometh like water within him, and like oil into his bones.


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Let it be unto him as a garment in which he wrappeth himself, and for a girdle let him be continually girded with it.


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But thou, O Eternal Lord, deal with me for the sake of thy name: because thy kindness is good, deliver thou me.


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Let them then curse, but do thou bless: when they arise, let them be made ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.


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Let my accusers be clothed with confusion, and let them wrap themselves, as with a mantle, in their own shame.


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<i>By David, a psalm.</i> The Eternal saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I place thy enemies as a stool for thy feet.


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The staff of thy strength will the Eternal stretch forth out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.


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Thy people will bring freewillgifts on the day of thy power, in the ornaments of holiness: as out of the bosom of the morningdawn so is thine the dew of thy youth.


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The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent of it, Thou shalt be a priest for ever after the order of Malkizedek.


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He will judge among the nationsthere shall be a fulness of corpseshe crusheth heads on a widespread land.


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Hallelujah. I will thank the Lord with all <i>my</i> heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation.


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The power of his works hath he told unto his people, that he might give them the heritage of nations.


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Redemption hath he sent unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and to be feared is his name.


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The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; a good understanding have all that fulfill <i>his commandments</i>: his praise endureth for ever.


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Well supported is his heart, he shall not be afraid, until he looketh on <i>the punishment of</i> his assailants.


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He distributeth, he giveth to the needy: his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted in honor.


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The wicked shall see it, and be vexed; he will gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the longing of the wicked shall perish.


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He causeth the barren woman to dwell in the midst of <i>her</i> household, the joyful mother of children. Hallelujah.


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Not for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but unto thy name give glory, for the sake of thy kindness, for the sake of thy truth.


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They have hands, but they touch not; they have feet, but they walk not: nor do they give any utterance by their throat.


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The Lord hath even been mindful of us, he will bless <i>us</i>; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;


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The bands of death had compassed me, and the pangs of the nether world had overtaken me; I had met with distress and sorrow:


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O Lord, truly am I thy servant, I am thy servant,the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosened my fetters.


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The Lord is for me, among those that help me: therefore shall I indeed look on <i>the punishment of</i> those that hate me.


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They encompassed me about: yea, they compassed about, but in the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.


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They encompassed me about like bees; they blazed up like the fire of thorns; but in the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.


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The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly.


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We beseech thee, O Lord, save <i>us</i> now: we beseech thee, O Lord, send <i>us</i> now prosperity.


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God is the Lord, and he giveth us light: bind the festive sacrifice with cords, <i>leading it</i> up to the horns of the altar.


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Although even princes should sit and speak against me, thy servant would still meditate on thy statutes.


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And so will I lift up my hands unto thy commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on thy statutes.


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The presumptuous have invented falsehoods against me; but I will with all my heart indeed keep thy precepts.


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YOD. Thy hands have made me and established me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.


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Let the presumptuous be made ashamed; because they have without a cause dealt perversely with me; but I will indeed meditate on thy precepts.


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But little was wanting that they had consumed me upon earth; but I have truly not forsaken thy precepts.


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Receive in favor the freewillofferings of my mouth, I beseech thee, O Lord, and teach me thy ordinances.


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Support me that I may be placed in safety, and I will direct my regard unto thy statutes continually.


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I have gone erringly astray like a lost sheep: seek thy servant; for thy commandments have I not forgotten.


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<i>A song of the degrees.</i> Unto the Lord, when I was in distress, did I call, and he hath answered me.


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<i>A song of the degrees by David.</i> I was rejoiced when they said unto me, Unto the house of the Lord let us go.


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For thither go up the tribes of the Lord, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.


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Behold, as the eyes of servants are directed unto the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress: thus are our eyes directed unto the Lord our God, until he be gracious unto us.


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Our soul is overburdened with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud oppressors.


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<i>A song of the degrees by David.</i> If it had not been the Lord who was for us, so should Israel say;


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Our soul is escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.


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<i>A song of the degrees.</i> Those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion, which will not he moved, which endureth for ever.


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Jerusalem hath mountains round about her: and <i>so</i> is the Lord round about his people, from this time forth and for evermore.


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For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous: in order that the righteous may not stretch forth their hands unto wrongdoing.


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But as for those who turn aside unto their crooked ways, them will the Lord drive away with the workers of wickedness; but peace shall be upon Israel.


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<i>A song of the degrees.</i> When the Lord bringeth back again the captivity of Zion, then shall we be like dreamers.


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Then shall our mouth be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then shall they say among the nations, Great things hath the Lord done for these.


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He goeth forth indeed and weepeth, that beareth the seed for sowing; but he will surely come with joyful song when he beareth <i>home</i> his sheaves.


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<i>A song of the degrees for Solomon.</i> Unless the Lord do build the house, in vain labor they that build on it: unless the Lord guard the city, in vain is the watchman wakeful.


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It is in vain for you to be early in rising, to be late in sitting up, eating the bread of painful toils; <i>for</i> so doth he give unto his beloved during sleep.


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Happy is the man that hath his quiver filled with them: they shall not be put to shame, when they do speak with the enemies in the gate.


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When thou eatest the labor of thy hands: <i>then</i> wilt thou be happy, and it shall be well with thee.


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Thy wife is <i>then</i> as a fruitful vine in the recesses of thy house: thy children, like oliveplants round about thy table.


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May the Lord bless thee out of Zion: and see thou the happiness of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.


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<i>A song of the degrees.</i> Many a time have they assailed me from my youth, so should Israel say;


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Nor do they who pass by say, The blessing of the Lord be with you: we bless you in the name of the Lord.


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Let Israel wait for the Lord; for with the Lord there is kindness, and with him is redemption in abundance;


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<i>A song of the degrees by David.</i> O Lord, my heart was not haughty, nor were my eyes lofty: neither have I walked after matters too great, or those too wonderful for me.


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Surely I have pacified and stilled my soul, like the suckling on its mothers breast: like a suckling is in me my soul.


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The Lord hath sworn unto David in truth; he will not turn from it: "From the fruit of thy body will I set <i>some one</i> on the throne to succeed thee.


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If thy children will observe my covenant and this my testimony which I teach them: then also shall their children sit for evermore upon the throne to succeed thee."


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<i>A song of the degrees by David.</i> Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell closely together <i>in union</i>!


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<i>It is</i> like the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, yea, Aarons beard, which runneth down upon the upper border of his garments;


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Like the dew of Chermon, running down upon the mountains of Zion; for there hath the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.


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<i>A song of the degrees.</i> Arise! bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord that stand in the house of the Lord in the nights.


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Whatsoever the Lord willeth, hath he done in the heavens, and on the earth, in the seas, and in all the deeps.


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He causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with the rain; he bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.


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Who sent signs and wonderful tokens into the midst of thee, O Egypt, against Pharaoh, and against all his servants;


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For the Lord will espouse the cause of his people, and concerning his servants will he bethink himself.


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For there our captors demanded of us the words of song; and those that mocked us, joy, <i>saying,</i> Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.


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May my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember thee: if I recall not Jerusalem at the head of my joy.


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Remember, O Lord, unto the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to her very foundation.


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O daughter of Babylon, who art wasted: happy he, that repayeth thee thy recompense for what thou hast done to us.


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<i>¶ By David.</i> I will praise thee with my whole heart: before <i>thee</i>, O God, will I sing praise unto thee.


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I will bow myself down before thy holy temple, and I will thank thy name for thy kindness and for thy truth; for thou hast magnified above all thy name thy promise.


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All the kings of the earth will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, when they hear the promises of thy mouth.


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If I should walk in the midst of distress, thou wilt revive me: against the wrath of my enemies wilt thou stretch forth thy hand, and thy right hand will save me.


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The Lord will accomplish <i>all</i> in my behalf; O Lord, thy kindness endureth for ever: the works of thy own hands do not abandon.


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<i>To the chief musician, by David, a psalm.</i> O Lord! thou hast searched me through, and thou knowest <i>me</i>.


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Thou indeed knowest my sitting down and my rising up, thou understandest my thinking while yet afar off.


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If I should ascend into heaven, thou art there; and if I should make my bed in the nether world, behold, thou art there.


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If I should lift up the wings of the morningdawn, if I should dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:


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Yet even darkness can obscure nothing from thee; but the night will shine like the day; both the darkness and the light are alike <i>to thee</i>.


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I will thank thee therefore, that I am <i>so</i> fearfully <i>and</i> wonderfully made: wonderful are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.


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My being was not concealed from thee, when I was made in secret, when I was <i>so to say</i> embroidered in the lowest parts of the earth.


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My undeveloped substance did thy eyes see; and in thy book were all of them written downthe days which have been formed, while yet not one of them was here.


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Behold, those that hate thee I ever hate, O Lord; and for those that rise up against thee do I feel loathing.


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<i>To the chief musician, a psalm of David.</i> <n>(140:2)</n> Deliver me, O Lord, from an evil man; from a man of violence do thou keep me;


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<n>(140:3)</n> Who think over evil <i>resolves</i> in their heart, <i>who</i> every day are gathered together for war.


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<n>(140:4)</n> They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the poison of the adder is under their lips. Selah.


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<n>(140:5)</n> Preserve me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked, from the man of violence do thou keep me, who think of overthrowing my steps.


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<n>(140:6)</n> The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the side of <i>my</i> track; traps have they set for me. Selah.


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<n>(140:7)</n> I have said unto the Lord, Thou art my God: give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.


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<n>(140:8)</n> O thou Eternal Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head on the day of battle.


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<n>(140:9)</n> Grant not, O Lord, the longings of the wicked; suffer not his wicked device to succeed: lest they exalt themselves. Selah.


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<n>(140:10)</n> <i>As for</i> the heads of those that encompass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.


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<n>(140:11)</n> Let burning coals be cast upon them: let them be thrown into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.


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<n>(140:12)</n> Let not the man of an <i>evil</i> tongue be established on the earth: may evil hunt down the violent man to his downfall.


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<n>(140:13)</n> I know that the Lord will procure right for the afflicted, <i>and</i> justice for the needy.


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<n>(140:14)</n> Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell before thy presence.


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<i>A psalm of David.</i> O Lord, I call thee, hasten unto me: give ear unto my voice, when I call unto thee.


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May my prayer be valued as incense before thee, the lifting up of my hands, as the evening offering.


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Permit not my heart to incline after any evil thing, to practise deeds in wickedness with men that are doers of wrong: and let me not eat of their dainties.


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If the righteous strike me, it is a kindness; and if he reprove me, it is <i>as</i> oil poured on the head, my head shall not refuse it; for yet my prayer also <i>is offered</i> in their sufferings.


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Are their judges fallen down through means of a rock: then will they listen to my words; for they are pleasant.


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As when one cutteth in and splitteth open the earth: so are our bones scattered for the mouth of the grave.


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<i>A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.</i> <n>(142:2)</n> With my voice I cry unto the Lord: with my voice I make supplication unto the Lord.


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<n>(142:4)</n> When my spirit was overwhelmed within meand thou knowest well my pathon the way whereon I desired to walk they had secretly laid a snare for me.


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<n>(142:5)</n> Look to the right, and behold, yea, there is no man that recognizeth me: <i>every</i> refuge is lost to me; there is no one that careth for my soul.


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<n>(142:6)</n> I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge, my portion in the land of life.


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<n>(142:7)</n> Listen unto my entreaty; for I am very miserable: deliver me from my pursuers; for they are too mighty for me.


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<n>(142:8)</n> Bring forth out of prison my soul, that I may thank thy name: with me shall the righteous crown themselves, when thou wilt deal bountifully with me.


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<i>A psalm of David.</i> O Lord, hear my prayer, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, in thy righteousness.


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And enter not into judgment with thy servant; for no living man can be regarded righteous before thee.


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For the enemy hath pursued my soul; he hath crushed to the ground my life; he hath made me dwell in darkness, as those that are dead eternally.


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I remember the days of olden times: I meditate on all thy doings: on the work of thy hands do I reflect.


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Hasten, answer me, O Lord, my spirit falleth: hide not thy face from me, that I may not become like those that go down into the pit.


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Cause me to hear in the morning thy kindness; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way whereon I should walk; for unto thee do I lift up my soul.


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And in thy kindness destroy my enemies, and annihilate all the adversaries of my soul; far I am thy servant.


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<i>By David.</i> Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who exerciseth my hands for the battle, my fingers for the war:


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My kindness, and my stronghold; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.


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Lord, what is man, that thou takest cognizance of him: the son of a mortal, that thou regardest him!


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Stretch out thy hands from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of the children of the stranger.


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O God, a new song will I sing unto thee: upon the tenstringed psaltery will I sing praises unto thee.


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<i>Thou art he</i> that giveth victory unto kings: who riddeth David his servant from the evilbringing sword.


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Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of the children of the stranger, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and whose right hand is the right hand of falsehood.


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So that our sons may be like plants, grown up in their youth: our daughters, like cornerpillars, sculptured in the model of a palace.


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May our garners be full, furnishing all manner of store: our sheep bringing forth thousands and ten thousands in our open pastures.


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May our oxen be strong to labor: may there be no breach, nor migration, nor loud complaint in our streets.


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<i>A hymn of praise by David.</i> I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.


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The memorial of thy abundant goodness shall they loudly proclaim, and they shall sing joyfully of thy righteousness.


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Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all eternities, and thy dominion <i>subsisteth</i> throughout all generations.


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The praise of the Lord shall my mouth speak: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.


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When his spirit goeth forth, he returneth to his <i>native</i> earth: on that very day perish his thoughts.


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Who executeth justice for the oppressed: who giveth bread to the hungry: the Lord looseneth the prisoners;


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The Lord causeth the blind to see; the Lord raiseth up those who are bowed down; the Lord loveth the righteous:


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The Lord guardeth the strangers; the fatherless and widow he helpeth up; but the way of the wicked he maketh crooked.


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Hallelujah; for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is comely; <i>him</i> becometh praise.


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Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who causeth grass to grow upon the mountains;


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Not in the strength of the horse hath he delight: nor in the <i>swiftness of the</i> legs of man taketh he pleasure.


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Let them praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.


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He also exalteth the horn of his people, a praise unto all his pious servants, <i>even</i> unto the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Hallelujah.


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To execute upon them the judgment <i>which is</i> written: this is an honor for all his pious servants. Hallelujah.


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The wise will hear, and will increase <i>his</i> information; and the man of understanding will obtain wise counsels:


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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: wisdom and instruction fools <i>alone</i> despise.


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If they should say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us watch in concealment for the uselessly innocent;


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We will swallow them up like the grave alive; and the men of integrity, as those that go down into the pit;


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While they lie in wait for their <i>own</i> blood; they watch in concealment for their <i>own</i> lives.


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So are the paths of every one that is greedy after <i>unlawful</i> gain; it taketh away the life of those that own it.


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At the corner of noisy streets she calleth, at the entrances of gates; in the city she sayeth her speeches:


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How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners take their delight in scorning, and fools hate knowledge?


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Turn back to my admonition: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.


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<i>Therefore</i> I also will truly laugh at your calamity; I will deride <i>you</i> when your terror cometh;


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When your terror cometh like the tempestcloud, and your calamity hasteneth like a whirlwind; when there come upon you distress and affliction.


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Then will they call me, but I will not answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they shall not find me;


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Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and from their own counsels shall they be satisfied.


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For the defection of the simple will slay them, and the prosperity of fools will cause them to be lost.


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Let kindness and truth not forsake thee; bind them about thy throat; write them upon the table of thy heart:


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For the obtaining of her is better than the obtaining of silver, and better than fine gold is her product.


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A tree of life is she to those that lay hold on her: and every one that firmly graspeth her will be made happy.


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The Lord hath through wisdom founded the earth: he hath established the heavens through understanding.


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When thou layest thyself down, thou shalt feel no dread; and as thou liest down, thy sleep shall be pleasant.


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Thou needest not to be afraid of sudden dread, neither of the <i>unlookedfor</i> tempest over the wicked, when it cometh.


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The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but the habitation of the righteous will he bless.


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If <i>it concern</i> the scornful he will himself render them a scorn; but unto the lowly doth he give grace.


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And he instructed me, and said unto me, Let thy heart grasp firmly my words: observe my commandments and live.


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Hold her in high esteem, and she will exalt thee: she will bring thee to honor, when thou embracest her.


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For they sleep not, except they have done evil, and their sleep is robbed away, unless they cause some to stumble.


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But the path of the righteous is as the early morning light, that shineth more and more brightly until the height of noonday.


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That strangers may not satisfy themselves with thy strength, and with thy exertions, in the house of an alien:


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But little more was wanting, and I had been in all <i>kinds of</i> unhappiness in the midst of the congregation and assembly.


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The lovely gazelle and the graceful chamois: let her bosom satisfy thee abundantly at all times; with her love be thou ravished continually.


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For before the eyes of the Lord are the ways of man, and all his tracks doth he weigh in the balance.


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His own iniquities will truly catch the wicked, and with the cords of his sin will he be held firmly.


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He will indeed die for want of correction; and through the abundance of his folly will he sink into error.


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If thou art ensnared through the words of thy mouth, if thou art caught through the words of thy mouth:


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<i>Then</i> do this by all means, my son, and deliver thyself, because thou art come into the power of thy friend, Go hasten to him, and urge thy friend.


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Deliver thyself as a roebuck from the hand <i>of the hunter</i>, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.


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When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; when thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; and when thou art awake, it shall converse with thee.


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For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and the way of life are the admonitions of correction:


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For by means of a harlot <i>one is brought down</i> to the last loaf of bread: and an adulterous woman will even hunt for the precious life,


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So it is with him that goeth in to his neighbors wife: no one that toucheth her shall remain unpunished.


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But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh sense: he that is the destroyer of his soul, will alone do this.


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He will not regard the appearance of any ransom; and he will not be content, though thou give ever so many bribes.


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He was passing through the marketplace near her corner; and he stepped along on the way to her house,


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At one time she is in the street, at another in the open places, and near every corner doth she lurk,)


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With tapestry coverings have I decked my bed, with embroidered coverlids of the fine linen of Egypt.


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The bag of money hath he taken with him, by the day of the newmoon festival only will he come home."


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He followed after her suddenly, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, and as in fetters to his correction, the fool:


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Till an arrow cleaveth through his liver; as a bird hasteneth into the snare, and knoweth not that it is done to take his life.


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On the top of high places, by the wayside, at the house where there are <i>many</i> paths doth she place herself.


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Alongside of gates, at the opening of the city, at the entrance of the town<i>doors</i> doth she call loudly,


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They are all evident to the man of understanding, and correct to those that have obtained knowledge.


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The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance, and the evil way: and the mouth of perverseness do I hate.


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That I may cause those that love me to inherit a lasting possession; and their treasures will I fill


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When there were yet no depths, was I brought forth; when there were yet no springs laden heavily with water.


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When he assigned to the sea his decree, that the waters should not transgress his order: when he established firmly the foundations of the earth:


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Then was I near him, as a nursling: and I was day by day <i>his</i> delights, playing before him at all times;


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Happy is the man that hearkeneth unto me, watching day by day at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.


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She hath sent forth her maidens: she inviteth <i>her guests</i> upon the top of the highest places of the town.


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He that correcteth a scorner acquireth for himself abuse; and he that reproveth the wicked getteth himself a blemish.


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Give to the wise <i>instruction</i>, and he will become yet wiser: impart knowledge to the righteous, and he will increase his information.


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The commencement of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; and the knowledge of the Most Holy One is understanding.


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For through me shall thy days be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased unto thee.


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If thou art become wise, thou art wise for thyself; but if thou art a scorner, thou alone wilt have to bear it."


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But he knoweth not that the departed are there; that in the depths of the nether world are her guests.


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The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son causeth <i>his</i> father to rejoice; but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.


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The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish; but the sinful desires of the wicked will he cast away.


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He that gathereth in summer is an intelligent son; <i>but</i> he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.


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On the lips of the man of understanding there is found wisdom: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of sense.


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He that hideth hatred hath lips of falsehood; and he that spreadeth abroad an evil report, is a fool.


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In a multitude of words transgression cannot be avoided; but he that refraineth his lips is intelligent.


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<i>Like</i> choice silver is the tongue of the righteous: the heart of the wicked is worth but very little.


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The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright; but terror is destined to the workers of injustice.


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The lips of the righteous know <i>how to obtain</i> favor; but the mouth of the wicked <i>speaketh</i> perverseness.


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The righteousness of the perfect maketh even his way; but by his own wickedness will the wicked fall.


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The righteousness of the upright will deliver them; but through their own sinful desires are the treacherous caught.


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With his mouth doth the hypocrite destroy his neighbor; but through knowledge are the righteous delivered.


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When it goeth well with the righteous, the town rejoiceth loudly: and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.


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Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted; but through the mouth of the wicked it is pulled down.


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He that walketh about as talebearer revealeth secrets; but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.


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Where there is no wise guidance, a people must fall: but <i>it will obtain</i> help through the multitude of counsellors.


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With evil will he be overwhelmed that is surety for a stranger: but he that hateth giving the hand as pledge is safe.


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The wicked practiseth a work of falsehood; but he that soweth righteousness <i>obtaineth</i> the reward of truth.


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He who is firm in righteousness attaineth to life: and he that pursueth evil <i>doth it</i> to his own death.


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An abomination of the Lord are those of a perverse heart; but his favor is for those who are unblemished in their way.


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The hand <i>of God</i> being against <i>his</i> hand, the bad man shall not go unpunished; but the seed of the righteous shall escape.


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There is a man that scattereth gifts, and yet his wealth is increased: and there is one that withholdeth more than is proper, and still cometh only to want.


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A beneficent soul will be abundantly gratified; and he that refresheth <i>others</i> will be also refreshed himself.


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Him that withholdeth corn, the people will denounce; but blessing will be heaped upon the head of the one that selleth it.


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He that diligently searcheth after good seeketh favor; but if one inquireth after evil, it will come unto him.


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He that trusteth in his riches will surely fall; but the righteous shall grow like the leaves <i>of a tree</i>.


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He that troubleth his own house will inherit the wind; and the fool will become the servant to the wise of heart.


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A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but as rottenness in his bones is one that bringeth shame <i>on him</i>.


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The words of the wicked are of lying in wait for blood; but the mouth of the upright will deliver them.


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In accordance with his intelligence is a man praised; but he that is perverse of heart will come to be despised.


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Better is he that is lightly esteemed who hath a servant, than he that aimeth after honor, and lacketh bread.


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He that tilleth his ground will be satisfied with bread; but he that runneth after idle persons is void of sense.


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In the transgression of his lips is the snare of the wicked; but the righteous cometh out of distress.


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From the fruit of his mouth will a man be satisfied with what is good; and the recompense of a mans hands will be brought back unto him.


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There is some one that useth words <i>which are</i> like the thrusts of a sword; but the tongue of the wise is healing.


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An abomination of the Lord are lips of falsehood; but they that deal in faithfulness <i>obtain</i> his favor.


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A prudent man concealeth <i>his</i> knowledge; but the heart of fools proclaimeth <i>their</i> folly.


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The indolent roasteth not that which he hath caught in hunting; but the most precious wealth of man is diligence.


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A wise son <i>becometh so</i> by the correction of his father; but a scorner hearkeneth not to rebuke.


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From the fruit of a mans mouth doth he eat what is good; but the longing of the treacherous is for violence.


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He that watcheth his mouth guardeth his soul; but he that openeth wide his lips <i>prepareth</i> himself destruction.


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The sluggard longeth <i>in</i> his soul, and there <i>cometh</i> nothing; but the soul of the diligent will be abundantly gratified.


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Righteousness keepeth <i>him that is</i> upright on his way; but wickedness perverteth the <i>man of</i> sin.


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There is some one that pretendeth to be rich without having any thing; another that pretendeth to be poor while having abundant wealth.


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As the ransom of a mans life <i>hath he often to give</i> his riches; but the poor heareth no threat.


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Wealth <i>gotten</i> by vain deeds will be diminished; but he that gathereth by close labor will increase it.


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Whoso despiseth the word shall fall in debt to it; but he that feareth the commandment will be rewarded.


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Poverty and disgrace will overtake him that rejecteth correction; but he that observeth admonition will be honored.


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He that walketh with wise men will become wise; but he that associateth with fools will be destroyed.


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A good man leaveth an inheritance to his childrens children; but the wealth of the sinner is treasured up for the righteous.


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Much food bringeth the newtilled ground of the poor; but there are many others that are taken away through injustice.


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The righteous eateth to satisfy his desire <i>to eat</i>; but the belly of the wicked always suffereth want.


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In his uprightness walketh he that feareth the Lord; but perverse in his ways is he that despiseth him.


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In the mouth of the foolish is a stick <i>for his</i> pride; but the lips of the wise will preserve them.


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Where no oxen are, is the crib clean; but the abundance of harvests is <i>only</i> through the strength of the ox.


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The backslider in heart will have enough of his own ways; and from him <i>departeth</i> the good men.


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He that despiseth his neighbor is a sinner; but he that is gracious to the poorhappiness attend him!


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Behold, those who contrive evil are in error; but kindness and truth attend on those who contrive what is good.


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In the fear of the Lord is the strong confidence <i>of man</i>, and unto his children will it be a place of shelter.


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In the multitude of people is the kings glory; but in the want of a population is the downfall of the prince.


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He that is slow to anger is of great understanding; but he that is hasty of spirit holdeth up <i>to view</i> his folly.


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He that oppresseth the poor blasphemeth his Maker; but he that is gracious to the needy honoreth him.


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Through his own evil is the wicked thrust down; but even in his death doth the righteous have confidence.


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In the heart of the man of understanding resteth wisdom: but <i>the little which is</i> in the bosom of fools is made known.


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The kings favor is bestowed on an intelligent servant; but his wrath is against him that deserveth shame.


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A healing <i>word</i> of the tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a breach to the spirit.


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A fool contemneth the correction of his father; but he that observeth admonition will become prudent.


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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination of the Lord: but, the prayer of the upright <i>obtaineth</i> his favor.


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An abomination of the Lord is the way of the wicked; but him that pursueth righteousness will he love.


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An evil correction is <i>destined</i> for him that forsaketh the <i>right</i> path; he that hateth admonition will die.


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The nether world and corruption are open before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men!


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The way of the slothful man is like a hedge of thorns; but the path of the upright is a levelled <i>road</i>.


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Plans are frustrated without consultation; but through a multitude of counsellors canst thou maintain thyself.


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A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth; and a word <i>spoken</i> at the proper time, how good is it!


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The path of life <i>leadeth</i> upward for the intelligent, in order that he may avoid the nether world beneath.


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The Lord, will tear down the house of the proud; but he will set up firmly the boundary<i>stone</i> of the widow.


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An abomination of the Lord are the thoughts of the bad man; but pleasant speeches are pure <i>before him</i>.


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The heart of the righteous reflecteth to answer; but the mouth of the wicked sputtereth out evil things.


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<i>What is pleasant to</i> the light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: a good report giveth marrow to the bones.


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He that rejecteth correction despiseth his own soul; but he that heareth admonition acquireth intelligence.


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Every thing hath the Lord wrought for its destined end; yes, even the wicked for the day of unhappiness.


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An abomination of the Lord is every one that is proud of heart: the hand <i>of God</i> being against <i>his</i> hand, he shall not go unpunished.


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Through kindness and truth is iniquity atoned for; and by the fear of the Lord <i>men</i> depart from evil.


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There should be a wise sentence on the lips of the king: his mouth should never commit a trespass in judging.


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It should be an abomination to kings to commit wickedness; for through righteousness <i>alone</i> can a throne be established.


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Righteous lips <i>should obtain</i> the favor of kings; and him that speaketh uprightly should they love.


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In the light of the kings countenance there is life; and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain.


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How much better is it to obtain wisdom than gold! and to obtain understanding is preferable to silver!


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He that reflecteth on a matter wisely will find happiness; and whoso trusteth in the Lordhappiness attend him!


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The wise in heart is called a man of understanding; and the sweetness of the lips increaseth information.


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<i>Like</i> the droppings of honey are pleasant sayings, sweet to the soul, and healing to the bones.


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He shutteth his eyes to devise perverse things: when he compresseth his lips then hath he fully resolved on evil.


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One that is slow to anger is better than a hero; and he that ruleth his spirit, than the conqueror of a city.


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Better is a piece of dry bread, and quiet therewith, than a house full of the sacrifices of contention.


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An intelligent servant will have rule over a son that bringeth shame, and among the brothers will he have part of the inheritance.


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Whoso mocketh the poor blasphemeth his Maker: he that is glad at calamities will not remain unpunished.


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Hightoned language is not seemly to a worthless fool: and yet much less the language of falsehood to a noble.


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As a precious stone appeareth a bribe in the eyes of him that obtaineth it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.


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He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth confident friends.


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As one letteth loose <i>a stream</i> of water, so is the beginning of strife: therefore before it be enkindled, leave off the contest.


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He that declareth the wicked innocent, and he that condemneth the righteous, yea, both of them are equally an abomination to the Lord.


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He that hath a froward heart will not find happiness; and he that hath a perverse tongue will fall into evil.


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He that begetteth a fool <i>doth it</i> to his sorrow; and the father of a worthless fool cannot have any joy.


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A merry heart causeth a healthy appearance of the countenance, but a depressed spirit drieth up the bones.


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To punish the just with a fine even is not good, nor to strike the noble<i>hearted</i> for <i>their</i> equity.


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He that holdeth back his speeches hath knowledge; and he that is sparing of his spirit is a man of understanding.


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Even a fool, when he keepeth silence, is counted wise: he that shutteth his lips <i>is esteemed</i> a man of understanding.


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He that separateth himself <i>from God</i> seeketh his own desires: at every sound wisdom is he enraged.


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Like deep waters are the words of a <i>wise</i> mans mouth, and a bubbling brook is the wellspring of wisdom.


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It is not good to favor the person of the wicked, to wrest <i>the cause of the</i> righteous in judgment.


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The words of a whisperer are as wounds, and they go down indeed into the innermost parts of the body.


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When one returneth an answer before he understandeth <i>the question</i>, it is folly unto him and shame.


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The heart of the man of understanding will obtain knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.


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He that is first in his cause seemeth just; but when his neighbor cometh, then will it be investigated.


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A brother offended is harder <i>to be won</i> than a strong town; and quarrels <i>among brothers</i> are like the bars of a castle.


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From the fruit of a mans mouth is his body satisfied; with the product of his lips doth he satisfy himself.


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A mans many companions are hurtful to him; but there is many a friend that cleaveth closer than a brother.


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Also in the want of knowledge in the soul there is nothing good; and he that hasteneth with his feet misseth the right path.


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Many will entreat the favor of the liberal man; and every one is the friend to him that bestoweth gifts.


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All the brothers of the poor hate him: how much more do his friends go far away from him! he pursueth <i>their</i> promises; but these are <i>all</i> that he hath.


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He that getteth intelligence loveth his own soul: he that guardeth understanding will find happiness.


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It is intelligence in man to be slow in his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.


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House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers; but from the Lord <i>cometh</i> an intelligent wife.


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He that observeth the commandment guardeth his own soul: but he that disregardeth <i>directing</i> his ways <i>aright</i> shall die.


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The fear of the Lord leadeth unto life: and he <i>that hath it</i> shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.


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When a slothful man hath hidden his hand in the dish, then will he not even bring it back to his mouth.


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Smite a scorner, and the simple will become prudent; and if one that hath understanding be admonished, he will understand knowledge.


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He that plundereth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that bringeth shame and dishonor.


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Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth <i>thee</i> to err from the sayings of knowledge.


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Like the roaring of a young lion is the dread of a king: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.


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Because it is winters cold, will the sluggard not plough: when he therefore seeketh in the harvest time, there will be nothing.


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Even a child maketh himself known by his doings, whether his work will be pure, and whether it will be upright.


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Take away his garment, because he hath become surety for a stranger; and on account of a strange woman take a pledge from him.


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He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that enticeth with his lips.


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The bruises of a wound are cleansing means for the bad, and stripes <i>will reach</i> the inner chambers of the body.


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Like brooks of water is a kings heart in the hand of the Lord: whithersoever it pleaseth him doth he turn it.


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The getting of treasures by a tongue of falsehood is like the fleeting breath of those that seek death.


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Perverse is the way of the man that is estranged <i>from goodness</i>; but as for the pure, his work is upright.


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When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is taught intelligence, he receiveth knowledge.


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The righteous regardeth attentively the house of the wicked; <i>but God</i> overturneth the wicked into unhappiness.


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Whoso stoppeth his ears against the cry of the poor, he also will cry himself, but shall not be answered.


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The man that wandereth astray out of the way of intelligence shall rest in the assembly of the departed.


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The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the treacherous shall be put in the stead of the upright.


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There are a desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man will swallow it up.


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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a sinful purpose?


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Thorns and snares are on the way of a perverse man: he that doth guard his soul will keep far from them.


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Train up the lad in accordance with his course: even when he groweth old, will he not depart from it.


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A deep pit is the mouth of adulterous women: he that hath obtained the indignation of the Lord will fall thereinto.


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He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, <i>must at length</i> give to the rich, and come only to want.


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For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thy bosom, if they be altogether firmly seated upon thy lips.


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That I might make thee know rectitude, the sayings of truth; that thou mightest bring back answers of truth to those that send thee?


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Seest thou a man that is diligent in his work? before kings may he place himself: let him not place himself before obscure men.


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When thou lettest merely thy eyes fly over it, it is no more: for it will ever make itself wings: like an eagle will it fly toward heaven.


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For as though there were a division in his soul, so doth he act: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.


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Let not thy heart be envious against sinners; but <i>remain</i> in the fear of the lord all the time.


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The father of the righteous will be greatly glad, and he that begetteth a wise child will have joy through him.


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Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath quarrels? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?


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Do not look on the wine when it looketh red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it glideth down so readily.


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And thou wilt be like one that lieth down in the heart of the sea, or as he that lieth on the top of a mast.


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"They smote me, <i>but</i> I suffered no pain; they struck me hard, <i>but</i> I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will continue to seek it again."


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If thou shouldst say, Behold, we know not this man: lo, he that weigheth hearts will truly regard it, and he that keepeth thy soul will surely know it; and he will give a recompense to man according to his doing.


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So obtain the knowledge of wisdom for thy soul: when thou hast found her, then shall there be a <i>happy</i> future, and thy hope shall not be cut off.


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For though the righteous were to fall seven times, he will rise up again; but the wicked shall stumble into misfortune.


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Him that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, will the people denounce, him will nations hold accursed;


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Say not, As he hath done to me so will I do to him: I will recompense every man according to his doing.


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And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, nettles had covered its surface, and its stonewall was broken down.


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As are the heavens for height, and the earth is for depth, so should the heart of kings be unsearchable.


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Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be firmly established in righteousness.


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Do not glorify thyself in the presence of the king, and force thyself not into the place of great men;


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For better it is that it be said unto thee, "Come up hither," than that thou shouldst be put lower in the presence of the prince, which thy own eyes have <i>often</i> seen.


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Do not proceed to a contest hastily, lest <i>thou know not</i> what thou wilt have to do at its end, when thy neighbor hath put thee to confusion.


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As an earring of gold, and a pendant of fine gold, so is a wise reprover toward an ear that listeneth.


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As the cooling of snow on a harvestday, so is a faithful messenger to those that send him; for he refresheth the soul of his master.


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Hast thou found honey: eat so much as is sufficient for thee: lest thou consume too much of it, and have to vomit it forth.


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A battleaxe, and a sword, and a sharpened arrow is a man that testifieth as a false witness against his neighbor.


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Like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint, is confidence in a treacherous man in a time of distress.


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<i>As</i> he that taketh off his garment on a cold day, <i>as</i> vinegar is upon natron: so is he that singeth songs before an unhappy heart.


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Like a city that is broken in, and is without walls: so is the man that hath no control over his spirit.


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As the bird <i>cometh</i> to flit away, as the swallow, to fly off: so will an undeserved curse not come <i>to fulfillment</i>.


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He choppeth off the feet, and drinketh vexation, that sendeth important messages by the hand of a fool.


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As is one that taketh hold of a dog by the ears, so is he that passing by becometh excited about a dispute which concerneth him not.


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As charcoals are added to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man fitted to enkindle a dispute.


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Though he make his voice sound ever so graciously, believe him not; for there are seven abominations in his heart.


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If ones hatred be covered by deception, then shall be laid bare his wickedness before a <i>whole</i> assembly.


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A lying tongue hateth those that are crushed by it; and a flattering mouth prepareth <i>others</i> downfall.


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The satisfied soul treadeth under foot fine honey; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.


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Oil and perfume cause the heart to rejoice, and so do the sweet words of a friend more than ones own counsel.


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Thy own friend, and thy fathers friend, thou must not forsake; but into thy brothers house enter not on the day of thy calamity: better is a near neighbor than a distant brother.


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Become wise, my son, and cause my heart to rejoice, that I may give an answer to him that reproacheth me.


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Take his garment, for he became surety for a stranger; and on account of an alien woman take a pledge of him.


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When one saluteth his friend with a loud voice, when rising early in the morning, it will be counted a curse to him.


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He that would conceal her might conceal the wind, and as <i>fragrant</i> oil on his right hand, which would betray itself.


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Whoso guardeth the figtree will eat its fruit: so he that watcheth over his master will be honored.


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As the water <i>showeth</i> to the face the <i>reflected</i> face: so doth the heart of man show itself to man.


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The nether world and the place of corruption are never satisfied: so are the eyes of man never satisfied.


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<i>As</i> the finingpot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: so is a man <i>proved</i> according to his praise.


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Though thou shouldst pound the fool in a mortar, in the midst of grains of wheat with a pestle: still would his folly not depart from him.


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When the grass is past, young verdure showeth itself, and then are gathered the herbs of the mountains.


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And thou wilt have enough of goats milk for thy food, for the food of thy household, and the support for thy maidens.


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When there is transgression in a land, it hath many for its princes; but under a man of understanding and knowledge <i>its</i> prosperity will long continue.


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Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.


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Whoso keepeth the law is an intelligent son; but he that is a companion of gluttons bringeth dishonor on his father.


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He that increaseth his wealth by interest and usury will gather it for him that will be kind to the poor.


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When one turneth away his ear so as not to listen to the law, even his prayer becometh an abomination.


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Whoso causeth the upright to go astray on an evil way, will surely fall into his own ditch; but the men of integrity will inherit what is good.


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The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the indigent that hath understanding can search him through.


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When the righteous exult, there is great splendor; but when the wicked rise up, a man hath to be sought for.


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He that concealeth his transgressions will not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them will obtain mercy.


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Happy is the man that always dreadeth <i>to do evil</i>; but he that hardeneth his heart will fall into unhappiness.


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The prince that is void of understanding is also a great oppressor; <i>but</i> he that hateth unjust gain will prolong his days.


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A man oppressed by the load of having shed human blood will flee even to the pit: let no man hold him.


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Whoso walketh in integrity will be saved; but he that walketh perversely on two paths, will fall on one.


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He that tilleth his ground will have plenty of bread; but he that runneth after idle persons will have enough of poverty.


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A faithful man will abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich will not go unpunished.


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He that is eager for wealth is a man of an evil eye, and he knoweth not that want will come upon him.


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He that reproveth a man after <i>my example</i> will obtain more grace than he that flattereth with the tongue.


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Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, it is no transgression,the same is a companion of a destroyer.


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He that hath an insatiable desire stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord will be abundantly gratified.


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He that giveth unto the poor will not have any want; but he that hideth his eyes will have an abundance of curses.


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A man that, having received many admonitions, still hardeneth his neck, will suddenly be broken, and this without remedy.


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When the righteous are in authority, the people will rejoice; but when the wicked beareth rule, the people groan.


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The man that loveth wisdom causeth his father to rejoice; but he that keepeth company with harlots wasteth <i>his</i> wealth.


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A king will through the exercise of justice establish <i>the welfare of</i> a land; but one that loveth gifts overthroweth it.


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The righteous considereth the cause of the indigent: but the wicked will not understand the knowledge <i>of justice</i>.


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If a wise man contend with a foolish man, whether he be angry or whether he laugh, <i>he will have</i> no rest.


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With the increase of the wicked transgression increaseth; but the righteous shall yet look on their downfall.


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Without a prophetic vision a people become unruly; but when it observeth the law, then will it be happy.


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Not with words <i>alone</i> can a servant be corrected; for though he understand, there will be no response.


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The dread of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord will be upheld in safety.


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An abomination of the righteous is an unjust man: and an abomination of the wicked is one who is upright in <i>his</i> way.


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The words of Agur the son of Yakeh, even the prophecy: the man said unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ukkal,


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Who was it that ascended into heaven, and came down again? who gathered the wind in his fists? who bound the waters in a garment? who set up all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his sons name, if thou knowest it?"


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Vanity and lying words do thou remove far from me: neither poverty nor riches give thou unto me; let me eat the bread appointed unto me:


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Lest I become overfull, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I become poor, and steal, and trespass against the name of my God.


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There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed <i>clean</i> of its filthiness.


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There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and whose string teeth are as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.


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Insatiability hath two daughters, <i>crying,</i> Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things which never say, Enough:


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The nether world; and a barren womb; the earth which is not satisfied with water; and the fire which never saith, Enough.


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The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, this shall the ravens of the valley pick out; and the young eagles shall eat it.


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The way of the eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the heart of the sea; and the way of a man with a young woman.


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Such is the way of an adulterous woman: she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wrong.


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If thou hast become degraded by lifting up thyself, or if thou hast devised evil, put thy hand to thy mouth:


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For the pressure of milk bringeth forth butter, and the pressure of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the pressure of wrath bringeth forth strife.


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Not for kings, O Lemoel, not for kings <i>it is fitting</i> to drink wine, nor for princes, strong drink:


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Lest either might drink, and forget what is written in the law, and pervert the cause of all the afflicted.


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Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those who have an embittered soul.


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And she riseth while it is yet night, and giveth provision to her household, and a task to her maidens.


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Going toward the south, and turning round toward the north, the wind moveth round about continually; and around its circles doth the wind return again.


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All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is never full: unto the place whither the rivers go, thither will they continue to go.


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All things weary themselves <i>constantly</i>; man can not utter them: the eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.


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That which hath been, is the same which will be; and that which hath been done, is the same which will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.


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If there be any thing whereof it is said, See, this is new: It hath already been in olden times which were before us.


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<i>Only</i> there is no recollection of former <i>generations</i>; and also of the later ones, that are to beof these <i>likewise</i> there will be no recollection with those that will be still later.


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And I directed my heart to inquire and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: this is an evil employment which God hath given to the sons of man to busy themselves therewith.


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I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun: and, behold, all is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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I spoke with my own heart, saying, Lo, I have truly obtained greater and more wisdom than all those who have been before me over Jerusalem: yea, my heart had seen much wisdom and knowledge.


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And I directed my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; <i>but</i> I have perceived that this also is a torture of the spirit.


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For where there is much wisdom there is much vexation: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth pain.


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Come, then, I said in my heart, I will have a taste of joy, and thou shalt see what is good; but, behold, this also was vanity.


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I resolved in my heart to indulge my body with wine, while my heart guideth itself with wisdom; and to lay fast hold on folly, till I might see what it is that is good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heavens during the number of the days of their life.


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I bought menservants and maidservants, and I had likewise those born in my house; I had also great possessions of cattle and flocks above all that had been before me in Jerusalem.


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I gathered unto myself also silver and gold, and the choice treasures of kings and of the provinces: I procured myself male singers and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men, wagons and chariots.


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So was I great, and obtained more than all that had been before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.


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And whatsoever my eyes desired I refused them not; I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart was rejoiced with all my toil, and this was my portion of all my toil.


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But when I turned myself <i>to look</i> on all my works that my hands had wrought, and on the toil that I had toiled to accomplish: then, behold, all was vanity and a torture of the spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.


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And then I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what <i>can</i> the man <i>do</i> that cometh after the king? <i>only</i> that which <i>others</i> have done already.


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But I saw indeed that wisdom hath the advantage over folly, as great as the advantage of light over darkness.


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The wise man hath his eyes in his head, while the fool walketh in darkness; but I myself perceived then also that one occurrence will befall all of them.


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Then said I in my heart, The same that befalleth the fool will also befall even me: and why have I then been wiser? Then spoke I in my heart, that this is also vanity.


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For there is no recollection of the wise any more than of the fool for ever: seeing that which hath long ago been will, in the days that are coming, all be forgotten. And how doth the wise die equally with the fool!


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Therefore I hated life; because I felt displeased with the work that is wrought under the sun; for all is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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Yea, I hated also all my toil with which I had toiled under the sun; because I should have to leave it unto the man that will be after me.


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And who knoweth, whether he will be a wise man or a fool? yet will he have full sway over all my toil wherein I have toiled, and wherein I have shown myself wise under the sun. Also this is vanity.


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Therefore I turned about to cause my heart to give up thinking of all the toil wherewith I had toiled under the sun.


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For there is many a man whose toil is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and with energy; yet to a man that hath not toiled therefore must he give it as his portion. Also this is vanity and a great evil.


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For what doth a man obtain of all his toil, and of the torture of his heart, wherewith he toileth under the sun?


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For all his days are full of pains, and vexation is <i>mingled with</i> his employment: yea, even in the night his heart taketh not rest. Also this is vanity.


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It is not a good thing <i>inherent</i> in man that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy happiness for his toil. Also this have I seen, that it cometh out of the hand of God.


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For to a man who is good in his presence <i>God</i> giveth wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth employment, to gather up and to bring together, that he may give it to him that is good before God. Also this is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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<i>There is</i> a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what hath been planted;


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A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather up stones; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embracing;


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Every thing hath he made beautiful in its <i>proper</i> time: he hath also placed the eternity in their heart, without a mans being able to find out the work that God hath made from the beginning to the end.


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I know that there is nothing good <i>inherent</i> in them, but for every one to rejoice and to do what is good during <i>all</i> his life.


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For also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy what is good for all his toil, is likewise a gift of God.


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I know that whatsoever God doth, that will be for ever; to it nothing can be added, and from it there is nothing to be diminished: and God hath so made it, that men should be afraid of him.


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That which hath been hath long since appeared <i>again</i>; and what is to be hath already been; and God seeketh <i>again</i> that which is sped away.


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And moreover I have seen under the sun, <i>that in</i> the place of justice, even there was wickedness; and <i>that in</i> the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.


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I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time for every pursuit; and on account of every deed there <i>will he judge</i>.


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I said in my heart concerning the speaking of the sons of men, that God might make it clear to them, and that they might see that they by themselves are but beasts.


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For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even the same thing befalleth them; as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one kind of spirit: so that the preeminence of man above the beast is nought; for all is vanity.


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Every thing goeth unto one place: every thing came from the dust, and every thing returneth to the dust.


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Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that ascendeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that descendeth downward to the earth?


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And so did I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who can bring him to look with pleasure on what will be after him?


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And I turned about, and beheld all the oppressed that are made so under the sun: and, behold, there are the tears of the oppressed, and they have no comforter; and from the hand of their oppressors they suffer violence; and they have no comforter.


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And as happier than both of them, him who hath not yet come into being, who hath not seen the evildoing that is done under the sun.


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Again, I beheld all the toil, and all the energy in doing, that it is <i>from</i> the envy of one man of his neighbor. Also this is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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There is one alone, and he hath not a companion; yea, he hath neither son nor brother: yet is there no end to all his toil; his eye also is not satisfied with riches. Yet for whom do I toil, and deprive my soul of good? Also this is vanity, yea, it is a bad employment.


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For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to the single one that falleth; for he hath no companion to lift him up.


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And if a man could overpower him, the single one, two would stand up against him: and a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn asunder.


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Better is a poor and a wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to be admonished any more.


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I have seen all the living who walk under the sun, being with the second child that is to stand up in his stead.


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There was no end to all the people, <i>belonging</i> to all that have been before them: they also that come after will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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<n>(4:17)</n> Watch thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be near to hearken <i>to his will</i>, more than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil <i>to themselves</i>.


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<n>(5:1)</n> Suffer not thy mouth to be rash, and let thy heart not be hasty to utter any word before God; for God is in the heavens, and thou art upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few.


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<n>(5:2)</n> For a dream cometh through being much employed <i>with something</i>, and the voice of a fool cometh with a multitude of words.


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<n>(5:3)</n> When thou makest a vow unto God, do not delay to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in such fools: that which thou hast vowed must thou pay.


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<n>(5:5)</n> Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy body to sin; and say thou not before the messenger, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry because of thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?


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<n>(5:6)</n> For in the multitude of dreams and vanities there are also many words; but rather fear thou God.


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<n>(5:7)</n> If thou see the oppression of the poor, and violence done to justice and righteousness in a province, do not feel astounded at the matter; for one that is high watcheth over the high; and over them, the highest Power.


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<n>(5:9)</n> He that loveth money will never be satisfied with money; nor he that loveth abundance, with any increase. Also this is vanity.


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<n>(5:10)</n> When prosperity increaseth, those that consume it <i>likewise</i> increase: and what advantage is there to its owner, saving to see <i>it</i> with his eyes?


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<n>(5:11)</n> Sweet is the sleep of the laboring man, whether he eat little or much; but the overabundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.


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<n>(5:12)</n> There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, <i>namely,</i> riches reserved for their owner to his own hurt.


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<n>(5:13)</n> And these riches are lost through an unfortunate event; and he begetteth a son, and hath not the least in his hand:


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<n>(5:14)</n> As he came forth out of his mothers womb, naked will he return to go as he came; and not the least will he carry off for his toil, which he might take away with him.


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<n>(5:15)</n> And also this is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so must he go: and what profit hath he that hath toiled for the wind?


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<n>(5:16)</n> All his days also had he to eat in darkness, and hath had much vexation and wrath with his sickness.


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<n>(5:17)</n> Behold, what I have truly seen as a good thing, that it is fitting to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all ones toil that he taketh under the sun the number of the days of his life, which God hath given him; for this is his portion.


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<n>(5:18)</n> Also every man to whom God hath given riches and property, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his toil this is the gift of God.


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<n>(5:19)</n> Let him then remember, that the days of his life are not many, that God hath answered him with the joy of his heart.


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<i>There is many</i> a man to whom God hath given riches, property, and honor, and nothing is wanting for his soul of all that he longeth for: yet God empowereth him not to eat thereof, but a stranger will consume it. This is vanity, and it is an evil disease.


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If a man were to beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years were many, and his soul were not satisfied with what is good, and he have not had even a burial: then do I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.


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Yea, though he were to live a thousand years twice told, and had not seen any good doth not every one go to one place?


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For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk <i>properly</i> before the living?


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Better is what one seeth with the eyes than the wandering of the desire. Also this is vanity and a torture of the spirit.


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That which hath been is already called by its name, and it is known that he is a man: and he is not able to contend with him that is mightier than he.


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For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, the number of the days of his vain life, that he should spend them as a shadow? for who can tell a man what will be after him under the sun?


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It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; inasmuch as that is the end of all men: and let the living lay it to his heart.


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Better is vexation than laughing; for through the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.


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Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: better is the patient in spirit than the proud in spirit.


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Thou must not say, How was it that the former days were better than these? for it is not out of wisdom that thou askest concerning this.


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For under the shadow of wisdom <i>a man is equally well as</i> under the shadow of money; but the superior excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to him that possesseth it.


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On the day of prosperity be happy, but on the day of adversity look on: also this hath God made in equal measure with the other, to the end that man should not find the least to censure him.


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All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is many a righteous man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is many a wicked man that liveth long in his wickedness.


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It is good that thou shouldst take hold of that, and that also from this thou withdraw not thy hand; for he that feareth God will come forth out of them all.


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Then I turned myself about together with my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and experience, and to know the wickedness of folly, and the foolishness of madness.


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And I find as more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are bonds: he that is deemed good before God will escape from her; but the sinner will be caught by her.


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What my soul constantly sought, but I found it not; one man among a thousand did I find; but a woman among all these did I not find.


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Lo, this only did I find, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought for many <i>sinful</i> devices.


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Who is like the wise? and who knoweth <i>as well</i> the explanation of a thing? a mans wisdom enlighteneth his face, and the boldness of his face will be lessened.


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I <i>counsel thee</i>, Keep the kings command, and that which regardeth the oath <i>to him taken</i> by God.


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Be not hasty to go out of his presence; engage not in an evil thing; for whatsoever pleaseth him, can he do;


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Whoso keepeth the commandment will experience no evil thing: and a wise mans heart knoweth both time and the just consequence.


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Because for every pursuit there is a time and a just consequence; for the evil of man <i>resteth</i> heavily upon him.


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No man hath control over the spirit to detain the spirit; and there is no control over the day of death; and there is no representation in that war; and wickedness will not deliver those that practise it.


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All this have I seen, and directed my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time when one man ruleth over another to his own injury.


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Then also did I see the wicked buried, who had gone to their rest; but those who had acted correctly had to go away from the holy place, and were forgotten in the city. Also this is vanity.


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Because the punishment against evil deeds is not executed speedily, therefore is the heart of the sons of men filled up in them to do evil.


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But let a sinner do evil a hundred times, and <i>God</i> withhold long his punishment from him; still do I truly know for certain that it will be well with those that fear God, because they are afraid of him;


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And that it will not be well with the wicked, and that he will not endure many days, like the shadow; because he is not afraid of God.


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There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there are righteous men, unto whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth in accordance with the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity.


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Therefore do I praise joyfulness, that there is nothing better for man under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be joyful; for this will adhere to him in his toil, during the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun.


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When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the employment that is done upon the earth, how even neither by day nor by night sleep is seen in the eyes of some men:


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Then did I see <i>in</i> the whole work of God, that a man is not able to find out the work that is done under the sun; inasmuch as though a man were to toil to seek for it, he would yet not find it; and even if the wise were to think to know it, he would yet not be able to find it.


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For all this did I reflect over in my heart and to explain all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their services, are in the hand of God: that man knoweth neither love nor hatred; it is all <i>ordained</i> before them;


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Every thing as it is to happen to all; there is but one occurrence for the righteous, and for the wicked; for the good and for the clean, and for the unclean; and for him that sacrificeth, and for him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.


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This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one occurrence for all, and that also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and that madness is in their heart while they live, and after this they go to the dead.


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For whoever is yet united with all the living hath still hope; for a living dog fareth better than a dead lion.


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For the living know that they will die; but the dead know not the least; nor have they longer any reward; for their memory is forgotten.


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Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, are now already lost; and they will have never more a portion in all that is done under the sun.


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Go, eat with joy thy bread, and drink with a merry heart thy wine, if God have already received thy works in favor.


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Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which God hath given thee under the sun, <i>yea,</i> all the days of thy vanity; for this is thy portion in this life, and in thy toil with which thou toilest under the sun.


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Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do with thy might, that do; for there is no work, nor experience, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the nether world, whither thou goest.


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I turned about, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty; and that also the wise have no bread, nor yet the men of understanding riches, nor yet men of knowledge favor; but time and fate will overtake them all.


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For man also knoweth not his time, like the fishes that are caught in an evil net, and like the birds that are caught in the snare: like these are the sons of men ensnared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.


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There was a little city, and the men therein were few; and there came against it a great king, who enclosed it, and built around it great works of siege;


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But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he delivered the city by his wisdom; yet no man had thought of that same poor man.


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Then said I, Wisdom is better than might: although the poor mans wisdom is held in contempt, and his words are not heard.


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Dead flies cause the precious oil of the apothecary to become stinking and foaming; so doth a little folly him that is valued for wisdom and honor.


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Yea also, on whatever way the fool walketh, doth he lack proper sense, and he saith to all that he is a fool.


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If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for submissiveness causeth great offences to be avoided.


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He that diggeth a pit will fall into it; and him who breaketh down a fencea serpent will bite him.


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Whoso removeth stones will be hurt through them; and he that cleaveth wood will be endangered thereby.


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If the iron be blunt, and man do not whet the edge, then must he exert more strength; but the advantage of making it properly sharp is wisdom.


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If the serpent do bite because no one uttered a charm, then hath the man that can use his tongue <i>in charming</i> no preference.


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The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness; and the last that cometh out of his mouth is evilbringing madness.


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The fool also multiplieth words; <i>but</i> a man cannot know what is to be; and what is to be after him, who can tell him?


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The toil of the foolish will weary every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.


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Happy art thou, O land, when thy king is noblespirited, and thy princes eat in proper time, for strengthening, and not for gluttony!


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Through slothful hands the rafters will sink; and through idleness of the hands the house will become leaky.


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For gay pleasure they prepare a feast, and wine is to make the living joyful; but money procureth all things.


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Even in thy thought thou must not curse a king; and in thy bedchambers do not curse the rich; for a bird of the air can carry the sound, and that which hath wings can tell the word.


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Give a portion to seven, and also to eight: for thou knowest not what evil may come upon the earth.


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If the clouds be full of rain, they will empty it out upon the earth; and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, on the place where the tree falleth, there will it remain.


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As thou knowest not which is the way of the wind, as little as what is enclosed in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou canst not know the works of God who maketh all.


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In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening let not thy hand rest; for thou knowest not which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both of them will be alike good.


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For if a man live <i>even</i> many years, let him rejoice in them all; and let him remember the days of darkness; for they will be many; all that cometh is vanity.


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Rejoice, O young man, in thy childhood; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youthful vigor, and walk firmly in the ways of thy heart, and in <i>the direction which</i> thy eyes see: but know thou, that concerning all these things God will bring thee into judgment.


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And remove vexation from thy heart, and cause evil to pass away from thy body; for childhood and the time when the head is black are vanity.


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But remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youthful vigor, while the evil days are not yet come, nor those years draw nigh of which thou wilt say, I have no pleasure in them;


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While the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, are not yet darkened, and the clouds return not again after the rain;


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On the day when the watchmen of the house will tremble and the men of might will bend themselves, and the grinders stand idle, because they are become few, and those be darkened that look through the windows;


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And when the two doors on the streets will be locked, while the sound of the mill becometh dull, and man riseth up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low;


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Also when men will be afraid of every elevation, and are terrified on every way, and the almondtree will refuse <i>its blossom</i>, and the locust will drag itself slowly along, and the desire will gainsay compliance; because man goeth to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets;


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While the silver cord is not yet torn loose, and the golden bowl is not crushed, and the pitcher is not broken at the fountain, and the wheel is not crushed at the cistern;


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When the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return unto God who gave it.


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And in addition to this that Koheleth was wise, he continually also taught the people knowledge, and he probed, and searched out, and composed many proverbs.


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Koheleth sought to find out acceptable words, and that which would be written down uprightly, even words of truth.


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The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails fastened <i>are the words of</i> the men of the assemblies, which are given by one shepherd.


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But more than all these, my son, take warning for thyself: the making of many books would have no end; and much preaching is a weariness of the flesh.


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The end of the matter is, let us hear the whole: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole <i>duty of</i> man.


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For every deed will God bring into the judgment concerning every thing that hath been hidden, whether it be good, or whether it be bad.


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Oh that he might kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for thy caresses are more pleasant than wine.


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To the smell are thy fragrant oils pleasant, <i>like</i> precious oil poured forth is thy name <i>famous afar</i>: therefore do maidens love thee.


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Oh draw me, after thee will we run: the king hath brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in thee; we will recall thy caresses, more <i>pleasant</i> than wine; without deceit <i>all</i> love thee.


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Black am I, yet comely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.


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Look not so at me, because I am somewhat black, because the sun hath looked fiercely at me: my mothers children were angry with me; they appointed me to be keeper of the vineyards; but my vineyard, which is my own, have I not kept.


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Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest? where lettest thou thy flock rest at noon? for why should I appear like a veiled mourner by the flocks of thy companions?


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If thou knowest this not, O thou fairest of women, go but forth in the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids around the shepherds dwellings.


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Lo, thou art beautiful, my friend, also pleasant: also our couch is <i>made in the</i> green <i>wood</i>.


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Like the appletree among the trees of the forest, so is my friend among the young men: under his shadow do I ardently wish to sit, and his fruit is sweet to my palate.


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I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye awaken not, nor excite my love, till it please <i>to come of itself</i>.


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The voice of my friend! behold, there he cometh, leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.


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My friend is like a roebuck or the fawn of the hinds: behold, there he standeth behind our wall, looking in at the windows, seeing through the lattice.


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The flowers are seen in the land; the time of the <i>birds</i> singing is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land;


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The figtree perfumeth its green figs, and the vines with young grapes give forth a <i>pleasant</i> smell. Arise thee, my beloved, my fair one, and come along.


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O my dove, who art in the clefts of the rock, in the recesses of the cliffs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for thy voice is sweet, and thy countenance is comely.


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Seize for us the foxes, the little foxes, that injure the vineyards; for our vineyards have young grapes.


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Until the day become cool, and the shadows flee away, turn about, my friend, and be thou like the roebuck or the fawn of the hinds upon the mountains of separation.


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Oh, I must rise now, and go about in the city in the streets, and in the open places; I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.


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Scarcely had I passed away from them, when I found him whom my soul loveth: I laid fast hold of him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mothers house, and into the chamber of her that had born me.


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I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye awaken not, nor excite my love, till it please <i>to come of itself</i>.


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Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spicy powders of the merchant?


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Behold, it is the bed, which is Solomons, sixty valiant men are round about it, of the valiant ones of Israel.


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All of them are girded with the sword, are expert in war; every one hath his sword upon his thigh, because of the terror in the nights.


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The pillars thereof he made of silver, its coverlid of gold, its seat of purple: its inner part is arranged lovely, by the daughters of Jerusalem.


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Go forth, and look, O ye daughters of Zion, on king Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him on the day of his espousals, and on the day of the joy in his heart.


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Behold, thou art beautiful, my beloved, behold, thou art beautiful: thy dovelike eyes <i>look forth</i> from behind thy vail; thy hair is like a flock of goats, that come quietly down from Mount Gilad.


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Thy teeth are like a flock of wellselected sheep, which are come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and there is not one among them that is deprived of her young.


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Like a thread of scarlet are thy lips, and thy mouth is comely: like the half of a pomegranate is the upper part of thy cheek behind thy vail.


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Thy neck is like the tower of David built on terraces, a thousand shields hangthereon, all the quivers of the mighty men.


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Until the day became cool, and the shadows flee away, will I get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.


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Come with me from Lebanon, O bride, with me from Lebanon: look about from the top of Amanah, from the top of Senir and Chermon, from the lions dens, from the leopards mountains.


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Thou hast ravished my heart, O my sister, <i>my</i> bride; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thy eyes, with one chain of thy neck.


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How beautiful are thy caresses, O my sister, <i>my</i> bride! how much more pleasant are thy caresses than wine! and the smell of thy fragrant oils more than all spices.


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Of sweet honey drop thy lips, O bride: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the scent of thy garments is like the scent of Lebanon.


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Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief of spices;


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Awake, O north wind; and come thou, O south; blow over my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my friend come into his garden, and eat its precious fruits.


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I am come into my garden, my sister, <i>my</i> bride; I have plucked my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my sugarcane with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, ye companions; drink, yea, drink abundantly, ye friends.


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I slept, but my heart was awake: <i>there was</i> the voice of my beloved that knocked, "Open for me, my sister, my beloved, my dove, my guiltless one; for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night."


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I rose up myself to open for my friend; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with fluid myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.


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I indeed opened for my beloved; but my beloved had vanished, and was gone: my soul had failed me while he was speaking; I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he answered me not.


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Then found me the watchmen that walked about the city; they smote me, they wounded me: they took away my vail from me, they that watched the walls.


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I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, what will ye tell him? that I am sick of love.


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What is thy friend more than anothers friend, O thou fairest of women? what is thy friend more than anothers friend, that thus thou adjurest us?


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His eyes are like <i>those of</i> doves by streamlets of waters, bathed in milk, well fitted in their setting.


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His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as turrets of sweet perfumes: his lips, like lilies, dropping with fluid myrrh.


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His hands are like wheels of gold beset with the chrysolite: his body, an image made of ivory overlaid with sapphires.


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His legs are like pillars of marble, resting upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent like the cedars.


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His palate is full of sweets, and every thing in him is agreeable. This is my friend, and this is my beloved, O daughters of Jerusalem.


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Whither is thy friend gone, O fairest of women? whither hath thy friend turned himself? that we may seek him with thee?


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My beloved is gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.


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Thou art beautiful, O my beloved, like Thirzah, comely like Jerusalem, terrible as armies encamped round their banners.


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Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have excited me: thy hair is like a flock of goats that come quietly down from mount Gilad.


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Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes which are come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and there is not one among them that is deprived of her young.


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But one alone is my dove, my guiltless one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the chosen of her that bore her: maidens see her, and call her happy; yea, queens and concubines, and praise her.


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Who is this that shineth forth like the morningdawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as armies encamped round their banners?


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Into the nutgarden was I gone down, to look about among the plants of the valley, to see whether the vine had blossomed, whether the pomegranates had budded.


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<n>(7:1)</n> Return, return, O Shulammith; return, return, that we may look upon thee. "What will ye see in the Shulammith?" As though it were the dance of a double company.


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<n>(7:2)</n> How beautiful are thy steps in sandals, O princes daughter! the roundings of thy thighs are like jewelled ornaments, the work of the hands of the artificer.


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<n>(7:3)</n> Thy navel is like a round goblet which lacketh not the mixed wine: thy body is like a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies.


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<n>(7:5)</n> Thy neck is like a tower of ivory; thy eyes are like the pools in Cheshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim; thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.


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<n>(7:6)</n> Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thy head like purple: a king is held bound in the tresses.


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<n>(7:9)</n> I thought, I wish to climb up the palmtree, I wish to take hold of its boughs; and, oh, that thy breasts might be like clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;


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<n>(7:10)</n> And thy palate like the best wine, that glideth down for my friend gently, exciting the lips of those that are asleep.


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<n>(7:12)</n> Come, my friend, let us go forth into the field; let us spend the night in the villages;


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<n>(7:13)</n> Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine have blossomed, whether the young grape have opened <i>to the view</i>, whether the pomegranates have budded: there will I give my caresses unto thee.


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<n>(7:14)</n> The mandrakes give forth <i>their</i> smell, and at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and also old: O my friend, these have I laid up for thee.


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Oh that some one would make thee as my brother that hath sucked my mothers breasts! should I then find thee without, I would kiss thee; and yet, people would not despise me.


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I would lead thee, I would bring thee into my mothers house, thou shouldst teach me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the sweet juice of my pomegranate.


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I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, why will ye awaken, and why will ye excite my love, until it please <i>to come of itself</i>?


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Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her friend?Under the appletree have I waked thee up; there thy mother brought thee forth; there brought thee forth she that bore thee.


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Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm; for strong as death is love; violent like the nether world is jealousy; its heat is the heat of fire, a flame of God.


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Many waters are not able to quench love, nor can the rivers flood it away: if a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, men would utterly despise him.


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We have a little sister, and she hath yet no breasts: what shall we do for our sister on the day when she shall be spoken for?


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If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.


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Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he had given up the vineyard unto the keepers; every one was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.


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My vineyard, which was mine, was before me: thine, O Solomon, be the thousand, and let two hundred be for those that keep its fruit.


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Flee away, my friend, and be thou like the roebuck, or the fawn of the hinds, upon the mountain of spices.


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The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziyahu, Jotham, Achaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah.


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Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken: Children have I nourished and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.


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The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his masters crib: Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.


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Woe! sinful nation, people laden with iniquity, seed of evildoers, children that are corrupt: they have forsaken the Lord, they have incensed the Holy One of Israel, they are departed backward.


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Why will ye be stricken yet more? <i>that</i> ye increase the revolt? every head is sick, and every heart is faint.


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From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil.


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Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire; your soilin your presence, strangers devour it, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.


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And left is the daughter of Zion as a hut in a vineyard, as a lodge in a cucumber field, as a besieged city.


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Unless the Lord of hosts had left unto us a remnant ever so small, like Sodom should we have been, unto Gomorrah should we have been compared.


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Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom: give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.


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For what serveth me the multitude of your sacrifices? saith the Lord: I am sated with the burntofferings of rams, and the fat of fatted beasts; and the blood of bullocks, and of sheep, and of hegoats, I do not desire.


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When ye come to appear in my presencewho hath required this at your hand, to tread down my courts?


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Continue no more to bring an oblation of deceit; incense of abomination is it unto me: new moon and sabbath, the calling of assembliesI cannot bear misdeed with festive gathering.


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Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are become a burden unto me; I am weary to bear them,


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And when ye spread forth your hands, I will withdraw my eyes from you; yea, when ye make ever so many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.


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Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil;


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Learn to do well; seek for justice, relieve the oppressed, do justice to the fatherless, plead for the widow.


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Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins should be as scarlet, they shall become white as the snow; though they should be red like crimson, they shall become like wool.


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But if ye refuse and rebel, by the sword shall ye be devoured; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.


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How is she become a harlot, the faithful town! she, that was full of justice; righteousness lodged therein; but now murderers.


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Thy princes are rebels, and companions of thieves; every one loveth brides, and runneth after rewards; to the fatherless they will not do justice, and the cause of the widow doth not come unto them.


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Therefore saith the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will take satisfaction on my adversaries, and be avenged on my enemies.


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And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning; after that shalt thou be called, The city of righteousness, the town that is faithful.


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But destruction shall come over transgressors and sinners together, and those that forsake the Lord shall perish.


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For people shall be ashamed because of the terebinths which ye had desired, and ye shall be put to the blush because of the gardens that ye had chosen.


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And the mighty oppressor shall become as tow, and his workman as a spark; and they shall both burn together, with none to quench.


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And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lords house shall be firmly established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and unto it shall flow all the nations.


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And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us of his ways, and we may walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.


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And he will judge among the nations, and decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruningknives: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall not learn any more war.


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For thou hast abandoned thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of <i>witchcraft</i> more than the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and with the children of strangers they unite themselves.


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And full became their land of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; and full became their land of horses, and there is no end to their chariots;


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And full became their land of idols; to the work of their own hands they bow themselves, to what their own fingers have made.


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Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, because of the dread of the Lord, and because of the glory of his majesty.


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The looks of human pride shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bent down: and exalted shall be the Lord alone on that day.


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For there is a day <i>of judgment</i> unto the Lord of hosts over every proud and lofty one; and over every exalted one, that he be brought low;


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And the pride of man shall be bent down, and the haughtiness of men shall be humbled: and exalted shall be the Lord alone on that day.


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And men shall enter into the caverns of rocks, and into the rifts of the earth, because of the dread of the Lord, and because of the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to terrify the earth.


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On that day shall a man cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which have been made for him to worship, to the moles and to the bats;


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To enter into the clefts of the rocks, and into the hollows of the cliffs, because of the dread of the Lord, and because of the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to terrify the earth.


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Withdraw yourselves <i>then</i> from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; because, for what is he to be esteemed?


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For, behold, the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, doth remove from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, every stay of bread, and every stay of water.


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The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the skilful artificer, and the eloquent orator.


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And so shall the people press man against man, and one against the other: the boy shall demean himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable.


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When a man will seize hold on his brother in the house of his father, <i>saying,</i> Thou hast a garment, thou shalt be our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:


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He will swear on that day, saying, I will not be a chief; and in my house is neither bread nor clothing; you shall not appoint me a ruler of the people.


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For Jerusalem is sunk to decay, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to incense the eyes of his glory.


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The boldness of their face testifieth against them; and like Sodom they tell openly their sin, they conceal it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have prepared evil unto themselves.


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My people! their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O my people! thy leaders cause thee to err, and the direction of thy paths they corrupt.


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The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and their princes; but yeye have eaten up the vineyard; the plunder of the poor is in your houses.


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What mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind down the faces of the poor? saith the Lord the Eternal of hosts.


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And the Lord said, Forasmuch as the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with stretched forth necks and casting about their eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:


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Therefore will the Lord smite with leprosy the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay open their nakedness.


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On that day will the Lord take away the beauty of their tinkling shoebuckles, and the hairnets, and the crescentshaped ornaments,


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And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be corruption; and instead of a girdle a rope; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a wide garment a girding of sackcloth, a mark of burning instead of beauty.


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And seven women shall take hold of one man on that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, take but away our reproach.


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On that day shall the sprout of the Lord be for ornament and for honor, and the fruit of the land for excellence and for glory for the escaped of Israel.


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And it shall come to pass, that whoever is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written down unto life in Jerusalem:


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When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have scoured away the bloodguiltiness of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of destruction.


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And then will the Lord create upon every dwelling of mount Zion, and upon her places of assembly, a cloud and smoke by day, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a covering.


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And a tabernacle shall it be for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge, and for a covert from tempest and from rain.


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I will sing now for my beloved, the song of my dear one touching his vineyard. A vineyard had my beloved on a rich hilltop;


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And he fenced it in, and cleared it of stones, and planted it with the choicest vines, and built a tower in its midst, and also a winepress he hewed out therein: and he hoped that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth worthless fruit.


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And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard.


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What more was to be done to my vineyard, that I had not done in it? Why then did I hope that it should bring forth grapes, while it brought forth worthless fruit?


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And now I will let you know also what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten off; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trodden down;


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And I will lay it quite waste; it shall not be pruned, nor hoed around; and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; and the clouds will I command that they send down no rain upon it.


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For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he hoped for justice, but behold injustice; for equity, but behold iniquity.


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Woe unto those that cause house to join on house, bring field near to field, till there is no more room, so that ye may be left alone as the inhabitants in the midst of the land!


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In my ears <i>spoke</i> the Lord of hosts, Truly many houses shall become desolate, yea, great and beautiful ones without an inhabitant.


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Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield <i>but</i> one bath, and a chomerseed shall yield <i>but</i> an ephah.


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Woe unto those that rise up early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink; that continue until late in the twilight, till wine inflame them!


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And there are harp and psaltery, tambourine and flute, and wine at their drinkingfeasts; but the deeds of the Lord they regard not, and the works of his hands they behold not.


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Therefore are my people led into exile, for want of knowledge: and their honorable men suffer of famine, and their multitude are panting with thirst.


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Therefore hath the deep enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure: and there descend <i>Jerusalems</i> glory, and her multitude, and her noise, and whoever rejoiced therein.


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And bent down shall be the son of earth, and humbled shall be the man, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled;


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And the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be sanctified by <i>displaying his</i> righteousness.


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Then shall the sheep feed according to their wont, and the ruins of the fat ones shall sojourners eat.


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Woe unto those that draw iniquity with the cords of falsehood, and as with a wagonrope, sinfulness;


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That say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it: and let draw nigh and come the counsel of the Holy One of Israel, that we may know it!


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Woe unto those that say of the evil it is good, and of the good it is evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


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Therefore as the tongue of the fire devoureth the stubble, and dry hay sinketh before the flame: so shall their root be as rotten things, and their blossom shall fly up as the dust; because they have despised the law of the Lord of hosts, and the word of the Holy One of Israel they have rejected.


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For this cause is kindled the anger of the Lord against his people, and he stretcheth forth his hand against them, and he smiteth them; and the mountains tremble, and their carcasses lie like sweepings in the midst of the streets: with all this his anger is not turned away, but still is his hand stretched out.


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And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will call for one of them from the end of the earth; and, behold, with speed, swiftly, it cometh;


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There is none weary, nor stumbling among its men; it slumbereth not, it sleepeth not; not loosened is the girdle of its loins, not broken is the latchet of its shoes;


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Whose arrows are sharpened, and all whose bows are bent; its horses hoofs are hard like the flint, and its wheels like the whirlwind;


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It hath a roar like the lioness, it roareth like the young lions: yea, it growleth, and layeth hold of the prey, and carrieth it safely off, with none to deliver.


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And it will rage against them on that day like with the raging of the sea: and if one look unto the earth, behold, there is darkness, oppression, and the light is darkened through the darkness of its clouds.


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In the year of king Uzziyahus death I saw the Lord sitting upon a high and exalted throne, and his train filled the temple.


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Seraphim were standing around him, each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two did he fly.


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And one called unto the other, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.


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And the posts of the threshold shook at the voice of those that called aloud, and the house was filled with smoke.


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And I said, Woe is me! for I am lost; because a man of unclean lips am I, and in the midst of a people of unclean lips do I dwell; for the King, the Lord of hosts have my eyes seen.


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Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, and in his hand was a live coal, with the tongs had he taken it from off the altar:


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And he touched therewith upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thy iniquity is departed, and thy sin is forgiven.


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And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I: send me.


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And he said, Go, and say unto this people, Hear indeed, but understand not; and see indeed, but know not.


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Obdurate will remain the heart of this people, and their ears will be heavy, and their eyes will be shut: so that they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor their hearts be understanding, so that they be converted, and healing be granted them.


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And I said, How long, O Lord? And he said, Until that cities be left waste without an inhabitant, and houses without man, and the soil be made desolate as a wilderness,


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And the Lord will have removed far away the men, and the depopulation be great in the midst of the land.


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And should a tenth part thereof yet remain, it will again be swept away: <i>yet</i> like the terebinth and the oak, which, when they cast their leaves, retain their stems, so remaineth the holy seed, its stem.


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And it came to pass in the days of Achaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziyahu, the king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekach the son of Remalyahu, the king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it; but were not able to make an attack upon it.


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And it was told unto the house of David, saying, Syria is encamped with Ephraim; and his heart trembled, with the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are shaken before the wind.


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And the Lord said unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Achaz, thou with Shearyashub thy son, to the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the highway of the washers field;


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And thou shalt say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, and let thy heart not become faint because of these two stumps of smoking firebrands, before the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remalyahu.


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Forasmuch as Syria, <i>with</i> Ephraim and the son of Remalyahu, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,


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Let us go up against Judah, and besiege it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up as king in the midst of it the son of Tabeal:


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For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin: and within sixty and five years shall Ephraim be broken, to be no more a people.


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And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remalyahus son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not have permanence.


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And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that ye will weary also my God?


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Therefore will the Lord himself give you a sign: behold, this young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and she shall call his name Immanuel, <i>God with us</i>.


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For before yet the child shall know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good, shall be forsaken the land, of the kings of which thou feelest dread.


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The Lord will bring over thee, and over thy people, and over thy fathers house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim withdrew from Judah,the king of Assyria.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will call for the fly that is in the uttermost end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.


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And they shall come, and shall encamp, all of them, in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and upon all thornhedges, and upon all bushes.


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On the same day will the Lord shave with the razor that is hired, from among those on the other side of the river, with the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and also the beard shall it entirely remove.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that a man shall nourish <i>but</i> one young cow, and two sheep;


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And it shall happen, that for the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat cream; for cream and honey shall eat every one that is left in the midst of the land.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that every place, where there are <i>now</i> a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels, shall be,yea, this shall be <i>given up</i> to briers and thorns.


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With arrows and with bows shall men enter thither; because all the land shall become <i>covered with</i> briers and thorns.


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And all mountains that are worked with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: and they shall serve for the pasture of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.


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And the Lord said unto me, Take thyself a large table, and write on it with distinct letters, Lemahershalalchashbas.


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And I was to summon for myself trustworthy witnesses, Uriyah the priest, and Zecharyahu the son of Yeberechyahu.


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And I came near unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Mahershalalchashbas.


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For before yet the boy shall know to call, My father, and my mother, the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.


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Forasmuch as this people despiseth the waters of Shiloach that flow softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remalyahus son:


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Yea therefore behold, the Lord bringeth up over them the strong and many waters of the river,the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and step over all his banks;


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And he shall penetrate into Judah, overflow and flood over, even to the neck shall he reach; and his outstretched wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.


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Associate yourselves, O ye people, yet shall ye be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of the far portions of the earth: gird yourselves, yet shall ye be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, yet shall ye be broken in pieces.


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Take counsel together, yet shall it come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand firm; for with us is God.


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For thus said the Lord to me with the strength of prophecy, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,


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Call ye not a conspiracy all that this people may call a conspiracy, and what it feareth shall ye not fear, and be not terrified <i>thereat</i>.


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And he will be for a sanctuary; but also for a stone of stumbling and for a rock to fall over unto both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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And I will wait for the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for him.


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Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for tokens in Israel, from the Lord of hosts who dwelleth on mount Zion.


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And when they shall say unto you, "Inquire of those that have familiar spirits, and of the wizards, that whisper, and that mutter:" should not a people inquire of their God? <i>should we then</i> in behalf of the living <i>inquire</i> of the dead?


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<i>Hold</i> to the law and to the testimony: if they are not to speak according to this word, in which there is no light.


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And the <i>people</i> shall pass through <i>the land</i>, hard oppressed and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they will become enraged, and curse their king and their god, and turn toward on high <i>for aid</i>.


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And they will look unto the earth; and behold there are trouble and darkness, dimness of oppression, and they shall be scattered into obscurity.


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<n>(8:23)</n> For no fatigue <i>befalleth</i> him that oppresseth it; in the first time he made light of the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and at the last he will deal hard, with the way by the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, <i>up to</i> the Galilee of the nations.


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<n>(9:1)</n> The people that walk in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of deatha light shineth brightly over them.


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<n>(9:2)</n> Thou hast multiplied the nation, made great their joy: they rejoice before thee as with the joy in harvest, as men are glad when they divide the spoil.


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<n>(9:3)</n> For the yoke of their burden, and the staff on their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor, hast thou broken, as on the day of Midian.


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<n>(9:4)</n> For all the weapons of the fighter in the battles tumult, and the garment rolled in blood, shall be burnt, become food for fire.


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<n>(9:5)</n> For a child is born unto us, a son hath been given unto us, and the government is placed on his shoulders; and his name is called, Wonderful, counsellor of the mighty God, of the everlasting Father, the prince of peace,


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<n>(9:6)</n> For <i>promoting</i> the increase of the government, and for peace without end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it and to support it through justice and righteousness, from henceforth and unto eternity: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.


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<n>(9:8)</n> And experience it shall all the people together, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria; because they say, in the pride and haughtiness of heart,


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<n>(9:9)</n> "The bricks are fallen down, but with hewn stones will we rebuild: the sycamores are cut down, but with cedars will we replace them."


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<n>(9:10)</n> Therefore will the Lord strengthen the adversaries of Rezin above him, and will stir up his enemies;


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<n>(9:11)</n> The Syrians in front, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with a full mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand still remaineth stretched out.


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<n>(9:12)</n> And the people return not unto him that smiteth them, and the Lord of hosts do they not seek.


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<n>(9:14)</n> The ancient and honorable is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies is the tail.


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<n>(9:15)</n> And the guides of this people are those that guide to error; and those that are led of them are misled.


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<n>(9:16)</n> Therefore will the Lord have no joy in their young men, and on their fatherless and widows will he have no mercy; for every one is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh scandalous words. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand still remaineth stretched out.


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<n>(9:17)</n> For wickedness burneth like the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns: and it shall kindle <i>a flame</i> in the thickets of the forest, and they shall be shrouded by the wreaths of smoke.


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<n>(9:18)</n> Through the fury of the Lord of hosts is the land scorched, and the people have become as food for the fire; no man will spare his brother.


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<n>(9:19)</n> And he snatcheth on the right hand, and is <i>yet</i> hungry; and he eateth on the left hand, and are not <i>yet</i> satisfied; they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:


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<n>(9:20)</n> Menasseh <i>against</i> Ephraim: and Ephraim <i>against</i> Menasseh; and they together against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand still remaineth stretched out.


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Woe unto those that decree decrees of unrighteousness, and the writers who write down wrongful things;


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To turn aside from judgment the needy, and to rob the just due of the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and <i>that</i> they may plunder the fatherless!


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And what will ye do on the day of the visitation, and at the desolation which will come from afar? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?


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Without me they shall kneel down under the prisoners, and under the slain shall they fall. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand still remaineth stretched out.


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Against a hypocritical nation will I send him, and against the people of my fury will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to carry off the prey, and to render them trodden down like the mire of the streets.


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But he deemeth it not so, and his heart doth not think so; but to destroy is in his heart, and to cut off nations not a few.


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As my hand hath reached the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images exceeded in number those of Jerusalem and of Samaria:


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Wherefore shall it come to pass, that when the Lord hath completed all his work on mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the haughtiness of the king of Asshur, and the vainglory of his proud looks.


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For he hath said, "By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, for I have intelligence; and I have removed the boundaries of nations, and their laidup treasures have I plundered, and brought down low those that were powerfully seated.


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And my hand hath reached, as a birds nest, the wealth of the people: and as one gathereth up eggs that are forsaken, have I myself gathered up all the earth: and there was not one that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or chirped."


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Shall the axe boast itself over him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that swingeth it? as if the rod should swing about those that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up him who is no wood.


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Therefore will the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, send forth among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory shall be kindled a burning like the burning of a fire.


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And the light of Israel shall become a fire, and his Holy One a flame; and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers on one day.


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And the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body, will he destroy: and he shall be as <i>a tree</i> eaten to powder by the worms.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall not farther lean for support upon him that smiteth them; but they shall lean upon the Lord, the Holy one of Israel, in truth.


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For though thy people Israel should be as the sand of the sea, <i>yet</i> a remnant <i>only</i> of them shall return: destruction is decreed, it overfloweth with righteousness.


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For it is completed and decreed: the Lord, the Eternal of hosts will do it in the midst of all the land.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord the Eternal of hosts, Be not afraid, O my people that dwellest in Zion, of Asshur, who will smite thee with the rod, and lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.


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For yet but a very little while more, and the indignation shall cease, and my anger shall be for their destruction.


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And the Lord shall lift up a scourge over him like <i>at</i> the smiting of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his staff was lifted over the sea, so will he carry him off after the manner of Egypt.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be removed from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be broken because of the fatness.


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They go through the pass; they take up their lodging at Geba; Ramah trembleth; Gibah of Saul fleeth.


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As yet today will he remain at Nob: then will he swing his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.


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Behold, the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, will lop off the fruitful bough with terrific might: and those of towering growth shall be hewn down, and the high shall be laid low.


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And he will cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and the Lebanon shall fall by <i>means of</i> a mighty one.


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And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and a sprout shall spring out of his roots.


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And there shall rest upon him the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;


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And he shall be animated by the fear of the Lord; and not after the sight of his eyes shall he judge, and not after the hearing of his ears shall he decide;


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But he shall judge with righteousness the poor, and decide with equity for the suffering ones of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.


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And the wolf shall dwell with the sheep, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling <i>shall be</i> together, and a little boy shall lead them.


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And the cow and the shebear shall feed, together shall their young ones lie down: and the lion shall like the ox eat straw.


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And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and on the basilisks den shall the weaned child stretch out his hand.


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They shall not do hurt nor destroy on all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.


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And it shall happen on that day, that <i>he of</i> the root of Jesse, who shall stand as an ensign of the people, to him shall nations <i>come to</i> inquire: and his restingplace shall be glorious.


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And it shall happen on that day, that the Lord will put forth his hand again the second time to acquire the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Asshur and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Chamath, and from the islands of the sea.


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And he will lift up an ensign unto the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel; and the dispersed of Judah will he collect together from the four corners of the earth.


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And then shall depart the envy of Ephraim, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not assail Ephraim.


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But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; together shall they spoil the children of the east: upon Edom and Moab shall they lay their hands; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.


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And the Lord will destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and swing his hand over the river with his mighty wind, and will smite it into seven streams, and render it passable with shoes.


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And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall remain from Asshur, like as it was to Israel on the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.


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And thou shalt say on that day, "I will thank thee, O Lord, that thou wast angry with me: thy anger <i>now</i> is turned away, and thou comfortest me.


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Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust him; for my strength and song is Yah the Eternal: and he is become my salvation."


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And ye shall say on that day, "Give thanks unto the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the people, keep it in remembrance that exalted is his name.


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Call aloud and shout, inhabitress of Zion; for great is in the midst of thee the Holy One of Israel.


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Upon a high mountain lift ye up a banner, raise high your voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may enter into the gates of the princes.


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I have charged my prepared ones, I have also called my heroes for my anger, those that rejoice in my highness.


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There is a noise of tumult on the mountains, like that of a numerous people; a noise of shouting of kingdoms of nations assembled; the Lord of hosts mustereth a host of battle.


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They are coming from a faroff country, from the end of the heavens, <i>here is</i> the Lord, with the weapons of his indignation, to destroy all the land.


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And they shall be affrighted, pangs and pains shall seize on them; they shall have throes as a woman that travaileth; one at the other shall they look amazed; red like flames shall their faces glow.


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Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, direful, <i>laden</i> with wrath and the fierceness of anger, to render the earth desolate: and its sinners will he destroy out of it.


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For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give forth their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not shed abroad her light.


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And I will visit on the world its evil, and on the wicked their iniquity; and I will stop the arrogance of the presumptuous, and the haughtiness of the tyrants will I humble.


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Therefore will I shake the heavens, and the earth shall start quaking out of her place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and on the day of his fierce anger.


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And the people shall be as the chased roe, and as flocks which no one gathereth up; every man to his own people shall they turn, and every man into his own land shall they flee.


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Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.


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And their babes shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes: spoiled shall be their houses, and their wives ravished.


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Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes; who will not regard silver, and who will not delight in gold.


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And their bows will dash young men to pieces; and on the fruit of the womb will they have no mercy; on children their eye will not look with pity.


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And <i>thus</i> shall Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the proud ornament of the Chaldeans, become like the overthrow through God of Sodom and Gomorrah.


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It shall not be inhabited for ever, and it shall not be dwelt in from generation to generation; nor shall the Arabian pitch there his tent; and shepherds shall not let their flocks rest there.


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But there shall rest the wild beasts of the desert; and their houses shall be full of owls; and ostriches shall dwell there, and evil spirits shall dance there.


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And jackals shall howl in her palaces, and monsters in the temples of pleasure; and near to come is her time, and her days shall not be extended.


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For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will again make choice of Israel, and replace them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined unto them, and they shall attach themselves to the house of Jacob.


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And nations shall take them, and bring them to their own place; but the house of Israel shall obtain possession of them in the land of the Lord for menservants and for maidservants; and they shall take captive their captors, and they shall rule over their oppressors.


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And it shall come to pass on the day when the Lord will give thee rest from thy trouble, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,


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That thou wilt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath ceased the oppressor! ceased the exactress of gold!


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He who smote people in wrath, blows without intermission, he that ruled in anger nations, persecuting without restraint.


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Also, the firtrees rejoice at thee, the cedars of Lebanon, "Since thou wast laid low, no feller is come up against us."


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The nether world from below is in motion concerning thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the departed for thee, all the chief ones of the earth; it hath caused to rise up from their thrones all the kings of nations.


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They all will commence and say unto thee, "Thouthou also art become weak like us; similar unto us art thou become!"


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Into the nether world is brought down thy pride, the clatter of thy psalteries: beneath thee is spread the worm, and thy cover is the moth.


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How art thou fallen from heaven, O morningstar, son of the dawn! how art thou hewn down to the ground, crusher of nations!


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And thouthou hadst said in thy heart, "Into heaven will I ascend, above the stars of God will I exalt my throne; and I will sit also upon the mount of the assembly, in the farthest end of the north;


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They that see thee will gaze at thee, will regard thee well, <i>saying,</i> "Is this the man that caused the earth to tremble, that made kingdoms quake?


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That rendered the world as a wilderness, and pulled down its cities: never opened the prisonhouse of his prisoners?"


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But thouthou art cast out of thy grave like a discarded offshoot, as a garment of those that are slain, pierced by the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot.


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Thou shalt not be united with them in burial; because thy land hast thou destroyed, thy people hast thou slain: to eternity shall not be called the seed of evildoers.


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Prepare for his children the slaughter, for the iniquity of their fathers: that they may not rise, and possess the land, and fill the face of the world with enemies <i>of mankind</i>.


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And I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will cut off from Babylon name, and remnant, and son, and grandson, saith the Lord.


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I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.


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Sworn hath the Lord of hosts, saying, Surely as I have purposed, so doth it come to pass; and as I have resolved, so shall it occur:


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To break Asshur in my own land, and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot; then shall his yoke be removed from off them, and his burden from off their shoulders.


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This is the resolve that is resolved over all the earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.


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For the Lord of hosts hath resolved, and who shall frustrate it? and it is his hand which is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?


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Rejoice not, thou entire Palestine, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpents root shall come forth an adder, and its fruit shall be a flying dragon.


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And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall rest in safety: and I will kill with famine thy root, and men shall slay thy remnant.


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Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; thou art dissolved, O thou entire Palestine; for from the north a smoke is coming, and there is no one solitary among those that are bidden to come.


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And what will each one of the messengers of the nation answer? That the Lord hath founded Zion; and that therein shall find protection the poor of his people.


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The doom of Moab. Truly in a night is Ar of Moab plundered, it is laid waste; truly in a night is Kir of Moab plundered, it is laid waste.


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It goeth up to the <i>idol</i>house, and Dibon <i>goeth</i> up to the highplaces to weep, on Nebo and on Medeba shall Moab wail: on all its heads there is baldness, and every beard is hewn off.


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In its streets they are girded with sackcloth, on its roofs, and in its public places every one shall wail, groan with weeping.


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And loud crieth Cheshbon with Elaleh; as far as Yahaz is heard their voice: therefore the armed men of Moab shall howl; its soul is grieved for itself.


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My heart will cry for Moab, whose fugitives are as far as Zoar, <i>and</i> the third Eglarth; for the ascent of Luchithwith weeping is it ascended; for on the way to Choronayim they let resound the cry of defeat <i>in battle</i>.


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For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate; for dry is the grass, gone are the herbs, and green things are no more.


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Therefore the rest of their acquisitions and what they possess shall they carry away over the brook of the willows.


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For the cry hath encompassed the boundary of Moab; up to Eglayim <i>is heard</i> its wail, and at Beerelim <i>is heard</i> its wail.


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For the waters of Dimon are filled with blood; for I will bring over Dimon armed bands; over the escaped of Moab <i>cometh</i> a lion, and over the remnant of the land.


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Send ye the lambs of the ruler of the land from Sela, through the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.


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For it shall be, that, as a fugitive bird, as a chased nest, so shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of Arnon.


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Bring counsel, execute justice; render like the night thy shadow in the midst of the noonday; conceal the outcasts; betray not the fugitive.


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Let my outcasts sojourn with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the waster: till ceaseth the extortion, past be the wasting, and vanished be the oppressor out of the land.


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And there shall be founded through kindness a throne; and there shall sit upon it in truthfulness in the tent of David a judge who seeketh justice, and is quick in righteousness.


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We have heard of the pride of Moab; <i>that</i> he is very proud: of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, his groundless lies.


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Therefore shall Moab wail for Moab, every one shall wail; for the strong walls of Kircharesseth shall ye lament, deeply stricken.


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For the fields of Cheshbon are withered, the vine of Sibmah the lords of nations have beaten down its branches, they did reach as far as Yazer, into the wilderness did they wander; its tendrils were stretched forth, they passed over the sea.


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Therefore will I weep, when weeping for Yazer, for the vine of Sibmah: I will moisten thee richly with my tears, O Cheshbon, and Elaleh; for over <i>the gathering of</i> thy summer fruits and over thy harvest the battlecry is fallen.


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And <i>thus</i> are taken away joy and gladness out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards shall be no singing, shall be no joyful shout: in the presses shall the treader not tread out wine; I have stopped the harvestcall.


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And it shall come to pass, that it shall be seen that Moab is weary on the highplaces; and he will come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not accomplish <i>aught</i>.


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But now hath the Lord spoken, saying, Within three years, as the years of a hired laborer, shall the glory of Moab be rendered mean with all this <i>his</i> great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and inconsiderable.


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The doom of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is deprived of being a city, and it shall become decaying ruins.


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Forsaken are the cities of Aroer: they shall be <i>given up</i> to flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.


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And there shall cease the fortress from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: like the glory of the children of Israel shall they be, saith the Lord of hosts.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the glory of Jacob shall vanish, and the fatness of his flesh shall become lean.


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And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standingcorn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.


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And there shall be left on it gleaningfruit, as one shaketh an olivetree, two or three berries on the top of the uppermost bough, four or five on the outmost branches of a fruitful tree, saith the Lord the God of Israel.


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On that day shall a man turn his regard up to his Maker, and his eyes shall look toward the Holy One of Israel.


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And he shall not turn his regard to the altars, the work of his hands; and he shall not look at what his fingers have made, both the groves and the sunimages.


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On that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken ruin in a forest, and on a mountainpeak, which they left because of the children of Israel: and the land shall be desolate.


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Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and the rock of thy strength thou hast not remembered; therefore wouldst thou plant luxuriant plantings, and wouldst set out the shoots of the stranger therein.


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<i>Already</i> on the day that thou plantedst thou causedst to grow, and in the morning thou madest thy seed to blossom; but now fleeth the harvest on the day of disease and of incurable pain.


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Woe to the raging of many people, who rage like the raging of the seas; and to the noise of nations, that make a noise like the roar of mighty waters!


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The nations will make a noise like the roaring of many waters; but He will rebuke it, and it shall flee afar off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and as thistledown before the tempest.


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At eveningtide, behold, there is trouble; before yet it is morning it is no more. This is the portion of our spoilers, and the lot of those that plunder us.


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That sendeth on the sea ambassadors, and in vessels of bulrushes messengers over the face of the waters. Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation pulled and torn, to a people terrible from their beginning and onward; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!


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All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, when the ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the cornet is blown, hear ye.


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For so hath said the Lord unto me, I will take my rest, and I will look down on my dwellingplace like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.


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For before the harvest, when the blossom is past, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, will he both cut off the tendrils with pruningknives, and the sprigs will he remove and cut down.


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They shall be left together unto the birds of prey of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the birds of prey shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.


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At that time shall be brought as a present unto the Lord of hosts a people pulled and torn, and a people terrible from their beginning and onward; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.


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The doom of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and is coming to Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved because of his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in its inward parts.


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And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his fellow; city against city, kingdom against kingdom.


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And the spirit of Egypt shall be emptied out in its inward parts, and its counsel will I frustrate; and they will inquire of the idols, and of the charmers, and of those that have familiar spirits, and of the wizards.


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And I will surrender the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a rigorous king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Eternal of hosts.


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And the rivers shall become foul; and shallow and dried up shall become the deep streams: reeds and flags shall wither.


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The wellrooted plants by the stream, by the mouth of the stream, and every thing sown by the stream, shall dry up, be scattered <i>by the wind,</i> and be no more.


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The fishermen also shall lament, and all they that cast an angle into the stream shall mourn; and they that spread nets upon the face of the waters shall languish.


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Surely fools are the princes of Zoan, the wise of the counsellors of Pharaoh <i>impart</i> silly counsel: how can ye say unto Pharaoh, I am a son of the wise, a son of the ancient kings?


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Where are they, these, thy wise men? that they may tell thee now, that they know what the Lord of hosts hath resolved on over Egypt.


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The princes of Zoan are become fools, deceived are the princes of Noph; and Egypt is led astray by the chiefs of its tribes.


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The Lord hath poured out in the midst thereof a spirit of perverseness: and they have led Egypt astray in all its work, as a drunkard reeleth astray in his vomit.


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And there shall not be for Egypt <i>successful</i> work, which the head or tail, palmbranch or rush, may do.


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On that day shall Egypt be like the women: and it shall tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he waveth over it.


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And the land of Judah shall become unto Egypt a terror, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be in dread, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath resolved against it.


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On that day shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing by the Lord of hosts; "The city of destruction" shall one be called.


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On that day shall there be all altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border to the Lord.


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And it shall be for a sign and for a testimony unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he will send them a helper, and a chief, and he shall deliver them.


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And the Lord will be made known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord on that day, and will do service <i>with</i> sacrifice and oblation; yea, they will make vows unto the Lord and perform <i>them</i>.


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And the Lord will thus strike Egypt, striking and healing it: and they will return unto the Lord, and he will be entreated of them, and heal them.


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On that day there shall be a highway out of Egypt to Asshur, and Asshur shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Asshur, and the Egyptians shall serve with Asshur <i>the Lord</i>.


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On that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Asshur, a blessing in the midst of the earth.


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Whom the Lord of hosts will have blessed, saying, Blessed be my people Egypt, and Asshur the work of my hands, and my heritage Israel.


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In the year that Tharthan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and fought against Ashdod, and captured it;


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At the same time spoke the Lord by means of Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loosen the sackcloth from off thy loins, and thy shoe shalt thou pull off from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.


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And the Lord said, Just as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token for Egypt and for Cush:


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So shall the king of Assyria lead away the prisoners of Egypt, and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with uncovered buttocks, to the disgrace of Egypt.


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And the inhabitant of this isle shall say on that day, Behold, such is our trust, whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we then escape?


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The doom of the desert by the sea. As tempests in the south blow with fury; so doth it come from the desert, from a terrible land.


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A hard vision hath been told unto me; the traitor dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. "Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media;" all sighing have I caused to cease.


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Therefore are my loins filled with pain; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I am too much cramped to hear; I am too much dismayed to see.


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My heart wandereth astray, dread affrighteth me: the evening of my pleasure hath he turned unto me into terror.


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And he will see chariots, horsemen in couples, riders on asses, riders on camels; and he shall listen diligently with much heed:


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And he calleth <i>like</i> a lion, Upon the watchtower, O Lord, do I stand continually in the daytime, and on my ward am I set all the nights.


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And, behold, here cometh a chariot with men, horsemen in couples, and he commenceth and saith, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods hath he shivered unto the ground.


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O my downtrodden <i>people,</i> and the son of my threshingfloor: that which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I told unto you.


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The doom of Dumah. Unto me one calleth out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?


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The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will desire, desire ye; return, come again.


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Toward him that is thirsty they bring water; the inhabitants of the land of Thema meet with suitable bread the fugitive.


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Because from the swords are they fled, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the pressure of war.


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For thus hath said the Lord unto me, Within yet one year, like the years of a hired laborer, shall all the glory of Kedar be at an end:


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And the residue of the number of bows of the mighty men of the children of Kedar shall be small; for the Lord the God of Israel hath spoken it.


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O noiseful, tumultuous city, joyous town? thy slain ones are not slain with the sword, and not those that die in battle.


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All thy rulers are fled together, they are made prisoners by the bowmen: all that are found in thee are made prisoners together, who have run away from afar.


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Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly; be not urgent to comfort me, because of the wasting of the daughter of my people.


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For a day of confusion, and of treading down, and of perplexity hath the Lord Eternal of hosts in the valley of vision; walls are broken, and crying is heard against the mountain.


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And Elam beareth the quiver, <i>cometh</i> with men in chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovereth the shield.


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And it is so, that thy choicest valleys are full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array against the gate.


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And he laid open the covering of Judah; and thou didst look on that day toward the armor of the house of the forest.


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And the breaches of the city of David have ye seen, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.


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And the houses of Jerusalem have ye numbered, and ye have pulled down the houses to fortify the wall.


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And a tank have ye made between the two walls for the water of the old pool; but ye have not looked at the Maker thereof, him that fashioned it in distant times have ye not regarded.


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And the Lord Eternal of hosts called on that day for weeping, and for mourning, and for baldness, and for girding with sackcloth.


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And behold <i>there are</i> gladness and joy, slaying of oxen, and killing of sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we must die."


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And it was revealed in my ears by the Lord of hosts: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven unto you until ye die, said the Lord the Eternal of hosts.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, who is <i>superintendent</i> over the house;


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What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewn out for thyself here a sepulchre, <i>the man</i> that hath hewn out on high his sepulchre, that holloweth out in the rock a habitation for himself?


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He will roll thee up as a bundle, and <i>toss thee</i> like a ball into a country of ample space: there shalt thou die, and there shall <i>remain</i> the chariots of thy glory, thou disgrace of the house of thy lord.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will call my servant, for Elyakim the son of Chilkiyahu.


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And I will clothe him with thy robe, and thy girdle will I fasten around him, and thy government will I place into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.


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And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; so that he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.


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And I will fasten him as a tentnail in a sure place; and he shall be for a chair of honor to his fathers house.


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And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his fathers house, the shoots and offshoots, all the small vessels, from the vessels of basins, even to all the vessels of flagons.


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On that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall be removed the nail that is fastened in the sure place, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that is upon it shall be cut off; for the Lord hath spoken it.


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The doom of Tyre. Wail, ye ships of Tharshish; for it is laid waste, without house, without entrance: from the land of Kittim hath it been revealed to them.


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Be silent, ye inhabitants of the coastland: the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea <i>formerly</i> filled thee.


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And on mighty waters <i>came</i> the seed of Shichor, the harvest of the stream, as her revenue; and she became the mart of nations.


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Be ashamed, O Zion; for spoken hath the sea, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I travailed not, nor brought forth children, neither did I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.


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Is this your fate, ye of the joyous <i>city</i>? she whose antiquity is of ancient daysher own feet shall carry her, afar off to sojourn.


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Who hath resolved this against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?


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The Lord hath resolved it, to dishonor the pride of all ornament, to make of light esteem all the honorable of the earth.


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He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken kingdoms; the Lord hath given a command against Canaan, to subvert its strongholds.


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And he said, Thou shalt no longer rejoice any more, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to the Kittim; also there shalt thou have no rest.


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Behold the land of the Chaldeansthis people which was not, Asshur founded it for the dwellers in the wildernessthey have set up their watchtowers, have overthrown its palaces, have rendered it a heap of ruins.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, like the days of one king: at the end of seventy years shall it happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot.


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"Take the harp, go round about the city, thou forgotten harlot; make sweet music, sing many songs, in order that thou mayest be remembered."


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And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall have commerce with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.


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And her gain and her hire shall be holy to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; but for those that dwell before the Lord shall her gain be, to eat to fulness, and for magnificent clothing.


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Behold, the Lord maketh empty the land, and layeth it waste, marreth its surface, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants.


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And it shall be with the people as with the priest; with the servant as with his master; with the bondwoman as with her mistress; with the buyer as with the seller; with the lender as with the borrower; with the debtor as with his creditor.


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Empty, emptied out shall be the land, and spoiled, utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.


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The land mourneth, withereth away, the world languishes, withereth away, the high ones of the people of the land do languish.


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For the land was defiled under its inhabitants; because they had transgressed the laws, neglected the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.


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Therefore hath the curse devoured the land, and they that dwell therein suffer for their guilt; therefore are the inhabitants of the land dried up, and but few men are left.


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At rest is the mirth of the tambourines; ceased hath the tumult of the joyful; at rest is the mirth of the harp.


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Amidst singing shall they no <i>more</i> drink wine; bitter shall be the strong drink to those that drink it.


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A <i>painful</i> cry for wine is in the streets; darkened is all joy; banished is the mirth of the land.


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For thus shall it be in the midst of the land among the nations, as <i>at</i> the shaking of an olivetree, as <i>at</i> the gleaning of grains when the vintage is done.


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These shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; because of the majesty of the Lord, they shout aloud from the sea.


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Therefore in the valleys honor ye the Lord; in the isles of the sea, the name of the Lord the God of Israel.


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From the edge of the earth have we heard songs, "Glory to the righteous." But I said, "Evil is mine, evil is mine, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously."


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And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the call of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are opened, and there quaked the foundations of the earth.


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The earth reeleth to and fro like a drunkard, and vibrateth like a watchhut; and heavily lieth upon it its transgression; and it shall fall, and not rise again.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will visit punishment on the host of heaven in heaven, and on the kings of the earth upon the earth.


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And they shall be gathered in heaps, as prisoners, in the prison, and shall be shut up in the dungeon, and thus after many days shall they be punished.


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And the moon shall be put to the blush, and the sun be made ashamed; for the Lord of hosts will reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients in glory.


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O Lord, my God art thou; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, resolves of distant times <i>are become</i> faithful confirmation.


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For thou hast made of a city a stoneheap; of a fortified town a falling ruin; the palace of barbarians ceaseth out of the city, to eternity shall it not be rebuilt.


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For thou hast become a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy when he is distressed; a protection from the tempest, a shadow from the heat; for the <i>wrathful</i> breath of the tyrants is like the tempest against a wall.


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Like heat in a dry land, wilt thou subdue the tumult of the barbarians; as the heat <i>is lessened</i> by the shadow of the cloud, so will he subdue the song of the tyrants.


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And the Lord of hosts will make unto all the nations on this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.


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And he will destroy on this mountain the face of the covering which covereth all the people, and the vail that is spread over all the nations.


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He will destroy death to eternity: and the Lord Eternal will wipe away the tear from off all faces; and the shame of his people will he remove from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.


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And men will say on that day, Lo, this is our God, for whom we have waited that he would help us; this is the Lord for whom we have waited, we will be glad and we will rejoice in his salvation.


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For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down on his own place, even as straw is trodden down upon the dunghill.


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And he will spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as the swimmer spreadeth them forth to swim: and he will bring down his pride together with the joints of his hands.


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And the fortress of the stronghold of thy walls he bringeth down, layeth low, casteth it to the ground, even to the dust.


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On that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: A strong city have we; his aid will he grant <i>us</i> as walls and defence.


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For he bendeth down the dwellers of the height; the lofty fortresshe layeth it low; he layeth it low, along the ground; he casteth it down to the dust.


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Yea, on the path of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; for thy name, and for the remembrance of thee, was the longing of our soul.


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In my soul have I longed for thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek for thee; for when thy judgments are <i>sent</i> on the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.


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If favor be shown to the wicked, he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not regard the majesty of the Lord.


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Lord, thy hand was raised high, but they would not see: oh that they might see, and be ashamed, <i>thy</i> zeal for the people; yea, the fire which shall devour themthy enemies.


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O Lord our God, lords have had dominion over us beside thee; <i>but</i> of thee only would we make mention,of thy name.


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<i>They are</i> dead, they will not live <i>again</i>; <i>they are</i> departed, they will not rise <i>again</i>; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made to perish every memorial of them.


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Thou hast done more for the nation, O Lord, thou hast done more for the nation; thou hast glorified thyself: thou hast enlarged all the ends of the earth.


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Lord, in trouble have they sought thee, they poured out earnest prayers when thy chastening was upon them.


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Like as a pregnant woman, that is near giving birth, is in pain, <i>and</i> crieth out in her pangs: so have we been in thy presence, O Lord.


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We have been pregnant and in pain, <i>but it was</i> as though we brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the land; and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.


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Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing ye, that dwell in the dust; for a dew on herbs is thy dew, and the earth shall cast out the departed.


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Go, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy door behind thee: hide thyself but for a little moment, until the indignation be passed away.


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For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth on them: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more be a cover over her slain.


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On that day will the Lord punish with his heavy and great and strong sword leviathan the flying serpent, and leviathan the crooked servant; and he will slay the crocodile that is in the sea.


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"I the Lord do keep it; every moment will I water it: that no one shall hurt it, night and day will I keep it.


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Wrath have I not: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would pass through them, and I would burn them altogether.


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In the future shall Jacob yet take root; Israel shall bud and blossom, and shall fill the face of the world with fruit.


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Hath he smitten him, as he smote the one that smote him? or was he slain with the same slaughter as those of him that were slain?


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In measure, by driving him forth, thou strivest with him: he removed him with his violent storm on the day of the east wind.


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Therefore by this <i>only</i> shall the iniquity of Jacob be atoned; and this shall be all the fruit of the taking away of his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as limestones that are beaten in pieces, when there shall not arise again any groves and sunimages.


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For <i>by this</i> the fortified city shall be desolate, the habitation be forsaken, and left like a wilderness; there shall the calf feed, and there shall it lie down, and consume its branches.


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When its boughs are withered, they shall be broken off; women will come and set them on fire; for it is not a people of understanding; therefore he that made it will not have mercy on it, and he that formed it will show it no favor.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will beat off <i>the fruit</i> from the channel of the River up to the brook of Egypt; but ye shall be gathered up one by one, ye children of Israel.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, that the great cornet shall be blown, and then shall come those who are lost in the land of Asshur, and those who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and they shall prostrate themselves before the Lord on the holy mount at Jerusalem.


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Woe to the crown of pride, of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious ornament, which is on the eminence of the fat valley of those who are struck down by wine!


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Behold, <i>it cometh</i> mighty and strong from the Lord, as a tempest of hail, a storm of destruction; as a tempest of mighty overflowing waters, will he cast it down to the earth with force.


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And the fading flower of his glorious ornament, which is on the eminence of the fat valley, shall be as its early ripe fruit before the summer; which one, when he just seeth it, while it is scarcely in his hand, hastily devoureth.


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On that day will the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,


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And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to those that drive back the battle to the gate <i>of the enemy</i>.


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But these also are now stumbling through wine, and reeling through strong drink: priest and prophet are stumbling through strong drink, they are overpowered with wine, they reel through strong drink; they stumble in <i>divine</i> vision, they are unsteady in giving judgment.


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Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he give to understand doctrine? those that are weaned from the milk, those that are taken from the breasts.


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For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.


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When he said unto them, This is the rest, cause ye the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing; but they would not hear.


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Therefore shall be unto them the word of the Lord, precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; in order that they may go, and stumble backward, and be broken, and snared, and caught.


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Because ye have said, "We have entered into a covenant with death, and with the nether world have we made an agreement; the overflowing scourge, when it passeth by, shall not come at us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we sought a hidingplace."


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I have laid in Zion as a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a costly cornerstone, well founded: he that believeth will not make haste.


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And I will make of justice a measuring line, and of righteousness a plummet: and the hail shall sweep off the refuge of lies, and the hidingplace against the waters shall these flood away.


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And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with the nether world shall not have permanence; the overflowing scourge, when it passeth bythen shall ye be trodden down by it.


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As often as it passeth by shall it take you; for morning by morning shall it pass by, by day and by night; and the mere understanding of the report shall cause terror.


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For the bed shall be too short for <i>a man</i> to stretch himself out <i>on it</i>: and the covering too narrow to wrap himself in.


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For as on mount Perazim will the Lord rise up, as in the valley of Gibon will he be wroth, that he may do his work, his singular work; and to accomplish his labor, his strange labor.


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And now be ye no longer scornful, lest your bonds be made strong; for as completed and fully decreed have I heard it from the Lord Eternal of hosts over all the earth.


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Doth the ploughman plough all the time to sow? doth he open and harrow his ground <i>continually</i>?


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Is it not so? that, when he hath made level its surface he scattereth fennel, and streweth about cumin, and planteth the wheat in rows, and barley on its assigned <i>place</i>, and millet on its proper spot?


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Truly not with a threshing instrument is fennel threshed, and a wagonwheel is not turned about upon cumin; but fennel is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a stick.


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Breadcorn is crushed; but not for ever doth <i>man</i> keep threshing it; and though he drive over it the wheel of his wagon and his horses, he will not <i>thereby</i> crush it.


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This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts; wonderful is he in counsel, and excellent in <i>his</i> wise deeds.


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Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the town where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let the festivals come round in order;


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Yet will I distress Ariel, and there shall be groaning and wailing: and it shall be unto me like Ariel.


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And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with hostile posts, and I will raise up entrenchments against thee.


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And brought down low, shalt thou speak <i>as though</i> out of the earth, and out of the dust shall come forth thy speech; and like one of a familiar spirit out of the earth shall be thy voice, and out of the dust shalt thou whisper forth thy speech.


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And like the small dust shall be the multitude of thy barbarian enemies, and like the passing chaff the multitude of tyrants; and <i>this</i> shall be at unawares, suddenly.


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From the Lord of hosts shall the visitation come with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the devouring flame of fire.


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And as a dream of a nightvision shall be the multitude of all the nations that go to war against Ariel, even all that fight against her and raise towers against her, and that distress her.


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And it shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, that, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, that, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul yet longeth: so shall it be with the multitude of all the nations, that go to war against mount Zion.


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Stay but still and wonder; turn your eyes away, and be blinded; they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.


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For the Lord hath poured out over you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: <i>over</i> the prophets, and your chiefs, the seers, hath he cast a vail.


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And the vision of every thing is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that can read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:


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And the book is then delivered to one that cannot read, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot read.


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And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is but the acquired precept of men;


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Therefore, behold, I will do yet farther a marvelous work with this people, doing wonder on wonder; so that the wisdom of their wise men shall be lost, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.


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Woe unto those that seek to hide deeply their counsel from the Lord, so that their works may be in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?


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Oh your perverseness! shall the potter be esteemed as the clay? that the work shall say of its maker, He hath not made me? or shall the thing framed say of its framer, He had no understanding?


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Lo! but yet a very little while more, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest!


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And on that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and out of obscurity, and out of darkness, shall the eyes of the blind see.


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And the sufferers shall have abundant joy in the Lord, and the needy among men shall be glad in the Holy One of Israel.


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For the tyrant is no more, and consumed is the scorner, and cut off are all that watch for injustice;


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That cause mankind to sin by <i>their</i> word; and lay a snare for him that reproveth <i>them</i> in the gate; and pervert through fraud the cause of the just.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord unto the house of Jacob, he who hath redeemed Abraham, Not now shall Jacob be ashamed, and not now shall his face be made pale.


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For when he seeth his children, the work of my hands in the midst of him, how they sanctify my name: then will they sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and the God of Israel will they reverence.


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They also that were erring in spirit shall acquire understanding, and they that murmured shall obtain instruction.


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Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not from me; and that set themselves a ruler, but not by my spirit, in order that they may add sin to sin:


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That travel to go down into Egypt, and have not asked my will; to strengthen themselves through the strength of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!


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Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh become your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your disgrace.


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They all are ashamed because of a people that cannot profit them, neither be a help nor give profit; but <i>bringeth</i> shame, and also a reproach.


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The doom of the beasts of the south: Through the land of trouble and anguish, whence come the lioness and the lion, the viper and flying dragons, they will carry upon the shoulders of young asses their riches, and upon the humps of camels their treasures, to a people that cannot profit.


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And the Egyptians will help in vain, and to no purpose; therefore have I called this, Boasters they are in sitting still.


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Now go, write it before them on a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the latest time to come, for ever, and to eternity:


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Who have said to the seers, Ye shall not see; and to the prophets, Reveal not unto us true things, speak unto us smooth things, reveal deceits;


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Depart you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, remove from before us the Holy One of Israel.


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Therefore thus hath said the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and lean thereon for aid:


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Therefore shall this iniquity be to you as a threatening breach, swelling out in a hightowering wall, the fall of which will come unawares, suddenly.


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And he will break it, as one breaketh a potters vessel, dashing it in pieces without sparing it; so that there cannot be found among its fragments a sherd to rake fire from a hearth and to draw water from a pit.


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For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, the Holy One of Israel, In repose and rest shall ye be helped; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not.


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And ye said, "No; for upon horses will we flee;" therefore shall ye flee: and, "Upon swift beasts will we ride;" therefore shall your pursuers be swift.


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One thousand <i>shall flee</i> at the threatening of one; at the threatening of five shall ye <i>all</i> flee: till ye be left as a pole upon a mountaintop, and as an ensign on a hill.


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And therefore will the Lord wait, to be gracious unto you, and therefore will he exalt himself, to have mercy upon you; for a God of justice is the Lord: happy are all those that wait for him.


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For O people of Zion that shall dwell at Jerusalem! thou shalt indeed not weep: he will be surely gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; so soon as he heareth it, he answereth thee.


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And the Lord will give you bread <i>in</i> adversity, and water <i>in</i> oppression; and thy teachers shall not have to hide themselves in a corner any more, but thy eyes shall see thy teachers:


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And thy ears shall hear the word behind thee, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it," when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.


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And ye will regard as unclean the covering of thy graven idols of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou wilt cast them away as a filthy thing; "Get thee hence," wilt thou say unto them.


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Then will he give the rain for thy seed, that thou mayest sow in the ground; and breadthe produce of the groundthis shall be fat and nutritious: thy cattle shall feed on that day in extensive pastures.


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The oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat salted provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.


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And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every prominent hill, rivulets, streams of waters on the day of the great slaughter, when towers fall.


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And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days, on the day that the Lord bindeth up the broken <i>limbs</i> of his people, and healeth the bruise of their wound.


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Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from afar, burning is his anger, and heavy the smoke; his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is like a devouring fire;


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And his breath, like an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to toss the nations with the van of falsehood: and <i>to place</i> a deceiving bridle on the jaws of the people.


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<i>Then</i> shall ye have a song, as in the night when a festival is ushered in, and joy of heart, as when one goeth with the flute to come unto the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.


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And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard, and will show the stretching down of his arm, in the indignation of <i>his</i> anger, and in the flame of a devouring fire, in flood, and tempest, and stones of hail.


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And at every passage of the appointed staff which the Lord will let fall on him, there shall be <i>music</i> on tambourine and harp; and in the tumult of battles will he fight with them.


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For already of old is Topheth made ready; also this is prepared for the kingdeep and wide; its pile hath fire and wood in plenty, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, will kindle it into a flame.


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Woe to those that go down to Egypt for help; and depend for support on horses, and trust on chariots, because they are many; and on horsemen, because they are very strong; but who turn not unto the Holy One of Israel, and seek not the Lord!


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Yet he also is wise, and bringeth evil, and taketh not back his words; and riseth up against the house of evildoers, and against the help of those that work injustice.


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But the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit; and the Lord will stretch out his hand, and there shall stumble the helper, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall perish together.


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For thus hath said the Lord unto me, Just as the lion or the young lion growleth over his prey, against whom is called forth the company of shepherds, of whose voice he is not afraid, and is not depressed because of their multitude: thus will the Lord come down, to fight on mount Zion and on its hill.


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As fluttering birds, so will the Lord of hosts shield Jerusalem; shielding and delivering; sparing and preserving.


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For on that day shall every man despise his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.


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Then shall Asshur fall by the sword of one who is not a man; and the sword of one who is not a son of earth shall devour him; and he shall flee him from the sword, and his young men shall become tributary.


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And his stronghold shall pass away for fear, and his princes shall be terrified because of the ensign, saith the Lord, who hath a fire in Zion, and a furnace in Jerusalem.


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And every one shall be as a hidingplace from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivulets of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a large rock in a languishing land.


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And the eyes of those that see shall not be blinded again, and the ears of those that hear shall hearken.


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The heart also of the rash shall be attentive in order to know, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.


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The worthless person shall be no more called liberal, and the avaricious man shall not be said to be bountiful.


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For the worthless person ever speaketh villany, and his heart will work injustice, to practise hypocrisy, and to speak error against the Lord, to leave empty the soul of the hungry, and the drink of the thirsty will he take away.


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The instruments also of the avaricious man are evil: he deviseth wicked resolves to destroy the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speaketh what is right.


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After days and years shall ye shudder, ye women that are secure; for ended is the vintage, the fruit gathering shall nowise come.


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Tremble, ye careless women; shudder, ye that are secure, strip off your garments and make yourselves bare, and gird <i>sackcloth</i> upon the loins.


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Upon the soil of my people thorns and briers shall come up; yea, upon all the houses of joy of the gladsome town.


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Because the palace is abandoned, the tumult of the city is forsaken; the hill and watchtower are become dens for a long time, a joyous haunt for wild asses, a pasture for flocks.


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Until a spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be changed into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be accounted as a forest.


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And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and security for ever.


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And then shall my people abide in peaceful dwellings, and secure abodes, and in undisturbed restingplaces.


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And it shall spread itself out in the declivity of the forest; and far down in the lowlands shall the city descend.


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Woe to thee that wastest, while thou wast not wasted; and traitor, while men dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt have made an end of wasting, thou shalt be wasted, and when thou shalt have finished to deal treacherously, men shall deal treacherously with thee.


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O Lord, be gracious; we have waited for thee: be thou their support every morning, also our salvation in the time of trouble.


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At the noise of <i>thy</i> thunder people fled; when thou liftedst thyself up nations were scattered.


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And your spoil shall be gathered as the cricket gathereth: as locusts run about, so shall people hasten after it.


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And the stability of thy times and the strength of thy happiness shall be wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure.


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The highways lie waste, ceased hath the wayfaring traveler: he hath broken the covenant, he despiseth cities, he regardeth not man.


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It mourneth, it languisheththe land: Lebanon is ashamed, it is withered away; Sharon is become like a wilderness; and bereft of their fruits are Bashan and Carmel.


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Ye shall be pregnant with hay, <i>and</i> ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath is a fire, which shall devour you.


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In Zion sinners are in dread; trembling hath seized on hypocrites. "Who among us shall abide with the devouring fire? who among us shall abide with everlasting burnings?"


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He that walketh in righteousness, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands against taking hold of bribes, that stoppeth his ears against hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes against looking on evil;


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He shall dwell on high; rocky strongholds shall be his refuge: his bread shall be given him; his water shall be sure.


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Thy heart shall meditate <i>on past</i> terror. "Where is who wrote down? where is he that weighed? where is he that counted the towers?"


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The barbarous people shalt thou not see any more, the people of a speech too obscure to be understood, of a stammering tongue, without meaning.


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Look on Zion, the town of our solemn assemblies; thy eyes shall see Jerusalem as an undisturbed residence, a tent that shall not be struck for removal; not one of the stakes of which shall ever be moved, and all the cords of which shall never be torn loose.


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But there will the Lord <i>show himself</i> mighty unto us, <i>in</i> a place of rivers and streams of ample breadth; wherein no oared galley shall go, and a gallant ship shall not pass thereby.


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Loose hang thy tacklings; they cannot well uphold strongly their mast, they cannot spread the sail. Then are divided booty and spoil in abundance, <i>even</i> the lame take the booty.


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And no inhabitant shall say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be one whose iniquity is forgiven.


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Come near, ye nations, to hear; and ye people, hearken: let the earth hear, and all that filleth it; the world, and all things that spring forth of it.


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For the indignation of the Lord is <i>enkindled</i> over all the nations, and his fury over all their army: he hath devoted them, he hath given them up to the slaughter:


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And their slain also shall be cast out, and as regardeth their carcasses their stench shall ascend upward, and the mountains shall be melted through their blood.


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And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together like a book: and all their host shall wither, as the leaf withereth from the vine, and as withering fruit from the figtree.


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For my sword is sated in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people I have devoted to punishment.


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The sword of the Lord is full of blood, it is enriched with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.


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And wild oxen shall sink down with them, and steers with bullocks; and their land shall be sated with blood, and their dust enriched with fat.


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For it is the day of vengeance unto the Lord, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion.


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And its brooks shall be changed into pitch, and its dust into sulfur, and its land shall become burning pitch.


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Night and day shall it not be quenched; for ever shall ascend the smoke thereof: from generation to generation shall it lie waste; no one shall for ever and ever pass through it.


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But pelican and hedgehog shall take possession of it; nightowl also and raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out over it the line of destruction, and the weights of desolation.


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Their noblesno one is there they could call <i>to</i> the kingdom, and all its princes shall be no more.


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And thorns shall spring up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses: and it shall be a habitation of monsters, and a court for ostriches.


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And the martens shall meet with the jackals, and one goat shall call to his fellow; only the screechowl shall rest there, and find for herself a place of repose.


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There shall nestle the arrowsnake, and lay eggs, and hatch, and gather its young under its shadow: only vultures shall assemble there, every one with her mate.


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Inquire out of the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall be absent, not one shall miss her mate; for my mouth it is that hath ordained it, and its breath it is that hath gathered them.


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And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it out unto them by the measuring line: for ever shall they possess it, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.


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The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad thereat; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the lily.


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It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice, yea, with joy and singing; the glory of the Lebanon shall be given unto it, the elegance of Carmel and Sharon; they indeed shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.


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Say to the timid of heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God, <i>with</i> vengeance will he come, with Gods recompense; it is he who will come and save you.


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Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and brooks in the desert.


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And the sandy waste shall be changed into a pool, and the thirsty land into springs of water: in the habitation of monsters, where each one used to lie, shall be a court for reeds and rushes.


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And there shall be a highway and a way, and The holy way, shall it be called; no unclean one shall pass over it; but it shall be <i>only</i> theirs; the wayfaring man, and those unacquainted <i>therewith</i>, shall not go astray.


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No lion shall be there, and no ravenous beast shall go up thereon, shall not be found there; but there shall walk the redeemed:


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And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with song, with everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall they obtain, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.


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And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib the king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and seized on them.


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And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem to king Hezekiah with a strong army. And he halted by the aqueduct of the upper pool on the highway of the washers field.


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Then came forth unto him Elyakim, the son of Chilkiyahu, who was superintendent over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Yoach the son of Assaph, the recorder.


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And Rabshakeh said unto them,Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus hath said the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherewith thou hast trusted?


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I have said, but it was only a word uttered with the lips, <i>I have</i> counsel and strength for the war. Now, on whom didst thou trust, that thou rebelledst against me?


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Behold, thou trustedst on yon cracked reedstaff, on Egypt; which, if a man lean on it, will enter into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh the king of Egypt to all that trust on him.


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But if thou shouldst say to me, In the Lord our God have we trusted: is he not the one whose highplaces and whose altars Hezekiah hath removed, when he said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Before this altar shall ye prostrate yourselves?


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And now I pray thee, enter into a contest with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.


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How then wilt thou turn back the face of a single chieftain of the least of my masters servants, while thou hast put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?


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And now am I come up without the Lord<i>s will</i> against this land to destroy it? The Lord hath said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.


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Then said Elyakim and Shebna and Yoach unto Rabshakeh, Speak, we pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jewish language, before the ears of the people that are on the wall.


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But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master then sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? is it not rather to the men who sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own excrements, and drink their own urine with you?


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Then stood Rabshakeh up, and called out in a loud voice in the Jewish language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.


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Neither let Hezekiah induce you to trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.


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Hearken not to Hezekiah; for thus hath said the king of Assyria, Make a treaty of peace with me, and come out to me; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his figtree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern;


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Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.


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So that Hezekiah may not mislead you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Have the gods of the nations delivered each his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?


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Where are the gods of Chamath and Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvayim? and have they then delivered Samaria out of my hand?


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Who are they among all the gods of these countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?


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But they remained silent, and answered him not a word; for it was the kings command, saying, Ye shall not answer him.


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Then came Elyakim the son of Chilkiyahu, that was superintendent over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Yoach the son of Assaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent; and they told him the words of Rabshakeh.


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And he sent Elyakim, who was superintendent over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet.


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And they said unto him, Thus hath said Hezekiah, A day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of derision is this day; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.


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Perhaps the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to blaspheme the living God, and who hath reproached with the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that is still found here.


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And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus hath said the Lord, Be not afraid because of the words which thou hast heard, with which the boys of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.


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Behold, I will put an <i>other</i> spirit in him, and when he will hear a rumor, he shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.


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And he heard it said of Thirhakah the king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight with thee. And when he had heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,


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Thus shall ye say to Hezekiah the king of Judah, as followeth, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given up into the hand of the king of Assyria.


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Behold, thou thyself hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands by destroying them utterly: and thou alone shouldst be delivered?


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Have the gods of the nations which my fathers destroyed delivered them, as Gozan, and Charan, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden, who were in Thelassar?


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And Hezekiah took the letter out of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it out before the Lord.


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O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the <i>true</i> God, thou alone, for all the kingdoms of the earth; <i>for</i> it is thou who hast made the heavens and earth.


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Bend down, O Lord, thy ear, and hear; open, O Lord, thy eye, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to blaspheme the living God.


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And they have placed their gods into the fire; for they are no gods, but the work of mans hands, wood and stone; and these have they destroyed.


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And now, O Lord our God, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, thou alone.


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Then sent Isaiah the son of Amoz unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me concerning Sennacherib the king of Assyria:


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This is the word that the Lord hath spoken over him: She despiseth thee, she laugheth thee to scorn, the virgin daughter of Zion; behind she shaketh her head, the daughter of Jerusalem.


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Through thy servants hast thou blasphemed the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots am I indeed come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down its tall cedars, the choice of its firtrees: and I will enter into the height of its summit, the forest of its fruitful soil.


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I have dug, and drunk water; and I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of besieged places.


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Hadst thou not heard, that in distant ages I had prepared this? in the times of antiquity when I formed it? now have I brought it along, and it came to pass to desolate into ruinous heaps fortified cities.


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And thus their inhabitants were of short power, they were discouraged and confounded: they were as the herbs of the field, and as the green grass; as the moss on the housetops, and as corn blasted before the ear appeareth.


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Because of thy raging against me, and thy tumult, that is come up into my ears, will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle between thy lips, and I will cause thee to turn back on the way by which thou camest.


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And this shall be unto thee the sign, Ye shall eat this year what groweth of itself, and in the second year what springeth after the same; and in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.


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And the remnant of the house of Judah that is escaped shall yet strike root downward, and bear fruit upward.


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For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which escapeth out of Mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, and he shall not shoot an arrow thereon, nor come before it with shields, nor cast up an embankment against it.


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Then went out an angel of the Lord, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty and five thousand men; and when people arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.


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And it came to pass, as he was prostrating himself in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Essarchaddon his son became king in his stead.


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In those days Hezekiah fell sick unto death; and there came unto him Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet, and said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Give thy charge to thy house; for thou shalt die, and not live.


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And he said, O Lord, I beseech thee remember now that I have walked before thee in truth, and with an undivided heart, and have done what is good in thy eyes. And Hezekiah wept aloud.


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Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.


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And out of the hand of the king of Assyria will I deliver thee and this city; and I will shield this city.


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And this shall be unto thee the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing which he hath spoken:


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Behold, I will cause the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down on the dial of Achaz by the sun, to return backward ten degrees. So the sun returned ten degrees, by the degrees which he was gone down.


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The writing of Hezekiah the king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:


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I had said, In the midst of my days, must I enter the gates of the nether world; I am deprived of the residue of my years.


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I had said, I shall not see the Lord, the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall not behold man any more among the inhabitants of the regions of death.


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My dwelling is broken down, and is removed from me as a shepherds tent: I have cut off, like a weaver, my life; with pining sickness will he snatch me away: from day until night wilt thou make an end of me.


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I waited <i>with patience</i> till morning, <i>whether</i> as a lion, so would he break all my bones: from day until night wilt thou make an end of me.


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Like a swallow or a crane, so did I chirp; I did moan like a dove; my eyes were lifted up on high: O Lord, I am oppressed; grant me ease.


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What shall I speak? he hath promised it unto me, and he hath also accomplished it; I will make pilgrimages <i>to Gods house</i> all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.


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O Lord, by these <i>things men</i> will live, and in all these <i>things</i> is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou give me health, and cause me to live.


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Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but thou hast, in loving my soul, delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast behind thy back all my sins.


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For the nether world will not thank thee, death will not praise thee: they that go down into the pit will not hope for thy truth.


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The living, the living alone shall thank thee, like me this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.


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The Lord is there to help me; therefore we will play my hymns all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.


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And Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the inflammation, and he shall recover.


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At that time sent Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he had heard that he had been sick, and was become strong again.


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And Hezekiah was rejoiced on their account, and showed them his treasurehouse, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and the whole of his armorhouse, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing that Hezekiah showed them not, in his house, and in all his dominion.


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Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What did these men say? and whence did they come unto thee? And Hezekiah said, From a faroff country are they come unto me, from Babylon.


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And he said, What did they see in thy house? And Hezekiah said, all that is in my house have they seen; there is nothing that I did not show them in my treasures.


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Behold, days are coming when all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.


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Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and stability in my days.


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Speak ye <i>comfort</i> to the heart of Jerusalem, and call out unto her, that her time of sorrow is accomplished, that her iniquity is atoned for; for she hath received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.


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A voice calleth out, In the wilderness make ye clear the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for God.


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Every valley shall be raised, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made a straight path, and the rough places a plain:


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And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed; and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.


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A voice saith, Proclaim; and he saith, What shall I proclaim? all flesh is grass, and all its goodliness is as the flower of the field:


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The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the Lord hath blown upon it; surely the people is grass.


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Upon a high mountain get thee up, thou that bringest good tidings to Zion; lift up with strength thy voice, thou who bringest good tidings to Jerusalem; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, <i>here is</i> your God!


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Behold, the Lord Eternal will come with might, and his arm ruleth for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.


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Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their young.


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Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters, and meted out the heavens with the span, and comprised in a measure the dust of the earth, and weighed in the scalebeam the mountains, and the hills in balances?


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Who hath meted out the Spirit of the Lord? and <i>who was</i> his counsellor that he could have given him information?


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With whom took he counsel, that he gave him understanding, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and caused him to know the way of understanding?


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Behold, nations are as a drop out of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance are they accounted: behold, isles are like the flying dust.


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The graven image the artificer hath cast and the goldsmith hath overspread it with gold, and fabricated <i>on it</i> silver chains.


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He that is skilled in the choice chooseth a wood that will not rot; he seeketh unto himself a skilful workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.


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Know ye not? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not paid attention to the foundations of the earth?


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<i>It is he</i> that dwelleth above the circle of the earth, while its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; that stretched out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;


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Yes, they were not yet planted; yea, they were not yet sown; yea, their stem had not yet taken root in the earth: when he but breathed upon them, and they withered, and the stormwind carrieth them away as stubble.


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Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these? he that bringeth out their host by number; that calleth them all by name; from the Mighty One not one escapeth.


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Why wilt thou say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, My way is hidden from the Lord, and my cause hath passed from the cognizance of my God?


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Dost thou not know? hast thou not heard? The God of everlasting is the Lord, is the Creator of the ends of the earth; he will not be faint and weary; unsearchable is his understanding.


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Yet they that wait upon the Lord shall acquire new strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not become faint.


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Keep silence before me, O islands; and let nations acquire new strength: let them approach, then let them speak, together let us come near to judgment.


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Who waked up from the east the man whom righteousness met in his steps? he giveth up nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; that his sword may render them as the dust, as driven stubble, his bow.


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Who hath wrought and done it? he who called the generations from the beginning; I the Lord, <i>who am</i> the first, and with the latest I am the same.


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So the smith encouraged the melter, he that smootheth with the hammer him that striketh on the anvil; saying of the solder, It is good; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.


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Thou, whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the midst of its chiefs, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.


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Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I strengthen thee, yea, I help thee, yea, I uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


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Behold, ashamed and confounded shall be all that were incensed against thee; they shall be as naught and perishthe men that strive with thee.


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Thou wilt seek them, and shalt not find them, the men that contend with thee; they shall be as naught and as nothing, the men that make war against thee.


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For I the Lord thy God lay hold of thy right hand; <i>I am he</i> who saith unto thee, Fear not, I help thee.


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Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye few men of Israel: I myself help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.


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Behold, I have rendered thee a threshing instrument, sharp, new, having many teeth: thou shalt thresh mountains, and beat them small, and shalt render the hills as chaff.


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Thou shalt scatter them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the storm shall disperse them; but thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, in the Holy One of Israel shalt thou glorify thyself.


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The poor and the needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue is dried up with thirst: I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.


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I will open on naked mountainpeaks rivers, and in the midst of valleys fountains; I will change the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into springs of water.


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I will place in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oiltree; I will set in the desert the firtree, the pine and the boxtree together;


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In order that they may see, and know and take <i>it to heart</i>, and comprehend together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.


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Let them bring them forward and tell us what shall happen: the former thingswhat are they?tell us, that we may take it to heart, and know the result of them; or let us hear the things that are to come.


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Tell the events that are to happen hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be astonished, and see it together.


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Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work less than a breath: <i>he that is</i> an abomination <i>alone</i> chooseth you.


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I have waked up one from the north, and he cometh; from the rising of the sun one who will call on my name: and he shall <i>over</i>come princes as mortar, and as the potter treadeth down the clay.


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Who hath told it from the beginning, that we may know it? and aforetimes, that we may say, "it is right?" but indeed there is none that telleth, indeed there is none that letteth us hear, indeed there is none that heareth your words.


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The first <i>was I to say</i> to Zion, Behold, there they are; and to Jerusalem will I give one that bringeth good tidings.


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And I ever look, and there is no man; and among these there is no counsellor, that they could answer a word.


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Behold my servant, whom I will uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my spirit upon him, that he may bring forth justice to the nations.


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A cracked reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: unto truth shall he bring forth justice.


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He shall not become fatigued and not be faint, till he have established justice on earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.


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Thus hath said God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and the things which come out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to those that walk thereon:


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I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will lay hold on thy hand, and will keep thee, and appoint thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the nations;


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To open blind eyes, to bring out from the dungeon the prisoner, and out of the prisonhouse those that dwell in darkness.


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I am the Everlasting One, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to any other, nor my praise to graven images.


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The former things, behold, are come to pass; and new things do I announce; before they spring forth I let you hear of them.


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Sing unto the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that filleth it; the isles, and their inhabitants.


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Let resound with song the wilderness and its cities, the villages which Kedar inhabiteth: let the inhabitants of the rocks sing, let them shout forth from the top of the mountains.


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The Lordas a mighty one will he go forth, like a man of war will he arouse his vengeance: he will shout, yea, raise the warcry; against his enemies will he show his strength.


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I have a long time held my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: <i>now</i> like a travailing woman will I cry; I will destroy and devour <i>all</i> together.


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I will lay waste mountains and hills, and all their herbs will I dry up; and I will change the rivers into islands, and pools will I dry up.


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And I will cause the blind to walk on a way that they have not known; on paths that they have not known will I lead them: I will change darkness before them into light, and crooked places into plains. These are the things which I will do, and not leave them <i>unfulfilled</i>.


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They shall be turned back, they shall be ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to molten idols, Ye are our gods.


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Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger whom I send? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the servant of the Lord?


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The Lord willed <i>to do this</i> for the sake of his righteousness; <i>therefore</i> he magnifieth the law, and maketh it honorable.


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But it is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them ensnared in holes, and in prisonhouses are they hidden: they are become for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.


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Who gave up Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to plunderers? was it not the Lord? he it is against whom we have sinned; for they would not walk in his ways, neither did they hearken unto his law.


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Therefore hath he poured out over him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it blazed all round about him, yet he regarded it not; and it burnt on him, yet he laid it not to heart.


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But now thus hath said the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; mine art thou.


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Whenever thou passest through the waters, I am with thee; and through the rivers,they shall not overflow thee: whenever thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched; neither shall the flame burn on thee.


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For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt for thy ransom, Cush and Seba in place of thee.


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Since thou art precious in my eyes, art honorable, and I indeed do love thee: therefore will I give men in place of thee, and nations instead of thy soul.


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Fear not, for I am with thee; from the east will I bring thy seed, and from the west will I gather thee.


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I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Withhold not: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;


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Every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory; whom I have formed; yea, whom I have made.


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Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can announce this? and cause us to hear former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.


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Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: in order that ye may know and believe me, and understand, that I am he; before me there was no god formed, and after me there will be none.


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I myself have announced it, and I have saved, and I have let it be heard, and there was no strange <i>god</i> among you; and ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and I am God.


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Yea, from the <i>first</i> day am I he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: if I will work, is there one that can hinder it?


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Thus hath said the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, For your sake did I send to Babylon, and in swift vessels brought I them all down, and the Chaldeans, in the ships of their joyful song.


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Who bringeth forth chariot and horse, army and power: together shall they lie down, they shall not rise up again; they are extinct, like a wick are they quenched.


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Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; will ye not acknowledge it? I will even make in the wilderness a way, and in the desert rivers.


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The beasts of the field shall honor me, the monsters and the ostriches; because I give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my elect;


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Thou hast not brought unto me the lamb of thy burntofferings; and with thy sacrifices hast thou not honored me: I have not troubled thee with meatofferings, nor wearied thee with frankincense.


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Thou hast not bought for me sweet cane, and with the fat of thy sacrifices hast thou not satisfied me; but thou hast troubled me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.


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Therefore do I profane the holy princes, and I give up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.


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Thus hath said the Lord thy Maker, and he that formed thee from the womb, who will help thee, Fear not, O my servant Jacob; and thou Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.


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For <i>as</i> I pour water upon the thirsty <i>land</i>, and raindroppings upon the dry ground: <i>so</i> will I pour my spirit over thy seed, and my blessing over thy offspring.


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This one will say, I belong to the Lord; and the other will call himself by the name of Jacob; and the other will inscribe himself with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.


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Thus hath said the Lord, the king of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no god.


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And who, like me, will announce, and will tell it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the people of ancient times? and the future things, and those which are to happen,let them foretell unto them.


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Have no dread, and do not despond; have I not long since informed thee, and have told it? and ye are my witnesses: Is there a god beside me? yea, there is no rock, whom I know not.


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The makers of graven images are all vanity; and their costly idols cannot profit; and they are their own witnesses, that they see not and know not, in order that they may be ashamed.


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Behold, all his associates shall be ashamed, for the workmen themselves are but men: let them all be gathered, let them stand up, they shall be terrified, they shall be ashamed together.


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The ironsmith <i>maketh</i> an axe and worketh it in the coals, and with hammers he fashioneth it, and worketh it with his powerful arm; he also, when he is hungry, loseth his strength: when he drinketh no water, he becometh faint.


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The worker in wood stretcheth out the rule; he marketh it out with chalk; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, after the beauty of a child of earth, that it may dwell in a house.


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He felleth for himself cedars, and taketh cypress and oak, and he chooseth for himself the strongest among the trees of the forest; he planteth an ash, and the rain causeth it to grow.


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Then doth it serve a man for burning; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; he also heateth therewith, and baketh bread; he also worketh out a god, and boweth himself; he maketh of it an image, and kneeleth down thereto.


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The half thereof hath he burnt in fire; with the half thereof will he eat flesh; he will roast food, and be satisfied; he will also warm himself, and say, Aha, I am warm, I have felt the fire:


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And the residue thereof hath he made into a god, his graven image; he kneeleth down unto it, and boweth himself, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for my god art thou.


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They know not, they understand not; for their eyes are daubed over, that they cannot see; their hearts, that they cannot understand.


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And he layeth it not to heart, and hath no knowledge, no understanding, to say, The half thereof have I burnt in fire; and I have also baked upon its coals bread; I <i>now</i> will roast flesh, and eat it: and shall I make of its residue an abomination, before a block of wood shall I kneel?


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He pursueth ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, and will not say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?


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Remember these things, O Jacob; and Israel, for thou art my servant: I have formed thee to be my servant, thou <i>art this</i>; O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten by me.


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I have blotted out, as a vapor, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.


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Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lowest depths of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and on Israel will he glorify himself.


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Thus hath said the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that hath made all things; that hath stretched forth the heavens by myself alone; that hath spread abroad the earth from my own self;


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That frustrate the tokens of the liars, and confuseth diviners; that turneth the wise backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;


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That fulfilleth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, It shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and their ruins will I raise up.


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That saith of Cyrus, <i>He is</i> my shepherd, and all my pleasure shall he perform: even saying of Jerusalem, It shall be built; and the temples foundation shall be laid.


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Thus hath said the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom I have taken hold of by his right hand, to subdue nations before him, even the loins of kings will I ungird, to open before him <i>city</i>doors, and gates that they shall not be shut;


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I myself will go before thee, and proud eminences will I level: doors of brass will I break in pieces, and bolts of iron will I cut asunder.


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And I will give unto thee the treasures of darkness, and riches hidden in secret places; in order that thou mayest know that I am the Lord, who call thee by thy name, the God of Israel;


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For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my elect; and I have called thee by thy name: I have designated thee, though thou hast not known me.


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I am the Lord, and there is none else, beside me there is no god; I assisted thee, though thou hast not known me.


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In order that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from its setting, that there is nothing without me. I am the Lord, and there is no one else;


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Forming the light, and creating darkness; making peace, and creating evil: I the Lord do all these things.


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Drop down ye heavens, and let the skies distil blessing; let the earth open and let them <i>all</i> be fruitful of prosperity, and let righteousness spring up likewise: I the Lord have created it.


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Woe unto him that contendeth with the one who formed hima potsherd among the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?


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Woe unto him that saith unto <i>his</i> father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What bringest thou forth?


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Thus hath said the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and he who hath formed him, About events to come will you ask me? concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands will ye command me?


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<i>When</i> I myself have made the earth, and created man upon it; <i>when</i> I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and I have ordained all their host.


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I myself have waked him up in righteousness, and all his ways will I make straight: he shall build my city, and my exiles shall he dismiss free, not for purchasemoney nor for presents, saith the Lord of hosts.


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Thus hath said the Lord, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of high stature, shall pass over unto thee, and thine shall they be: behind thee shall they walk; in chains shall they pass along, and unto thee shall they bow, unto thee shall they pray, <i>saying</i> Yea, only among thee is God; and there is no one else beside God.


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They are ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: together shall they go to confusion that are makers of idols.


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<i>But</i> Israel shall be helped by the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed and not be confounded unto all eternity.


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For thus hath said the Lord the creator of the heavens; he, the God that formed the earth and made it; he that hath established it,not for naught did he create it, to be inhabited did he form it: I am the Lord; and there is no one else.


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Not on a secret spot have I spoken, in a dark place of the earth; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me for naught; <i>but</i> I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.


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Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye escaped fugitives of the nations! They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.


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Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath announced this in ancient times? told it from the beginning? is it not I the Lord? and there is no other god without me, a just god and a saviour; there is none beside me.


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Turn unto me, so that ye may be helped, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no one else.


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By myself have I sworn, righteousness is gone out of my mouth, a word <i>which</i> shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bend, every tongue shall swear.


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Only in the Lord,shall men say of me,there are righteousness and strength. Unto him shall come and be ashamed all that are incensed against him.


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Bel is bowed down, Nebo sinketh, their idols are <i>delivered</i> unto the beasts, and unto the cattle; those which were once carried by you are now laden up a burden to the weary beasts.


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They are sunk, they are bowed down together; they could not deliver the burden, but they themselves are gone into captivity.


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Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, who are borne <i>by me</i> from their birth, who are carried from the womb;


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And even unto old age I am the same; and even unto the time of hoary hairs will I bear: l have done it, and I will carry <i>you</i>; even I will bear, and deliver you.


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<i>There are those</i> that lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance; that hire a melter, that he may make of it a god; they <i>then</i> bend the knee, yea, they bow themselves down;


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They carry him, upon the shoulder they bear him, and set up him in his spot, and he remaineth standing, from his place he doth not move: yea, though one should cry unto him, he cannot answer, out of his trouble he cannot help him.


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Remember the former things of olden times; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is nothing like me.


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Declaring from the beginning the end, and from the earliest days the things that have not yet been done, saying, My counsel shall stand firm, and all my pleasure will I do:


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Calling from the east the eagle, from a faroff country the man of my counsel; yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also execute it.


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I have brought near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will grant unto Zion salvation, unto Israel my glory.


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Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for men shall nevermore call thee, Tender and delicate.


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Take the mill, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, lift up the train, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.


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Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not regard any man.


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Sit thou silent, and enter into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for men shall never more call thee, The mistress of kingdoms.


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I was wroth over my people, I defiled my inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: <i>yet</i> thou didst grant them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou laid very heavily thy yoke.


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And thou saidst, For ever shall I be mistress; until that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, thou didst not call to mind the result thereof.


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And now hear this, luxurious one, that dwellest in security, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is nothing else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:


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Yet both these things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, despite of the multitude of thy sorceries, despite of the very great abundance of thy enchantments.


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And thou didst trust in thy wickedness: thou saidst, No one seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge,these were they that seduced thee; and thou saidst in thy heart, I am, and there is nothing else beside me.


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And there shall come upon thee an evil, which thou shalt not know how to remove it by prayer; and there shall fall upon thee mischief, which thou shalt not be able to atone for; and there shall come upon thee suddenly desolation, which thou shalt not know.


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Stand now with thy enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; peradventure thou mayest be able to profit, peradventure thou mayest withstand.


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Thou art wearied with the multitude of thy counsels. Do let now those that divide off the heavens, that look at the stars, that announce <i>coming</i> events at new moons, stand up, and save thee from the things that are to come over thee.


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Behold, they are become as stubble; the fire burneth them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: not a coal shall be left to warm at, no blaze to sit before it.


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Thus are they become unto thee with whom thou hast labored; those that had commerce with thee from thy youth, wander away every one on his road: there is no one to save thee.


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Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the spring of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel,not in truth, nor in righteousness.


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For of the holy city they call themselves, and upon the God of Israel they stay themselves,The Lord of hosts is his name.


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The former things have I declared from the beginning; and out of my mouth went they forth, and I announced them: suddenly did I accomplish them, and they came to pass;


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Because I knew that thou art obstinate, that like an iron sinew is thy neck, and thy brow of copper;


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And I declared it to thee from the beginning; before yet it came to pass did I let thee hear it: lest thou should say, My idol hath done these things, and my graven image, and my molten image, have ordained them.


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Thou hast heard it; see it all now; and youwill you not declare it? I caused thee to hear new things, from this time, even hidden things which thou hadst not known.


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Now are they created, and not from the beginning; and before the day <i>that I announced them</i> thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.


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But neither hadst thou heard it; nor didst thou know; nor had in ancient times thy ear been opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and a transgressor wast thou called from thy birth.


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For the sake of my name will I defer my anger, and because of my praise will I restrain it toward thee, so that I may not cut thee off.


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Behold, I have refined thee, though not into silver: I have approved thee in the crucible of affliction.


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For my own sake will I do it: for how would <i>my name</i> be dishonored? and my glory will I not give unto another.


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My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned out the heavens: I call unto them, they stand forward together.


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Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear: Who among them hath told these things? He whom the Lord loveth, will do his pleasure on Babylon, and <i>display</i> his arm <i>on</i> the Chaldeans.


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I, even I, have spoken it, I have also called him: I have brought him, and he shall be prosperous on his way.


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Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; never from the beginning have I spoken in secret; from the time that it occurred, was I there. And now the Lord Eternal hath sent me, and his Spirit.


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Thus hath said the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God who teach thee for thy profit, who lead thee by the way thou shouldst go.


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Oh that thou hadst but listened to my commandments! then would have been as a river thy peace, and thy prosperity as the waves of the sea:


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And then would have been as the sand thy seed, and the offspring of thy body like the pebbles of the seashore; yet shall his name not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.


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Go forth out of Babylon, flee away from the Chaldeans, with the voice of singing declare, announce this, carry it forth as far as the end of the earth; say, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.


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And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; waters out of the rock he let drop down for them: and he cleaved the rock, and the waters gushed out.


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Hearken, O isles, unto me; and listen, ye people, from afar: The Lord hath called me from my birth; from my mothers womb hath he made mention of my name.


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And he hath rendered my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hidden me: and he hath rendered me as a polished arrow; in his quiver hath he concealed me;


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But I had indeed said, For no purpose have I labored, for naught and vanity have I spent my strength; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and the recompense of my work with my God.


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And now hath said the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, that Israel may be gathered unto him, that I should be honored in the eyes of the Lord, while my God was my strength,


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And he said, It is too light a thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved of Israel! but I will <i>also</i> appoint thee for a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach as far as the end of the earth.


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Thus hath said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him who is despised by men, to him who is abhorred by nations, to the servant of rulers, Kings shall see it and rise up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath made choice of thee.


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Thus hath said the Lord, In the time of favor have I answered thee, and on the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and I will appoint thee as a people of my covenant to raise up the land, to divide out desolate heritages;


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When I say to the prisoners, Go forth; to those that are in darkness, Show yourselves. On the roads shall they feed, and on all mountainpeaks shall be their pasture.


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They shall not be hungry nor thirsty, and neither heat nor sun shall smite them; for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will he guide them.


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Behold, these shall come from afar; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.


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Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth, O mountains, into song; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and upon his oppressed will he have mercy.


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Can a woman forget her sucking child, not to have mercy on the son of her body? yea, should these even forget, yet would I not forget thee.


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Lift up thy eyes round about, and see; they all are assembled together, they come to thee: as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride.


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For thy ruins and thy desolate places, and thy wasted land,yea, now shall it be too narrow for thee by reason of the inhabitants, and thy destroyers shall be far away.


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Yet again will say before thy ears the children of whom thou wast deprived, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.


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And thou wilt say in thy heart, Who hath born me these, seeing I was bereft of my children, and was solitary, an exile, and outcast? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left entirely alone; these, where have they been?


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Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will lift up to the nations my hand, and to the people will I raise up high my standard; and they shall bring thy sons in <i>their</i> arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon shoulders.


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And kings shall be thy nursingfathers, and their princesses thy nursingmothers; with the face toward the earth shall they bow down to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall they lick up: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, who will not suffer those who hope in me to be ashamed.


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For thus hath said the Lord, Also the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the powerful shall escape; and with those who contend against thee will I contend, and thy children will I indeed save.


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And I will feed thy oppressors with their own flesh; and as with new wine shall they be made drunken with their own blood: and all flesh shall know that I the Eternal am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Where is your mothers bill of divorcement, wherewith I have sent her away? or who of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? behold, for your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions was your mother sent away.


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Why did I come and no man was there, did I call, with none to answer? hath my hand become too short for redeeming? or is there no power in me to deliver? behold, through my threatening I can dry up the sea, I can change the rivers into a wilderness: their fish stink for want of water, and die for thirst.


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The Lord Eternal hath given me a tongue for teaching, that I should know how to strengthen the weary with the word: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear to listen like those who are well taught.


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My back I gave up to the smiters, and my cheeks to those that plucked off the hair: my face I hid not from abuse and spitting.


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But the Lord Eternal ever helpeth me; therefore was I not confounded; therefore have I rendered my face like a flint, and I knew that I should not be made ashamed.


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He that justifieth me is near; who will contend with me? let us stand forward together: who hath a dispute with me? let him come near to me.


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Behold, the Lord Eternal will help me; who is the man that will condemn me? lo, they all shall wear out as a garment: the moth shall eat them up.


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Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that hearkeneth to the voice of his servant? though he have walked in darkness, and had no light: let him trust in the name of the Lord, and lean for support upon his God.


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Behold, all ye that kindle fire, that urge on the brands: walk by the blaze of your fire, and by the brands ye have kindled; from my hand hath this been bestowed on you; in pain shall ye lie down.


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Hearken to me, ye that pursue righteousness, that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were dug up.


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Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for he was one when I called him, and I blessed him, and I increased him.


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Yea, the Lord hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her ruins; and he hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord: gladness and joy shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of song.


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Listen unto me, my people; and O my nation, give ear unto me; for a law shall proceed from me, and my justice will I establish as a light of the people.


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My righteousness is near; my salvation goeth forth, and my arms shall judge the people: on me the isles shall wait, and for my arm shall they hope.


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Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wear out like a garment, and they that dwell thereon shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall exist for ever, and my righteousness shall not be delayed.


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Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, O people in whose heart my law is: ye must not fear the reproach of men, and of their revilings shall ye not be in dread.


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For like a garment shall the moth eat them up, and like wool shall the worm eat them; but my righteousness shall exist for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.


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Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord: awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of olden times. Art thou not it that struck down Rahab, that pierced the crocodile?


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Art thou not it that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that rendered the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to pass through?


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And <i>so</i> shall the ransomed of the Lord return, and come to Zion with song, with everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall they obtain, while sorrow and sighing shall have fled away.


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I, I am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal that must die, and of a son of man who will wither as the grass?


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And thou forgettest the Lord, thy Maker, who hath spread out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and thou dreadest continually, all the day, because of the fury of the oppressor, whenever he aimeth to destroy: and where is <i>now</i> the fury of the oppressor?


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The exile will be speedily set free; and he shall not die in the dungeon, and his bread shall not fail.


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For I am the Lord thy God, who stirreth up the sea that its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.


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And I have placed my words in thy mouth, and with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee: to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, Thou art my people.


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Rouse up, rouse up, arise, O Jerusalem, thou who hast drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury: the deep cup of confusion hast thou drunk, hast thou drained.


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There is none to lead her, from all the children whom she hath born; and there is none that taketh her by the hand, from all the children whom she hath brought up.


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Two things are these which have befallen thee: who will have compassion for thee? desolation and destruction, and famine and swordwith whom shall I comfort thee?


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Thy children have fainted, they lie at the entrance of all streets, as a wild bull caught in a net, <i>they are those</i> who are full of the fury of the Lord, the threatening of thy God.


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Thus hath said thy Lord, the Eternal, and thy God, who will ever plead for his people, Behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of confusion, the deep cup of my fury: thou shalt never more drink it again.


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And I will place it in the hand of those who have tortured thee, that have said to thy soul, Bend thee down, that we may pass over; and thou madest like the earth thy back, and like the street for those that passed over.


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Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, thou holy city; for no more shall enter into thee henceforth the uncircumcised and the unclean.


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Shake thyself free from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem: loosen thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive, daughter of Zion.


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For thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Into Egypt went my people down aforetimes, to sojourn there, and Asshur hath oppressed it without cause.


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And now what have I here, saith the Lord, since my people hath been taken away for naught? its rulers vaunt aloud, saith the Lord, and continually, all the day, is my name blasphemed.


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Therefore shall my people know my name, therefore on that day, that I am he that speaketh it: here am I.


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How beautiful are upon the mountains the feet of the messenger of good tidings, that publisheth peace, that announceth tidings of happiness, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.


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The voice of thy watchmen,they raise their voice, together shall they shout; for eye to eye shall they see, when the Lord returneth unto Zion.


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Break forth <i>in song</i>, shout together, ye ruins of Jerusalem; the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.


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The Lord hath made bare his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.


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Depart ye, depart ye, go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go ye out from the midst of it; cleanse yourselves, ye bearers of the vessels of the Lord.


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Not in haste shall ye go out, and not in flight shall ye go; for before you goeth the Lord, and your rereward is the God of Israel.


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Just as many were astonished at thee, so greatly was his countenance marred more than any <i>other</i> mans, and his form more than <i>that of</i> the sons of men,


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Thus will he cause many nations to jump up in <i>astonishment</i>; at him will kings shut their mouth; for what had not been told unto them shall they see, and what they had never heard shall they understand.


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Yea, he grew up like a small shoot before him, and as a root out of a dry land: he had no form nor comeliness, so that we should look at him; and no countenance, so that we should desire him.


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He was despised and shunned by men; a man of pains, and acquainted with disease; and as one who hid his face from us was he despised, and we esteemed him not.


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But only our diseases did he bear himself, and our pains he carried: while we indeed esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.


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Yet he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement for our peace was upon him; and through his bruises was healing granted to us.


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We all like sheep went astray; every one to his own way did we turn; and the Lord let befall him the guilt of us all.


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He was oppressed, and he was also taunted, yet he opened not his mouth; like the lamb which is led to the slaughter, and like an ewe before her shearers is dumb; and he opened not his mouth.


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Through oppression and through judicial punishment was he taken away; but his generationwho could tell, that he was cut away out of the land of life, <i>that</i> for the transgressions of my people the plague was laid on him?


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And he let his grave be made with the wicked, and with the <i>godless</i> rich at his death; although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.


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But the Lord was pleased to crush him through disease: when <i>now</i> his soul hath brought the trespassoffering, then shall he see <i>his</i> seed, live many days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.


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<i>Freed</i> from the trouble of his soul shall he see <i>the good</i> and be satisfied: through his knowledge shall my righteous servant bring the many to righteousness, while he will bear their iniquities.


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Therefore will I divide him <i>a portion</i> with the many, and with the strong shall he divide the spoil; because he poured out his soul unto death, and with transgressors was he numbered: while he bore the sin of many, and for the transgressors he let <i>evil</i> befall him.


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Sing, O barren one, that thou hast not born: break forth into song, and rejoice aloud, that thou hast not travailed; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.


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Enlarge the space of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations,spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;


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For to the right and to the left shalt thou spread forth; and thy seed shall drive out nations, desolate cities shall they repeople.


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Fear not, for thou shalt not be made ashamed; and be not confounded, for thou shalt not be put to the blush; for the shame of thy youth shalt thou forget, and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou not remember any more.


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For thy husband is thy Maker, the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, "The God of all the earth," shall he be called.


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For as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit did the Lord call thee back, and as a wife of youth, that was rejected, saith thy God.


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In a little wrath did I hide my face for a moment from thee; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith thy Redeemer the Lord.


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For as the waters of Noah is this unto me; as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more pass over the earth: so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.


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For the mountains may depart, and the hills may be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith he that hath mercy on thee, the Lord.


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O thou afflicted, tossed by the tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.


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And I will make of rubies thy battlements, and thy gates into carbunclestones, and all thy borders into precious stones.


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In righteousness shalt thou be established: keep far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near unto thee.


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Behold, they that assemble together, are nothing without me: whatsoever assembleth together against thee shall fall under thy power.


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Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have also created the waster to destroy.


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No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that will rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their due reward from me, saith the Lord.


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Ho, every one of ye that thirsteth, come ye to the water, and he too that hath no money: come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy without money and without price wine and milk.


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Wherefore will ye spend money for what is not bread? and your labor for what satisfieth not? hearken then unto me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.


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Incline your ear, and come unto me, hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the promised mercies of David, which are sure.


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Behold, a nation thou knowest not shalt thou call, and a nation that knew thee not shall run unto thee; for the sake of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee.


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Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of unrighteousness his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and unto our God, for he will abundantly pardon.


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For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.


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For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither, but water the earth, and render it fruitful, and cause it to bring forth plants; and give seed to the sower and bread to him that eateth:


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So shall ever be my word which goeth forth from my mouth, it shall not return unto me without effect; but it accomplisheth what I desire, and it prospereth in that whereto I have sent it.


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For in joy shall ye go out, and in peace shall ye be brought home: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.


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Instead of the thorn shall come up the firtree, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be unto the Lord for a name, for a sign of everlasting that shall not be cut off.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Keep ye justice, and do equity; for near is my salvation to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.


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Happy is the mortal that ever doth this, and the son of man that ever layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath by not violating it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.


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And let not say the son of the stranger, that joineth himself unto the Lord, saying, Surely the Lord will exclude me from his people; nor let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.


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For thus hath said the Lord concerning the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and make choice of what pleaseth me, and take hold of my covenant.


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I will indeed give unto them in my house and within my walls a place and a name, better than sons and daughters: an everlasting name will I give them, that shall not be cut off.


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Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves unto the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be unto him as servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath by not violating it, and those who take hold of my covenant:


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Even these will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burntofferings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations.


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Thus saith the Lord Eternal who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, I will yet gather <i>others</i> to him, beside his own gathered <i>outcasts</i>.


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His watchmen are all of them blind, they know nothing; they all are dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreamers, lying down, loving to slumber.


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But the dogs are of a greedy disposition, they know not how to be satisfied; and those are shepherds that know how to understand: they all turn to their own way, every one after his gain, from all quarters.


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Come ye, I will fetch wine, and let us swallow abundantly of strong drink; and like this day shall it be tomorrow, excellent and in very great abundance.


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The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and pious men are taken away, without one considering that before the evil the righteous is taken away.


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He shall come <i>to his fathers</i> in peace: they shall repose in their restingplace, every one that walketh in his uprightness.


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Over whom will you make yourselves merry? concerning whom will you open wide your mouth, stretch out your tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,


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That are inflamed after the idols under every green tree; that slaughter the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?


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Of the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured out a drinkoffering, hast thou offered a meatoffering. Shall I for these things repent me <i>of the evil</i>?


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Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou placed thy couch: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.


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And behind the doors and the doorposts hast thou placed thy <i>mark of</i> remembrance; for <i>departing</i> from me, thou hast laid open, and art gone up,hast enlarged thy couch, and made thee a covenant with some of them; thou hast loved their lying with thee, hast selected a fitting place.


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And thou didst show thyself unto the king without ointment, and thou didst multiply thy perfumes, and thou didst send out thy messengers even into the faroff distance, and didst debase thyself even down to the nether world.


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Though thou art wearied by the length of thy way, yet saidst thou not, It is useless: thou hadst found enough for thy hand; therefore didst thou feel no care.


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And of whom hadst thou dread or fear, that thou becamest false, and didst not remember me, nor lay it to thy heart? is it not so? I kept silence, and this from earliest times, and therefore thou fearest me not!


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I, I ever tell thee <i>what deeds would be</i> thy righteousness; but thy worksthese indeed will not profit thee.


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When thou criest, let thy masses of idols deliver thee; but all of them will the wind carry away, a breath will take them off; but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.


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And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, clear out the way, lift up every stumbling block out of the way of my people.


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For thus hath said the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, In the high and holy place do I dwell, yet also with the contrite and humble of spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.


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For not to eternity will I contend, neither will I be for ever wroth: when the spirit from before me is overwhelmed, and the souls which I have made.


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Because of the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and I smote him, hiding my face, and was wroth: while he went on frowardly in the way of his own heart.


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I <i>now</i> see his ways, and I will heal him; and I will guide him, and bestow full comforts on him and on his mourners;


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Creating the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.


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But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can never be at rest, but its waters cast up mire and dirt.


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Cry with a full throat, spare not, like the cornet lift up thy voice, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.


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Yet me do they ever seek day by day, and to know my ways do they always desire; as a nation that hath done righteousness, and hath not forsaken the ordinance of their God: continually do they ask of me the ordinances of justicedo they desire to draw nigh unto God.


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"Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest it not? have we afflicted our soul, and thou regardest it not?" Behold, on the day of your fasting ye follow your business, and all your acquired gains do ye exact.


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Behold, for contention and strife do ye fast, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not so at this day, to cause your voice to be heard on high.


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Is such then the fast which I can choose? a day that a man afflicteth his soul? to bend his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes for his couch? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day of acceptability unto the Lord?


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Is not this <i>rather</i> the fast that I will choose? to open the snares of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye should break asunder every yoke?


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Is it not to distribute thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the afflicted poor into thy house! when thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him; and that thou hide not thyself from thy own flesh?


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Then shall break forth as the morningdawn thy light, and thy healing shall speedily spring forth; and before thee shall go thy righteousness, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.


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Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here am I. If thou remove from the midst of thee the yoke, the stretching out of the finger, and speaking wickedly;


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And if thou pour out to the hungry thy soul, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall shine forth in the darkness thy light, and thy obscurity be as the noonday;


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And the Lord will guide thee continually, and will satisfy thy soul in times of famine, and will strengthen thy bones; and thou shalt be like a wellwatered garden, and like a spring of water, the waters of which will never deceive.


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And they that spring from thee shall build up the ancient ruins; the foundations of many generations shalt thou raise up again: and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breaches, The restorer of paths to the dwellingplace.


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If thou restrain thy foot for the sake of the sabbath, not doing thy business on my holy day; and if thou call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord, honorable; and honor it by not doing thy usual pursuits, by not following thy own business, and speaking <i>vain</i> words:


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Then shalt thou find delight in the Lord; and I will cause thee to tread upon the high places of the earth, and I will cause thee to enjoy the inheritance of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.


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But your iniquities have ever made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have caused him to hide his face from you, so that he would not hear.


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For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity: your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue uttereth deception.


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No one admonisheth with righteousness, and no one executeth justice in truth; men trust in naught, and speak lies; they have conceived mischief, and bring forth wickedness.


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Basilisks eggs do they hatch, and spiders webs do they weave: he that eateth of their eggs must die, and if one be crushed, a viper will break forth.


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Their webs cannot serve for garments, and they cannot clothe themselves with their works: their works are works of wickedness, and the deed of violence is in their hands.


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Their feet run to what is evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; wasting and destruction are on their highways.


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The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice on their tracks: their paths they have made unto themselves crooked; whosoever walketh therein knoweth not peace.


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Therefore is justice far from us, nor will happiness overtake us: we ever hope for light, but behold there is darkness; for brightness, but in obscurity must we walk.


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We grope like the blind on the wall, and as if we had no eyes do we grope: we stumble at noonday as in the twilight; we are in complete darkness like the dead.


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We growl all of us like bears, and like doves do we moan sorely; we ever hope for justice, but there is none; for aid, but it is far from us.


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For our transgressions are numerous in thy presence, and our sins testify against us; for of our transgressions are we aware; and our iniquitieswe know them;


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We transgressed and denied the Lord, and departed away from our God; we spoke oppression and revolt, conceived and brought forth in our heart words of falsehood.


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And justice is forced to turn backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth stumbled in the street, and equity is not able to enter.


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And thus is the truth missing; and he that departeth from evil is regarded as foolish: and the Lord saw it, and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice.


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And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore his arm brought him aid, and his righteousness,yea, this sustained him.


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And he put on righteousness as a coat of mail, and <i>placed</i> the helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance as raiment, and wrapped himself with zeal as with a cloak.


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According to the demerits, so will he repay <i>all</i>, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands will he repay what they have merited.


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And they shall fear from the west the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun his glory; for there shall come distress like the stream which the Spirit of the Lord urgeth forward.


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But unto Zion shall come the redeemer, and unto those who return from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.


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And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord, My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy children, nor out of the mouth of thy childrens children, saith the Lord, from henceforth and unto all eternity.


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For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and a gross darkness the people; but over thee will shine forth the Lord, and his glory will be seen over thee.


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Lift up thy eyes round about and see, they all are assembled, they come to thee, thy sons are coming from afar, and thy daughters are brought along in arms.


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Then wilt thou see and be filled with light, and thy heart will dread and be enlarged; because unto thee shall be turned the abundance of the sea, the riches of nations shall come unto thee.


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The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; they all from Sheba shall come: gold and frankincense shall they carry, and the praises of the Lord shall they announce.


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All the flocks of Kedar shall be assembled unto thee, the rams of Nebayoth shall minister unto thee: they shall come for a favorable acceptance <i>unto me</i> upon my altar, and the house of my glory will I glorify.


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Yea, unto me <i>the inhabitants of</i> the isles shall hasten, and the ships of Tharshish at first, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel; because he hath glorified thee.


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And the sons of the stranger shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee; for in my wrath did I smite thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.


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And thy gates shall stand open continually, day and night shall they not be closed, to bring unto thee the wealth of nations, and their kings led <i>captive</i>.


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For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; and the nations shall be utterly destroyed.


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The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir, the cypress, and the box together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary, and the <i>resting</i> place of my feet will I glorify.


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And then shall come unto thee bent down the sons of those who afflicted thee, and there shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet all thy revilers; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.


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Instead that thou wast forsaken and hated, without one to pass through <i>thee</i>, will I render thee an excellency of everlasting, a joy of all generations.


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And thou shalt suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings shalt thou suck; and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.


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Instead of the copper will I bring gold, and instead of the iron will I bring silver, and instead of wood copper, and instead of the stones iron; and I will set peace as thy authorities, and righteousness as thy taskmasters.


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There shall not be heard any wore violence in thy land, wasting and destruction within thy boundaries; but thou shalt call, Salvation, thy walls, and thy gates, Praise.


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The sun shall not be unto thee any more for a light by day, and for brightness shall the moon not give light unto thee; but the Lord will be unto thee for a light of everlasting, and thy God as thy glory.


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Thy sun shall not go down any more, and thy moon shall not be withdrawn; for the Lord will be unto thee for a light of everlasting, and ended shall be the days of thy mourning,


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And thy peoplethey all will be righteous, for ever shall they possess the land, the sprout of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may glorify myself.


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The little one shall become a thousand, and the small, a mighty nation: I the Lord will hasten it in its time.


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The Spirit of the Lord Eternal is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to announce good tidings unto the meek: he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim to captives Liberty, and to prisoners Release;


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To proclaim a year of favor of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all mourners;


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To grant unto the mourners of Zion,to give unto them ornament in the place of ashes, oil of gladness in the place of mourning, garments of praise in the place of a grieved spirit; that they may be called, Oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.


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And they shall build up the ancient ruins, desolate places of former times shall they raise up, and they shall renew ruined cities, the desolate places of many generations.


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And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vintners.


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But ye, ye shall be called, Priests of the Lord; Ministers of our God, shall be said unto you: the wealth of nations shall ye consume, and in their glory shall ye be placed as possessors.


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In the place of your twofold shame,and the confusion of which they loudly complained as their portion: therefore in their land shall they possess a twofold <i>portion</i>; everlasting joy shall be granted unto them.


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For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery with burntoffering: therefore will I give them the recompense of their work in truth, and an everlasting covenant will I make with them.


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And among the nations shall their seed be known, and their offspring in the midst of the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed whom the Lord hath blessed.


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I will be greatly glad in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, with the mantle of righteousness hath he enveloped me, as a bridegroom decketh himself with elegant attire, and as a bride adorneth herself with her bridal array.


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For, as the earth bringeth forth her growth, and as a garden causeth what is sown therein to spring forth: thus will the Lord Eternal cause righteousness and praise to spring forth in the presence of all the nations.


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For the sake of Zion will I not be silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem will I not be quiet; until its righteousness go forth as the brightness <i>of light</i>, and its salvation as a burning torch.


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And nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and men shall call thee by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall pronounce.


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And thou shalt be a crown of ornament in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.


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Thou shalt not be termed any more "Forsaken," and thy land shall not be termed any more "Desolate;" for thou shalt be called "My delight in her" <i>Chephzibah</i>, and thy land "Espoused" <i>Beulah</i>; for the Lord will have delight in thee, and thy land shall be espoused.


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For as a young man espouseth a virgin, so shall thy sons espouse thee; and as the bridegroom is glad over the bride, so will be glad over thee thy God.


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Over thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I appointed watchmen, all the day and all the night, continually, shall they not be silent: ye that make mention of the Lord, take ye no rest.


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And give him no rest, until he have established, and until he have set up Jerusalem as a praise on the earth.


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Sworn hath the Lord by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, I will not give thy corn any more as food for thy enemies, and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy young wine for which thou hast labored;


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But they who gather it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they who bring it together shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.


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Pass, pass through the gates, make clear the way of the people, cast up, cast up the highway, remove away the stones, lift up a banner over the nations.


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Behold, the Lord hath caused to be heard unto the ends of the earth, "Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold his reward is with him, and his recompense before him."


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And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought for, <i>Derusha,</i> The city never forsaken.


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Who is this that cometh from Edom, dyed red in his garments from Bozrah? thisglorious in his apparel, moving along in the greatness of his strength? "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save."


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Why is redness on thy apparel, and <i>why are</i> thy garments as of one that treadeth the winepress?


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"I have trodden the vat alone, and of the nations there was no man with me; and I trod them down in my anger, and I trampled on them in my fury; and their blood was sprinkled on my garments, and all my raiments have I stained.


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And I looked, and there was no one to help, and I was astonished, and there was no one to support; and then my own arm aided me, and my furythis it was that upheld me.


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And I stamped down nations in my anger, and I made them drunken with my fury, and brought down to the earth their victorious strength."


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The kindnesses of the Lord will I mention, the praises of the Lord, in accordance with all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the abundant goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and the abundance of his kindnesses.


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And he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie; and he became to them a Saviour.


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In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and he carried them all the days of old.


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But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit; and he changed himself to become their enemy, and he fought against them.


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Then remembered his people the ancient days of Moses, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put within him his holy Spirit?


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That displayed by the right hand of Moses his glorious arm; that divided the water before them, to make unto himself an everlasting name?


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As a beast goeth down into the valley, so did the spirit of the Lord bring them to rest; thus didst thou guide thy people, to make unto thyself a glorious name.


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Look down from heaven, and behold, from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mights, the yearning of thy bowels and of thy mercy which are now restrained from me?


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For thou art our father; for Abraham knoweth nothing of us, and Israel recogniseth us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.


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Why hast thou let us go astray, O Lord, from thy ways, suffered our heart to be hardened against thy fear? Return for the sake of thy servants, the tribes of thy heritage.


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We are become as though we are those over whom thou hast never ruled, over whom thy name hath not been called.


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<n>(63:19)</n> Oh that thou mightest rend the heavens, come down: at thy presence would mountains <i>then</i> melt away.


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<n>(64:1)</n> As fire is kindled on brushwood, as water is made to bubble up by fireto make thy name known to thy adversaries, that at thy presence nations might tremble!


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<n>(64:2)</n> <i>As</i> when thou didst fearful deeds which we had not looked for, thou camest down, <i>while</i> at thy presence mountains melted away;


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<n>(64:3)</n> Yea! what from the beginning of the world men had not heard, not perceived by their hearing; no eye <i>also</i> had seen a god beside thee, who could do <i>the like</i> for the one that waiteth for him.


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<n>(64:4)</n> Thou acceptest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou wast wroth, for we had sinned on them continually; and can we thus be saved?


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<n>(64:5)</n> And we are become like an unclean man all of us, and like a soiled garment, all our righteousness; and we wither like a leaf all of us; and our iniquities, like the wind, will bear us away.


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<n>(64:6)</n> And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth himself up to lay hold of thee; for thou hast hidden thy face from us, and hast let us melt away, through the force of our iniquities.


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<n>(64:7)</n> But now, O Lord, our father art thou; we are the clay, and thou our fashioner; and the work of thy hand are we all.


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<n>(64:8)</n> Be not wroth, O Lord, so very greatly, and do not for ever remember <i>our</i> iniquity: behold, look, we beseech thee, thy people are we all.


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<n>(64:9)</n> Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem, a desolate place.


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<n>(64:10)</n> Our holy and beautiful house where our fathers praised thee, is burnt up with fire; and all our costly things are become ruins.


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<n>(64:11)</n> Wilt thou for these things refrain thyself, O Lord? wilt thou be silent, and afflict us so very greatly?


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I allowed myself to be sought by those that asked not; I let myself be found by those that sought me not: I said, Here am I, here am I, unto a nation that called itself not by my name.


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I spread out my hands all the time unto a rebellious people, that walk in the way which is not good, after their own thoughts;


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<i>To</i> the people that provoke me to anger to my face continually; that sacrifice in gardens and burn incense upon <i>altars of</i> brick,


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That sit about among the graves, and lodge in the vaults, that eat the flesh of the swine, and <i>have</i> broth of abominations <i>in</i> their vessels;


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That say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the time.


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Behold, it is written before me; I will not keep silence, till I have recompensed, yea, recompensed into their bosom.


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Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, who have burnt incense upon the mountains, and upon the hills have blasphemed me: and I will measure out their work at first into their bosom.


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Thus hath said the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster of grapes, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for the sake of my servants, that I will not destroy the whole;


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And I let come forth out of Jacob a seed, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.


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And Sharon shall become a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a restingplace for herds, for my people that have sought me.


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But ye who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, that set out a table for the god of Fortune, and that fill for Destiny the drinkoffering.


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Yea, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall kneel down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not hear; but ye did what is evil in my eyes, and that wherein I had no delight did ye choose.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be made ashamed;


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Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry out from pain of heart, and from a broken spirit shall ye howl;


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And ye shall leave behind your name for an oath unto my elect ones, when the Lord Eternal will slay thee; but his servants will he call by another name.


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Whoever there be that blesseth himself on the earth shall bless himself by the true God; and that sweareth on the earth shall swear by the true God; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.


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For, behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind;


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But be ye glad and rejoice unto all eternity in what I create; for, behold, I will create Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for gladness.


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And I will rejoice over Jerusalem, and be glad in my people: and there shall not be heard in her any more the voice of weeping, nor the voice of complaint.


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There shall no more come thence an infant of few days, nor an old man that shall not have the full length of his days; for as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who <i>dieth</i> at a hundred years old.


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They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and the work of their hands shall my elect wear out.


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They shall not toil in vain, nor bring forth unto an early death; for the seed of the blessed of the Lord are they, and their offspring with them.


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And it shall come to pass, that before yet they call will I answer; and while they are still speaking will I hear.


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The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall like the bullock eat straw: and the serpentdust shall be his food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.


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Thus hath said the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is there a house that ye can build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?


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For all these things hath my hand made, that all these things came into being, saith the Lord; but upon such a one will I look, upon the poor, and him who is of a contrite spirit, and who trembleth at my word.


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He that slaughtereth the ox, slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, breaketh the neck of a dog; he that offereth a meatoffering, <i>offereth</i> swines blood; he that burneth incense, blesseth an idol: yea, they have made choice of their own ways, and in their abominations doth their soul delight.


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So will I also make choice of their misfortune, and what they dread will I bring upon them; because I called, and none did answer; I spoke, and they did not hear; and they did what is evil in my eyes, and that in which I delighted not did they choose.


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Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for the sake of my name, said, "Let the Lord be glorified;" but he will appear to your joy, and they shall be made ashamed.


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<i>There is</i> a voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord who rendereth recompense to his enemies.


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Before she had travailed she brought forth; before yet her pain was come, she was delivered of a manchild.


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Who hath heard the like? who hath seen such things? shall a land be made to travail in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? that Zion hath travailed, also brought forth her children?


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Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord; or shall I who cause to bring forth, now prevent it? saith thy God.


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Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be delighted over her, all ye that love her; be highly glad with her, all ye that mourn for her.


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In order that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolations; in order that ye may sip, and find pleasure from the abundance of her glory.


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For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will extend to her peace like a river, and like a rapid stream the glory of nations, that ye may suck: upon the arm shall ye be borne, and upon knees shall ye be dandled.


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And ye shall see this, and your heart shall be glad, and your bones shall flourish like the grass; and then will be known the hand of the Lord on his servants, and he will be indignant toward his enemies.


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For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the stormwind, to send forth his anger with fury, and his threatening with flames of fire.


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For by fire will the Lord judge, and by his sword against all flesh: and many shall be the slain of the Lord.


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They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves for the gardens, behind one tree in the midst, they who eat the flesh of the swine, and the abomination, and the mouse, together shall they perish, saith the Lord.


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And I, because of their works and their thoughts, will let it come to pass to gather all the nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory.


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And I will display a sign on them, and I will send from them those that escape unto the nations, Tharshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, Thubal, and Javan, the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, and have not seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.


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And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations as an offering unto the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring the offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.


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For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall have permanence before me, saith the Lord, so shall exist permanently your seed and your name.


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And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to the other new moon, and from one sabbath to the other sabbath, shall all flesh come to prostrate themselves before me, saith the Lord.


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And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, nor shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence unto all flesh.


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The words of Jeremiah the son of Chilkiyahu, one of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin;


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To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,


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And who continued <i>prophet</i> in the days of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah the king of Judah, until the carrying away into exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.


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Before yet I had formed thee in thy mothers body I knew thee; and before thou wast yet come forth out of the womb I sanctified thee: a prophet unto the nations did I ordain thee.


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And the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am <i>but</i> a lad; but to whomsoever I may send thee shalt thou go, and whatsoever I may command thee shalt thou speak.


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And the Lord stretched forth his hand, and touched <i>me</i> therewith on my mouth; and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.


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See, I have appointed thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down: to build up, and to plant.


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And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, A staff of all almondtree do I see.


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And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A seething pot do I see; and the front thereof is turned from the north.


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And the Lord said unto me, Out of the north shall the evil break forth over all the inhabitants of the land,


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For, lo, I will call unto all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all its walls round about, and upon <i>those of</i> all the cities of Judah.


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And I will call them to account touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burnt incense unto other gods, and have bowed down unto the works of their own hands.


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But do thou gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I may command thee; be not discouraged because of them, lest I humble thee before them.


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But I, behold, I have made of thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls over the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.


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And <i>although</i> they fight against thee, they shall not prevail against thee; for with thee am I saith the Lord, to deliver thee.


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Go and call out before the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, I remember unto thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, thy going after me in the wilderness, through a land that is not sown.


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A holy thing is Israel unto the Lord, the first of his fruits: all that devour him shall incur guilt; evil shall come over them, saith the Lord.


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Thus hath said the Lord, What fault did your fathers find in me, that they went away far from me, and walked after vanity, and became vain?


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That they said not, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of wildness, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land through which no one had passed, and where no man had dwelt?


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And I brought you into the land of fruitful fields, to eat its fruit and its goodly products; but ye came and ye made unclean my land, and my heritage ye rendered an abomination.


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The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal, and after things that cannot profit did they walk.


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Therefore will I contend yet farther with you, saith the Lord, and with your childrens children will I contend.


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For pass over to the isles of the Chittites, and see; and unto Kedar send, and consider well and see if any thing like this hath happened.


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Hath a nation exchanged its gods, which are yet no gods? and <i>still</i> my people hath exchanged its glory for that which can not profit.


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Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and let your hair stand at an end, be ye greatly terrified, saith the Lord.


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For two evils have my people committed: me have they forsaken, the source of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.


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Is Israel a servant? or one born <i>to servitude</i> in the house? why hath he been given up to plunder?


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<i>That</i> over him young lions roared, let their voice resound, and changed his land into a waste, that his cities are burnt, left without an inhabitant?


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Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, through thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while he was leading thee on the <i>right</i> way?


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And now what hast thou to do on the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shichor? and what hast thou to do on the way of Asshur, to drink the waters of the river?


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Thy own wickedness shall chastise thee, and thy backslidings shall correct thee; and thou shalt know and see that evil and bitter was thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while the dread of me was not upon thee, saith the Lord Eternal of hosts.


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Because from yore did I break thy yoke, did I burst asunder thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress: nevertheless upon every high hill and under every green tree thou makest thy bed, as harlot.


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Yet I had planted thee as a branch of a noble vine, wholly of the proper seed; but how art thou changed unto me into a degenerate plant of an ignoble vine?


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For though thou wash thyself with natron, and take for thyself much soap: yet would the stain of thy iniquity remain before me, saith the Lord Eternal.


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How canst thou say, I am not become unclean, after the Bealim have I not gone? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: <i>like</i> a swift dromedary bound fast to her ways;


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<i>Like</i> a wild ass used to the wilderness, that at her pleasure snuffeth up the wind; her lustwho can turn this away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month will they find her.


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"Prevent thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from being thirsty;" but thou saidst, It is useless; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.


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As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so have the house of Israel been made ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,


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Who say to the wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast brought us forth; for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their misfortune will they say, Arise, and save us.


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But where are then thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy misfortune; for equal to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah.


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To no purpose have I smitten your children; correction they accepted not: your sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.


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O <i>present</i> generation, regard ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of deep darkness? wherefore say my people, We wander about; we cannot come any more unto thee?


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Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her decorations? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.


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Why ornamentest thou thy way to seek for love? truly even the worst hast thou used thyself as thy ways.


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Also on thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent needy ones: not while breaking in <i>thy house</i> didst thou find them; but for all these things.


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Yet thou sayest, Yea, I am innocent, surely his anger is already turned away from me. Behold, I will hold judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.


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Why makest thou thyself so very low to change thy way? also because of Egypt shalt thou be made ashamed, as thou wast put to shame because of Assyria.


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Also from this one shalt thou go forth, with thy hands <i>clasped</i> over thy head; for the Lord hath rejected those on whom thou trustest and thou shalt not prosper with them.


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One could say, Behold, if a man send away his wife, and she go from him, and become another mans, can he return unto her again? would not that land be greatly polluted? and thou hast played the harlot with many companions, and wilt yet return to me, saith the Lord.


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Lift up thy eyes unto the mountaintops, and see where thou hast not been lain with. On public roads hast thou sat for them, as the Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy incests and with thy wickedness.


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And <i>though</i> the early showers were withholden, and the latter rain came not: yet hadst thou a forehead of an incestuous wife, thou refusedst to feel shame.


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Will he bear grudge for ever? will he keep it to eternity? Behold, thou hast spoken <i>this</i>, and yet hast done the things that are evil as much as thou wast able.


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And the Lord said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.


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And I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return unto me. But she returned not. And this saw her treacherous sister Judah.


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And I saw, that, although because backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had sent her away, and given her bill of divorce unto her, still treacherous Judah her sister feared not, but went and played herself the harlot also.


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And it came to pass through her giddy incest, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stone and with wood.


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And yet with all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with all her heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.


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And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself through the treacherous Judah.


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Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord: I will not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am full of kindness, saith the Lord, I will not hear grudge for ever.


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Only acknowledge thy iniquity, that against the Lord thy God thou hast rebelled, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and that unto my voice ye have not hearkened, saith the Lord.


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Return, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am become your husband; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and bring you to Zion:


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And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and intelligence.


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And it shall come to pass, when ye multiply and increase in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, that men shall not say any more, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord;" nor shall it come any more to mind; nor shall they remember it; nor shall they mention it; nor shall any thing be done any more <i>with it</i>.


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At that time shall they call Jerusalem, The throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: and they shall not walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.


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In those days shall the house of Judah walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north unto the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.


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But I had thought, How shall I establish thee among the <i>other</i> sons <i>of man</i>, and give thee a desirable land, a heritage of glory of the hosts of nations? and I thought, My father thou wouldst call me, and that from me thou wouldst not turn away.


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But truly as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.


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A voice is now heard upon the mountaintops, the supplicatory weeping of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God.


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Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. "Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.


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Truly deceptive was <i>what we hoped for</i> from the hills, and the multitude on the mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.


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And shame hath devoured the acquisition of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.


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We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for against the Lord our God have we sinned, we and our fathers, from our youth even until this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God."


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If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, unto me must thou return; and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not wander about <i>any more</i>.


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And if thou wilt swear, As the Lord liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness: then shall nations bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glorify themselves.


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For thus hath said the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Plough up your fallow ground, that ye may not sow among thorns.


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Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the obduracy of your heart, O ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.


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Tell ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the cornet in the land: call out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.


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Set up the standard toward Zion; save yourselves by flight, stay not; for evil do I bring from the north, and a great destruction.


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The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of nations hath commenced his march, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, left without an inhabitant.


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For this gird yourselves with sackcloths, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.


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And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall fail; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.


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Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.


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At that time shall be announced to this people and to Jerusalem a dry wind from the mountainpeaks in the wilderness, <i>coming</i> on the road to the daughter of my people; not to winnow, nor to cleanse <i>the corn</i>,


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A strong wind from these places shall come unto me: now also will I myself pronounce judgment against them.


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Behold, like clouds shall he come up, and like a whirlwind shall be his chariots: swifter than eagles are his horses. "Woe unto us! for we are wasted."


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Wash from wrong doing thy heart, O Jerusalem, in order that thou mayest be saved. How long wilt thou let lodge within thee the thoughts of thy wickedness?


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Make ye mention of it to the nations; behold, let it be heard against Jerusalem, that beleaguerers come from a faroff country, and send forth their voice against the cities of Judah.


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As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because against me hath she been rebellious, saith the Lord.


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Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee: this is thy wickedness, which is so bitter, which so reacheth unto thy heart.


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My bowels, my bowels! I am shaken, at the very chambers of my heart; my heart beateth tumultuously in me; I cannot remain silent; because the sound of the cornet hast thou heard, O my soul, the alarm of war.


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Ruin upon ruin is called out; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents wasted, and in a moment, my curtains.


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"Because my people is foolish, me have they not known; sottish children are they, and they have not any understanding: wise are they to do evil, but how to do good they do not know."


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I look at the earth, and, lo, it is without form and void; and toward the heavens, and their light is gone.


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I look, and, lo, the fruitful country is a wilderness, and all its cities are laid waste at the presence of the Lord, because of the fierceness of his anger.


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For this shall mourn the earth, and black shall be the heavens above; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I will not repent, and I will not turn back from it.


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From the noise of horsemen and those that shoot with the bow fleeth the whole city; they go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.


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And thou, O wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, though thou adorn thyself with ornaments of gold, though thou encircle with paint thy eyes: in vain shalt thou make thyself beautiful; the adulterers will despise thee, thy life will they seek.


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For a voice as of a woman in travail have I heard, the anguish as of one that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that groaneth, that spreadeth out her hands, <i>saying,</i> "Woe is me now! for my soul succumbeth to the murderers."


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Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and notice, and search in its broad places, if ye can find one man, if there be one that executeth justice, that searcheth for truth: and I will pardon it.


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O Lord, are not thy eyes <i>directed</i> to the truth? thou didst strike them, but they felt it not; thou didst make an end of them, <i>yet</i> they refused to accept correction: they made their faces harder than a rock, they refused to return.


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Yet I myself thought, Oh these are but poor; they are foolish; for they knew not the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God.


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I had better go unto the great men, and let me speak with them; for these surely know the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God; but these altogether have broken the yoke, burst the bands.


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Therefore slayeth them the lion out of the forest, the wolf of the deserts wasteth them, the leopard lieth in wait against their cities: every one that cometh out thence shall be torn in pieces; because many are their transgressions, very numerous are their backslidings.


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How shall I for this pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by those that are not gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots house.


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As robust horses they rose by times in the morning: every one neighed after the wife of his neighbor.


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Shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: and shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?


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Scale ye her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: remove her young shoots; for they are not the Lords.


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For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.


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They have denied the Lord, and said, "He existeth not; nor will evil come over us; and the sword and famine shall we not see.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth to be a fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.


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Lo, I will bring over you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is a most ancient nation, a nation whose language thou wilt not know, and thou wilt not understand what they speak.


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And they shall consume thy harvest, and thy bread; they shall consume thy sons and thy daughters; they shall consume thy flocks and thy herds; they shall consume thy vines and thy figtrees; they shall depopulate thy fortified cities, those wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.


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And it shall come to pass, when ye will say, For what reason hath the Lord our God done all these things unto us? that thou shalt say unto them, In the same manner as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.


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Do now hear this, O sottish people, who have no heart; who have eyes, and see not; who have ears, and hear not;


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Will ye not fear me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand as a bound for the sea by an everlasting law, which it can never pass over? and though the waves thereof be upheaved, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it.


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But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart: they have departed <i>from the right</i> and have gone their way.


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And they have not said in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, the early and the latter rain, in its season: the appointed weeks of the harvest doth he ever preserve for us.


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For there are found among my people wicked men: they lie in wait, as he that layeth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.


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As a coop is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore are they become great, and grown rich.


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They are grown fat, they are stout; yea, they surpass even the deeds of the wicked: they pronounce no <i>just</i> sentence, the sentence of the fatherless, that they might prosper; and the cause of the needy do they not judge.


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shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: or shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?


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The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; but what will ye do in the end thereof?


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Assemble, O ye children of Benjamin, to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa, blow the cornet, and on Bethhakkerem set up a fire signal; for evil is seen <i>coming</i> out of the north, and great havoc.


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Unto her shall come shepherds with their flocks; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed off every one his own place.


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Prepare ye war against her! "Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day waneth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.


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For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Cut ye down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city whose time of punishment is come; she is full of oppression in her midst.


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As a well sendeth forth its waters, so doth she cause her wickedness to spring forth: violence and robbery are heard in her; in my presence there are continually disease and wounds.


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Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, that my soul tear itself not away from thee; that I render thee not desolate, a land which is not inhabited.


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Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean like a vine the remnant of Israel: carry back thy hand as a grapegatherer frequently to the baskets.


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To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot be attentive: behold, the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.


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And I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with sustaining it: <i>I must</i> pour it out over the child in the street, and over the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be seized, the aged with him that is full of days.


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And their houses shall be transferred unto others, fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.


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For from their least even unto their greatest, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one practiseth falsehood.


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And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people very lightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace.


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They should have been ashamed, because they had committed an abomination; but they neither felt the least shame, nor did they know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among those that fall; at the time that I punish their sin shall they stumble, saith the Lord.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Place yourselves on the ways, and see, and ask after the ancient paths, where is the way which is good, that ye may walk thereon, and find rest for your soul. But they said, We will not walk <i>thereon</i>.


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Then did I set watchmen over you, <i>saying,</i> Listen to the sound of the cornet. But they said, We will not listen.


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Hear, O earth! behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; because unto my words have they not been attentive, and as regardeth my law,that have they despised.


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To what purpose serveth me the frankincense which cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a faroff country? your burntofferings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not agreeable unto me.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will place before this people stumblingblocks, and thereon shall stumble the fathers and the sons together, the neighbor and his friend, and they shall perish.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, a people is coming from the north country, and a great nation shall wake up from the farthest ends of the earth.


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Bow and spear shall they firmly grasp; cruel are they, and will have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and upon horses do they ride; set in array as one man for the war, against thee, O daughter of Zion.


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We have heard the fame of himour hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, pain, as of a woman in giving birth.


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Go not forth into the field, on the road must ye not walk; for <i>there is</i> the sword of the enemy, terror on every side.


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O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth, and roll thyself in the ashes: a mourning as for an only son prepare unto thee, a most bitter lamentation; for suddenly will the destroyer come over us.


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I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and probe their way.


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The bellows are burnt, by the fire the lead is consumed: in vain the melter refineth; for the wicked are not separated away.


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Place thyself in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in by these gates to bow down before the Lord.


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Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will permit you to dwell in this place.


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<i>But</i> do not rely on the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, <i>as</i> they <i>say</i>.


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For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your deeds; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;


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If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after other gods to your own hurt:


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Then will I permit you to dwell in this place, in the land that I have given to your fathers, from eternity to eternity.


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How? will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods of which ye have no knowledge;


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And <i>then</i> come and stand before my presence in this house, which is called by my name, and say, "We are delivered;" in order to do all these abominations?


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Is then this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? <i>But</i> I also, behold, I have seen it, saith the Lord.


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For go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did unto it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.


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And now, whereas ye have done all these acts, saith the Lord, and I spoke unto you, causing <i>the prophets</i> to rise up early and speaking, while ye would not hear; and I called you, but ye would not answer:


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Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, whereon ye rely, and unto the place which I have given to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.


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And I will cast you out of my presence, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim.


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But thoupray not thou in behalf of this people, nor lift up in their behalf entreaty or prayer, nor make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee.


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The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drinkofferings unto other gods, in order to provoke me to anger.


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Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord, <i>and</i> not themselves, to the shame of their own faces?


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, over man, and over beast, and over the trees of the field, and over the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and it shall not be quenched.


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Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Add your burntofferings unto your peacesacrifices, and eat the flesh thereof.


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For I spoke not with your fathers, and I commanded them not on the day of my bringing them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burntoffering or sacrifice;


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But this thing did I command them, saying, Hearken to my voice, and I will be unto you for a God, and ye shall be unto me for a people; and walk ye altogether on the way which I may command you, in order that it may be well unto you.


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Yet they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear; but they walked in the counsels, in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and they went backward, and not forward:


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Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt until this day; and I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, sending them daily in the morning early;


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Yet they hearkened not unto me, and inclined not their ear; but they hardened their neck; they did worse than their fathers.


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And if thou speak unto them all these words, and they will not hearken to thee; and if thou call unto them, and they will not answer thee:


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Then shalt thou say unto them, This is the nation that hearken not to the voice of the Lord their God, and accept not correction; lost is the truth, and is obliterated from their mouth.


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Cut off thy flowing hair, and cast it away, and take up on mountaintops a lamentation; for rejected hath the Lord and forsaken the generation of his wrath.


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For the children of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes, saith the Lord: they have set up their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.


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And they have built the highplaces of Thophet, which is in the valley of Benhinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I had not commanded, and which never came into my mind.


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Therefore, behold days are coming, saith the Lord, that it shall not be called any more Thophet, or The valley of Benhinnom, but The valley of slaughter: and they shall bury in Thophet, for want of room.


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And the carcasses of this people shall become food unto the fowls of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth, with none to chase them away.


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And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for a desert shall the land become.


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At that time, saith the Lord, shall they bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.


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And they shall spread them out before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and to which they have prostrated themselves: they shall not be gathered up, and they shall not be buried; dung upon the face of the ground shall they become.


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And death shall be preferable to life, for all the residue of those that are left of this evil family, who are left in all the places whither I shall have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts.


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And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Shall they fall, and not arise? will he turn away, and not return?


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Why then remaineth this people, Jerusalem, rebellious by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast on deceit, they refuse to return.


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I listened and heard, but they would not speak aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned again to his course, as the impetuous horse in the battle.


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Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the swallow, atad the crane observe the time of their coming home; but my people know not the ordinance of the Lord.


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How can ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Truly, behold in vain wrought the pen, in vain the writers.


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The wise men are ashamed, they are discouraged and caught, lo, the word of the Lord have they rejected; and what wisdom have they <i>now</i>?


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Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to conquerors; for from the least even unto the greatest, every one is seeking his own gain: from the prophet even unto the priest every one practiseth falsehood.


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They should have been ashamed, because they had committed abomination; but they neither felt the least shame, nor did they know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among those that fall; at the time of their punishment shall they stumble, saith the Lord.


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I will surely make an end of them, saith the Lord: <i>there shall be left</i> no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the figtree, and the leaf shall wither; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.


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"Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us poisonwater to drink; because we have sinned against the Lord.


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From Dan was heard the snorting of his horses; at the sound of the neighing of his warsteeds trembleth the whole land: and they are come, and devour the land, and all that filleth it; the city, and those that dwell therein.


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For, behold, I will send out against you serpents, basilisks, for which there is no charm, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.


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Behold <i>I hear</i> the voice of the complaint of the daughter of my people <i>coming</i> out of a faroff land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? is her king no more in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with the vanities of the stranger?"


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Because of the breach of the daughter of my people am I broken: I am grieved; astonishment hath taken fast hold on me.


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Is there no <i>more</i> balm in Gilad? or is no physician there? why then is there not placed a plaster <i>on the wound of</i> the daughter of my people?


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<n>(8:23)</n> Oh that one would make my head water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people!


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<n>(9:1)</n> Oh that one would place me in the wilderness in a lodgingplace of wayfaring men. that I might leave my people, and go from them! for all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors.


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<n>(9:2)</n> And they bend their tongues, their bow of falsehood, and not for the truth are they valiant in the land; for from evil to evil do they proceed, and me they know not, saith the Lord.


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<n>(9:3)</n> Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and on any brother place ye no reliance; for every brother will surely supplant, and every neighbor will go about as a talebearer.


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<n>(9:4)</n> And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and the truth will they not speak: they have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves to commit iniquity.


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<n>(9:5)</n> Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit: through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.


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<n>(9:6)</n> Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and probe them; for how <i>else</i> shall I do because of the daughter of my people?


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<n>(9:7)</n> A murderous arrow is their tongue; <i>every one</i> speaketh deceit: with his mouth speaketh he peaceably to his neighbor, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.


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<n>(9:8)</n> Shall I not for these things inflict punishment on them? saith the Lord: or shall not on a nation such as this my soul be avenged?


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<n>(9:9)</n> For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation; because they are burnt up, so that no man can pass through them; and they hear not the voice of the cattle: both the fowls of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone away.


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<n>(9:10)</n> And I will change Jerusalem into heaps of ruins, a dwelling for monsters: and the cities of Judah will I make desolate, without an inhabitant.


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<n>(9:11)</n> Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it: for what is the land destroyed, burnt up like the wilderness, without one that passeth through?


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<n>(9:12)</n> And the Lord said, Because they forsook my law which I had set before them, and hearkened not to my voice, and walked not therein;


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<n>(9:13)</n> But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Bealim, which their fathers had taught them.


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<n>(9:14)</n> Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed themthis people, with wormwood, and give them poisonwater to drink.


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<n>(9:15)</n> And I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send out after them the sword, till I have consumed them.


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<n>(9:16)</n> Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Consider it well, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the women skilled in lament, that they may come;


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<n>(9:17)</n> And let them make haste, and take up for us a lamentation, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids drop down water.


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<n>(9:18)</n> For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we wasted! we are greatly ashamed; because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.


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<n>(9:19)</n> For hear, O ye women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear perceive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.


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<n>(9:20)</n> For death is come up through our windows, is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the open places.


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<n>(9:21)</n> Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Yea, the carcasses of men shall lie as dung upon the open field, and as the sheaves <i>left</i> after the harvestman, with none to gather them.


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<n>(9:22)</n> Thus hath said the Lord, Let not the wise glorify himself in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glorify himself in his might, let not the rich glorify himself in his riches;


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<n>(9:23)</n> But let him that glorifieth himself glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord who exercise kindness, justice, and righteousness, on the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.


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<n>(9:24)</n> Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will send punishment on all the circumcised who are <i>yet</i> uncircumcised;


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<n>(9:25)</n> On Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, and on the children of Ammon, and on Moab, and all who have the locks of their hair cut off round that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Do not habituate yourselves on the way of the nations, and at the signs of the heavens be ye not dismayed; although the nations should be dismayed at them.


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For the statutes of these people concern what is vanity; for it is but a tree which a man hath cut out of a forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.


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With silver and with gold do they ornament it; with nails and with hammers do they fasten it, that it move not from its place.


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As a wroughtout palmlike column are they, and cannot speak; they must needs be borne, because they cannot step along. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do any harm, so also to do any good is not in them.


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Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord: thou <i>alone</i> art great, and great is thy name in might.


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Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, <i>they say</i> there is none like unto thee.


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But at once shall they be shown to be brutish and foolish: it is a doctrine of vanities, it concerneth but wood.


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The beaten out silver is brought from Tharshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple is their clothing; the work of skilful men are they all.


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But the Lord God is the truth, he is the living God, and the everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall quake, and nations cannot endure his indignation.


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Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, shall perish away from the earth, and from under these heavens.


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He made the earth by his power, he established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.


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At the sound when he giveth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; when he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures:


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Then standeth every man as brutish without knowledge; ashamed is every goldsmith because of the graven image; for falsehood is his molten work, and there is no breath therein.


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Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.


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For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will cast forth as with a sling the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will enclose them, in order that they may find them.


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Woe is me for my breach! my wound is painful; but I thought, This is but pain, and I shall be able to bear it.


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<i>But now</i> my tent is laid waste, and all my cords are torn asunder; my children are gone away from me, and they are not <i>here</i>; there is no one to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.


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For the shepherds were brutish, and the Lord had they not sought; therefore have they not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.


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Behold, the noise of the report is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to render the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling for monsters.


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I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in his own power: it is not in man that passeth away to direct his own steps.


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Pour out thy fury over the nations that know thee not, and over the families that have not called on thy name; for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.


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Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;


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And say thou unto them, Thus hath said the Lord God of Israel, Cursed be the man that hearkeneth not to the words of this covenant,


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Which I commanded your fathers on the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice, and do the same, in accordance with all which I may command you; and so shall ye be to me for a people, and I will be to you for a God;


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In order that I may fulfill the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give unto them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered, and said, So be it, O Lord.


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Then said the Lord unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.


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For I earnestly warned your fathers on the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt even until this day, sending out early and warning, saying, Hearken to my voice;


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Yet they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but walked every one in the stubbornness of their evil heart: therefore did I bring over them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but which they did not.


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And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy hath been found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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They are returned again to the iniquities of their earlier forefathers, who had refused to hearken to my words; and they themselves are <i>also</i> gone after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will bring an evil upon them, from which they shall not be able to rid themselves; and they will cry unto me, but I will not hearken unto them.


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Then let the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense; but they shall not save them in the least in the time of their distress.


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For equal to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and equal to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the disgraceful idol, altars, to burn incense unto Baal.


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But thouthou must not pray in behalf of this people, neither lift up in their behalf entreaty or prayer; for I will not hear at the time that they call unto me, because of their distress.


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What hath my beloved to do in my house, while she executeth the evil counsel of so many <i>sinners</i>? Yea, the holy flesh passeth away from thee; for even with thy wickedness, thou rejoicest still.


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An evergreen olivetree, beautiful in fruit and form, did the Lord call thy name: with the noise of a great tumult hath he kindled fire around it, and they break off its branches.


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And the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath decreed evil against thee; on account of the wickedness of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves, to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.


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But I was like a sheep or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, <i>saying,</i> "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may not be remembered any more."


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But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I entrusted my cause.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, "Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of the Lord, that thou mayest not die by our hand:"


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will inflict punishment on them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by the famine;


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And no remnant shall remain of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, in the year of their punishment.


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<i>Too</i> righteous art thou, O Lord, that I could plead with thee; yet must I speak of <i>the principles of</i> justice with thee: Wherefore is the way of the wicked happy? do all those prosper that deal treacherously?


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Thou hast planted them; they have also taken root; they grow; they also bring forth fruit: thou art near, in their mouth, and far from their mind.


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But thou, O Lord, knowest me; thou seest me, and probest my heart toward thee; set them apart like sheep for the slaughter, and destine them for the day of slaying.


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How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of all the field wither? Because of the wickedness of those that dwell therein are wholly removed the beasts and the birds; because they said, He will not see our last end.


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If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how then canst thou contend with the horses? and if in the land of peace, <i>wherein</i> thou trustedst, <i>they wearied thee,</i> how then wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan?


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For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, even they have called forth a crowd of men after thee: believe them not, though they speak kindly unto thee.


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I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my heritage; I have given up the most dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.


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My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; it sent forth its voice against me: therefore do I hate it.


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Is my heritage become unto me as a bird of prey stained with blood? so that the birds of prey are all around it? Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them hither to devour.


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Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden under foot my field, they have rendered my pleasant field a desolate wilderness.


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They have made it a desert, and being desolate it mourneth before me: the whole land is made desolate, because no man laid it to heart.


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Over all the mountainpeaks in the wilderness did the destroyers come; for the sword of the Lord devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: there is no peace to any flesh.


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They have sown wheat, but they reap thorns; they have put themselves to pain <i>but</i> have no profit; be therefore ashamed of your products, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.


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Thus hath said the Lord against all my bad neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit, Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and the house of Judah will I pluck out from the midst of them.


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And it shall come to pass, that, after I have plucked them out, and I will again have mercy on them, and will restore them, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.


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And it shall come to pass, if they will truly learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As the Lord liveth; as they had taught my people to swear by Baal: that they shall then be built up in the midst of my people.


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But if they will not hearken, then will I pluck out that nation, plucking out and exterminating <i>them</i>, saith the Lord.


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Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it around thy loins, and lay it not in water.


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Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is around thy loins; and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.


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And it came to pass at the end of many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.


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And I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it: and, behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was useful for nothing.


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Thus hath said the Lord, After this manner will I destroy the pride of Judah, and the pride of Jerusalem, which is great.


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And this bad people, who refuse to hearken to my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and have followed other gods, to serve them, and to bow down to them, shall even be as this girdle which is useful for nothing.


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For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so had I caused to cleave unto me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah, saith the Lord,to become unto me a people, and <i>to be</i> for a name, and for praise, and for honor; but they would not hear.


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Therefore shalt thou say unto them this word, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and when they will say unto thee, Do we not know full well that every bottle shall be filled with wine?


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Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit after David upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.


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And I will dash them one against the other, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, so as not to destroy them.


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Give unto the Lord your God glory, before he cause darkness, and before your feet strike upon the mountains of twilight, and <i>where</i>, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and change it into gross darkness.


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But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places because of <i>your</i> pride; and my eye shall weep sorely, and run down with tears, because the flock of the Lord is driven away captive.


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Say unto the king and to the queenmother, Sit down very lowly; for sunk down are your headattires, the crown of your ornament.


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The cities of the south are shut up, and there is no one to open them: Judah is carried away into exile altogether, it is carried into exile completely.


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Lift up your eyes, and see those that are coming from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy splendid flock?


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What wilt thou say when he will punish thee? since thou hast accustomed them to be over thee captains, and chiefs? shall not pangs seize upon thee, as on a woman in travail?


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And if thou wilt say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts laid open, thy heels are made bare violently.


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Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? <i>then</i> may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.


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This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.


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Thy adulteries and thy loud shoutings, the lewdness of thy incest, thy abominations on the hills in the fields have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean after ever so long a time.


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Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they lie grieved on the ground; and the distressed cry of Jerusalem ascendeth upward.


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And their nobles have sent out their subordinates for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded, and cover their head.


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Because of the ground which is cracked open, since there hath been no rain in the land, are the ploughmen ashamed, they cover their head.


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Yea, the hind also bringeth forth her young in the field, and forsaketh <i>them</i>, because there is no grass.


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And the wild asses stand on the mountaintops, they snuff up the wind like serpents: their eyes fail, because there are no herbs.


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If our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, do thou act for the sake of thy name; for our backslidings are many; against thee have we sinned.


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O thou hope of Israel, his saviour in time of trouble, why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfarer that turneth aside to lodge for a night?


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Why shouldst thou be as a man that is surprised, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou art in the midst of us, O Lord, and we are called by thy name: abandon us not.


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Thus hath said the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander about, their feet have they not restrained: therefore the Lord doth not receive them in favor; now will he remember their iniquity, and will punish their sins.


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When they fast, I will not hear their entreaty: and when they offer burntoffering and meatoffering, I will not receive them in favor; but by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence, will I make an end of them.


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Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but a permanent peace will I give you in this place.


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Then said the Lord unto me, Falsehood do the prophets prophesy in my name; I have not sent them, neither have I commanded them, neither have I spoken unto them: a vision of falsehood, and divination, and idolatrous folly, and the deceit of their heart do they prophesy unto you.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, when I have not sent them, while they say, Sword and famine shall not come in this land: By the sword and by the famine shall these prophets come to their end.


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And the people to whom they prophesy shall lie cast down in the streets of Jerusalem by means of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; for I will pour out their wickedness over them.


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But thou shalt say unto them this word. My eyes shall run down with tears night and day, and they shall not cease; for with a great breach is the virgindaughter of my people broken, with a very painful blow.


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If I go forth into the field, behold, there are the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, behold, there are those that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest travel round into a land that they know not.


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Hast thou entirely rejected Judah? or hath thy soul loathing on Zion? why hast thou smitten us, so that there is no healing for us? we hoped for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold, there is terror!


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Do not cast us off, for the sake of thy name, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.


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Are there any among the vanities of the nations those that bestow rain? or can the heavens give forth showers? Behold, thou art this, O Lord our God, and we will hope in thee; for thou hast done all these things.


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And the Lord said unto me, If Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my favor would <i>still</i> not be toward this people: send them away out of my sight, that they may go forth.


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And it shall come to pass, if they should say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth, that thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Such as are destined to death, to death; and such as are destined to the sword, to the sword; and such as are destined to famine, to famine; and such as are destined to captivity, to captivity.


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And I will appoint over them four species, saith the Lord: The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag away, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.


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And I will cause them to become a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, on account of Menasseh the son of Hezekiah the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.


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For who will have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who will condole with thee? or who will go aside to ask after thy welfare?


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Thou hast indeed forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward; therefore do I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee: I am weary with repenting.


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And I winnow them with a fan in the gates of the land: I make childless, I annihilate my people, <i>since</i> from their ways they have not turned away.


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Their widows are more numerous before me than the sand of the seas: I bring unto them, over the mothers of the young men, a waster at noonday; I cause to fall upon her suddenly the enemy with <i>his</i> terrors.


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She that had born seven children fadeth away; she breatheth out her soul, her sun is set while it is yet day; she is made ashamed and put to the blush:and their residue will I give up to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.


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Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me, a man of contention and a man of strife to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have men lent to me: <i>yet</i> every one of them curseth me.


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The Lord said, Truly I will release thee for <i>thy</i> good; truly I will cause the enemy to meet thee in the time of distress and in the time of affliction.


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Thy wealth and thy treasures will I give up as spoil without price, and this for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.


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And I will cause them to pass over with thy enemies into a land which thou knowest not; for a fire is kindled in my anger, over you shall it burn.


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Thou well knowest it, O Lord! remember me and think of me, and avenge me on my persecutors; not according to thy longsuffering act thou for me: know, that for thy sake I have borne shame.


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When thy words were made manifest to me, then I greedily received them; and thy word became unto me the gladness and joy of my heart; for thy name is called upon me, O Lord of hosts.


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I sat not in the assembly of the mirthful, and was rejoiced; because of thy inspiration I sat solitary; for thou hadst filled me with indignation.


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Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable? it refuseth to be healed; it is truly become unto me as a deceptive spring, as waters that are not reliable.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord, If thou return, and I bring thee back again, then shalt thou stand before me; and if thou bring forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: these shall return unto thee; but thou shalt not return unto them.


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And I will make thee unto this people as a fortified brazen wall; and they will fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.


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And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the grasp of the tyrants.


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For thus hath said the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land:


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A death through diseases of famine shall they die; they shall not be lamented for; nor shall they be buried; for dung upon the face of the earth shall they be: and by the sword and by famine shall they come to their end; and their carcasses shall be for food unto the fowls of heaven, and unto the beasts of the earth.


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For thus hath said the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor to condole with them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, yea, kindness and mercy.


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And both the great and the small shall die in this land, they shall not be buried, and men shall not lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;


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Nor shall they break bread for them at their mourning, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall they give them to drink the cup of consolation for their father and for their mother.


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For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.


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And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they should say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord spoken against us all this great evil? and what is our iniquity? and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?


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That thou shalt say unto them, Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord, and walked after other gods, and served them, and bowed down unto them, and me they forsook, and my law they kept not;


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And ye act worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken unto me;


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Therefore will I hurl you out of this land into the land of which ye had no knowledge, neither ye nor your fathers; and ye will serve there other gods by day and by night; so that I will not grant you any favor.


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Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when it shall not he said any more, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;


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But, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither he had driven them: and I will cause them to return unto their land which I have given unto their fathers.


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Behold, I will send for many fishermen, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after that will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.


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For my eyes are directed upon all their ways, they are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.


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And <i>thus</i> will I pay them at the first their twofold iniquity and their sin; because they have defiled my land, filling my heritage with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.


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O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge on the day of trouble, unto thee shall nations come from the ends of the earth, and say, Nothing but falsehood had our fathers inherited, vanity, wherein there is no profit.


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Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, at this time will I cause them to know, my hand and my might: and they shall know that my name is The Eternal.


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The sin of Judah is written down with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond: it is engraved upon the table of their heart, and on the horns of your altars.


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Like their remembrance of their children, so are <i>to them</i> their altars and their groves by <i>every</i> green tree upon the high hills.


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O my mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures will I give up for spoil, thy highplaces <i>reared</i> with sin, throughout all thy borders.


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And thou shalt be cast out, yea through thy own guilt, from thy heritage which I have given thee; and I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in a land which thou knowest not; for a fire have ye kindled in my anger, for ever shall it burn.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and placeth on flesh his dependence, while from the Lord his heart departeth.


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And he shall be like a lonely tree in the desert, which feeleth not when the good cometh; but abideth in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salty land which cannot be inhabited.


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And he shall be like a tree that is planted by the waters, and by a stream spreadeth out its roots, which feeleth not when heat cometh, but its leaf remaineth green; and in a year of drought it is undisturbed by care, and ceaseth not from yielding fruit.


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I the Lord search the heart, probe the reins: yea, to give unto every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.


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As a cuckoo that sitteth on eggs which he hath not laid, so is he that get the riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be called wicked.


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Hope of Israel, O Lord, all that forsake thee shall be made ashamed, and the backsliders among me shall be written down on the earth; because they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, the Lord.


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As for me, I have not hastened to be a shepherd to follow thee; and the woeful day have I not longed for; thou knowest it: what came out of my lips was known before thee.


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Let those be made ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be made ashamed: let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and strike them with a double breach.


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Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah usually enter, and by which they usually go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;


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And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates.


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Thus hath said the Lord, Take heed for your souls, and bear no burden on the sabbathday, nor bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem;


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Nor shall you carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbathday, and no manner of work shall ye do, but hallow ye the sabbathday, as I have commanded your fathers;


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But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear; and they made their neck stiff, so as not to hearken, and not to receive instruction.


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And it shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, so as to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbathday, and to hallow the sabbathday, so as to do no work thereon:


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Then shall there enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited for ever.


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And there shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the environs of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowlands, and from the mountain, and from the south, those that bring burntofferings, and sacrifices, and meatofferings, and frankincense, and those that bring thanksgivingofferings, unto the house of the Lord.


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But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbathday, and not to bear a burden, and to enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbathday: then will I kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.


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And the vessel that he was making became spoiled as <i>happeneth</i> with the clay in the hand of the potter; and he made again thereof another vessel, as it seemed good in the eyes of the potter to make it.


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Shall I not be able to do unto you as this potter, O house of Israel? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potters hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.


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At one instant I speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it;


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But should that nation, against whom I have spoken, return from their wrongdoing: then will I bethink me of the evil that I had thought to do unto them.


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But should it do what is evil in my eyes, so as not to hearken to my voice: then will I bethink me of the good, wherewith I had thought to benefit the same.


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And now do say to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I form against you evil, and devise against you a device: do but return now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.


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And they said, It is useless: for after our own thoughts will we walk, and we will every one do after the stubbornness of his evil heart.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Only ask among the nations, Who hath heard the like things? a very horrible act hath the virgin of Israel committed.


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Doth the snow of Lebanon ever quit the rock of the field? or do the farcoming, cold, flowing waters ever fail?


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That my people have forgotten me, that they have burnt incense to false gods, and are made to stumble on their ways, the ancient beaten tracks, to walk in paths, on a road which is not leveled?


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To make their land desolate, a perpetual derision: every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head.


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Like an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; with the back, and not the face, will I regard them on the day of their calamity.


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And they said, Come, and let us contrive devices against Jeremiah; for the law will not be lost from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words.


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Shall evil be recompensed instead of good, that they have dug a pit for my life? Remember my standing before thee to speak good concerning them, to cause thy wrath to turn away from them.


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Therefore give up their children to the famine, and let their life ebb out by means of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and widows; and let their men be slain by death; their young men smitten by the sword in the battle.


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Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou bringest a troop over them suddenly; for they have dug a pit to catch me, and laid concealed snares for my feet.


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Yet thou, Lord, knowest well all their counsel against me to <i>procure my</i> death: forgive not their iniquity, and let their sin not be blotted out from before thee; but let them be brought to stumbling before thee; in the time of thy anger deal thus with them.


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Thus said the Lord, Go and buy a bottle from a maker of earthenware, and <i>take</i> some of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;


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And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Charsith, and proclaim there the words that I will speak unto thee.


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And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil over this place, so that the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.


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For the reason that they have forsaken me, and have defiled this place, and have burnt incense in it unto other gods, which they had not known, either they or their fathers, or the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;


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And they have built the highplaces of Baal, to burn their sons with fire as burntofferings unto Baal, which I had not commanded, nor spoken, and which had not come into my mind:


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Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called The Thopheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of slaughter.


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And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those that seek their life: and I will give their carcasses as food unto the fowls of the heaven, and unto the beasts of the earth.


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And I will render this city desolate, and an <i>object of</i> derision: every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.


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And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his associate, in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and those that seek their life, shall distress them.


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And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, In this manner will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potters vessel, that cannot be restored again; and in Thopheth shall they bury, for want of room to bury.


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Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to its inhabitants, and to make this city as Thopheth:


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And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are unclean, shall become as the place of the Thopheth, with all the houses upon the roofs of which they have burnt incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drinkofferings to other gods.


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Then came Jeremiah from the Thopheth, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he placed himself in the court of the house of the Lord; and said to all the people,


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Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have spoken against it; because they have hardened their neck, so as not to hear my words.


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But when Pashchur the son of Immer the priest, who was chief superintendent in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words:


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Then smote Pashchur Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of the Lord.


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And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashchur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. And Jeremiah said unto him, Not Pashchur <i>Fulness of Freedom</i> hath the Lord called thy name, but Magormissabib <i>Terror all around</i>.


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For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thy eyes shall see it; and all Judah will I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall lead them into exile to Babylon, and shall smite them with the sword.


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And I will give up all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious things; and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and take them and carry them away to Babylon.


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And thou, Pashchur, and all the inhabitants of thy house, shall go into captivity; and to Babylon shalt thou come, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied with falsehood.


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Thou didst persuade me, O Lord, and I was persuaded; thou laidst thy <i>hand</i> strongly on me, and didst prevail: I am laughed at all the time, every one mocketh me.


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For as often as I speak must I cry out, violence and wasting must I proclaim; because the word of the Lord is become unto me a disgrace, and a derision, all the time.


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And I thought, I will not make mention of him, and I will not speak any more in his name. But it became in my heart as a burning fire enclosed within my bones, and I was weary with enduring, and I could not overcome it.


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For I heard the defaming of many, angry assemblies on every side, "Tell, and we will tell of him." All the men who ought to seek my welfare, watch for my fall; saying, "Peradventure he may he enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we will then take our revenge on him."


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But the Lord is with me as a mighty powerful one; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail: they will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper; <i>it is</i> an everlasting confusion which will never be forgotten.


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But, O Lord of hosts, that probest the righteous, seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I laid open my cause.


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Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord; for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evildoers.


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Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A manchild is born unto thee. How very glad did he make him!


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And may that same man become like the cities which the Lord overthrew, and bethought himself not; and may he hear a cry of anguish in the morning, and a tumultuous noise at noontide;


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Because I was not slain <i>as I escaped</i> from the womb; or that my mother might have become unto me my grave, and her womb have been affected with a perpetual pregnancy.


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Wherefore was this that I came forth out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow, that my days should pass away in shame?


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The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashchur the son of Malkiyah, and Zephanyah the son of Maasseyah the priest, saying,


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Inquire, I pray thee, in our behalf of the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon maketh war against us; peradventure the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous deeds, so that he may withdraw from us.


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Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, who besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.


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And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.


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And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: of a great pestilence shall they die.


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And afterward, saith the Lord, will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those that are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them, nor have pity, nor have mercy.


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And unto this people shalt thou say, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.


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He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the pestilence; but he that goeth out, and runneth away to the Chaldeans that besiege you, shall remain alive, and his life shall be unto him as a booty.


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For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given up, and he will burn it with fire.


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O house of David, thus hath said the Lord, Exercise justice on <i>every</i> morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.


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Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitress of the valley, <i>about</i> the rock of the plain, saith the Lord; who say, Who shall descend down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?


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But I will inflict punishment on you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in its forest, and it shall devour all its environs.


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And thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:


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Thus hath said the Lord, Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow shall ye not oppress, and do them no violence, and shed no innocent blood in this place.


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For if ye indeed will do this thing, then shall enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting after David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.


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But if ye will not hear these words, then do I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a ruin.


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For thus hath said the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah, A Gilad <i>though</i> thou art unto me, a summit of the Lebanon: yet I will surely change thee into a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.


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And I will make ready against thee destroyers, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast them into the fire.


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And <i>when</i> many nations <i>then</i> pass by this city, they will say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done the like unto this great city?


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Then shall they say, Because they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and bowed down unto other gods, and served them.


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Weep not for the dead, and do not bemoan him: weep sorely for him that goeth away; for he shall never return any more, and see the land of his birth.


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For thus hath said the Lord respecting Shallum the son of Josiah the king of Judah, who reigneth in the place of Josiah his father, who is gone forth out of this place, He shall never return thither any more;


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But in the place whither they have led him into exile, there shall he die; but this land shall he not see any more.


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Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that maketh his neighbor work without wages, and giveth him not the reward for his labor;


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That saith, I will build me a roomy house, and ample chambers, and cutteth himself out windows, and ceileth it with cedar, and painteth it with colors.


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Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel with cedar buildings? behold, thy father ate and drank, but he executed justice and righteousness: then was it well with him!


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He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then was it well: is not this the proper knowledge of me? saith the Lord.


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But thy eyes and thy heart are directed on nothing but upon thy own gain, and upon innocent blood to shed it, and upon oppression, and upon extortion, to practise them.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, They shall not lament for him, with, "Woe, my brother!" and, "Woe, sister!" they shall not lament for him, with "Woe, lord!" and, "Woe, to his glory!"


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With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, dragged about and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.


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Ascend the Lebanon, and cry aloud; and let thy voice resound in Bashan; and cry aloud from Aharim; for crushed are all thy lovers.


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I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy very youth, that thou didst not hearken to my voice.


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The wind shall scatter abroad all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded because of all thy wickedness.


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O inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how full of grace wilt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!


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As I live, saith the Lord, though Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah were a signet upon my right hand, yet for a surety would I thence pluck thee;


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And I will give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life, and into the hand of those of whom thou art afraid, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.


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And I will hurl thee out, and thy mother that hath born thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.


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Is this man Conyahu a despised broken image? or a vessel without value? wherefore are they hurled out, he and his seed, and are cast forth into a land which they know not?


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Thus hath said the Lord, Write ye down this man as childless, as a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall succeed to sit upon the throne of David, and to rule any more in Judah.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people, Ye have scattered my flocks, and driven them away, and have not taken care of them: now, behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.


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And I will indeed gather the remnant of my flock together out of all the countries whither I have driven them; and I will bring them back again to their folds: and they shall be fruitful and multiply.


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And I will raise up over them shepherds who shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, and none of them shall be missing, saith the Lord.


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Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will raise up unto David a righteous sprout, and he shall reign as king, and prosper, and he shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.


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In his days shall Judah be helped, and Israel shall dwell in safety: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.


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Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;


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But, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up and who hath led forth the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and out of all countries whither I had driven them: and they shall dwell in their own land.


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To the prophetsBroken is my heart within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a person whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of his holy words.


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For of adulterers is the land full; for because of false swearing mourneth the land, dried up are the pastures in the wilderness; because their course was for evil, and their strength was for injustice.


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For both prophet and priest are hypocrites: yea, in my own house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.


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Therefore shall their way be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be pushed forward, and fall thereon; for I will bring upon them evil, the year of their punishment, saith the Lord.


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And on the prophets of Samaria have I seen absurdity: they prophesied by Baal, and misled my people Israel.


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But on the prophets of Jerusalem have I seen a horrible thing; they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of these doth return from his wickedness: they are become unto me all of them as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah.


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Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink poisonwater; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth over all the land.


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Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you, they bring you unto vanity: a vision of their own heart do they ever speak, not out of the mouth of the Lord.


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They say indeed unto those that incense me, The Lord hath spoken, Peace shall ye have; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart, they said, There shall come no evil upon you.


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For who hath stood in the secret counsel of the Lord, that he could perceive and hear his word? who hath listened to his word and heard it?


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Behold, the stormwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, yea, a whirling storm: upon the head of the wicked shall it fall grievously.


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The anger of the Lord will not return, until he have executed, and until he have fulfilled the purposes of his heart: in the end of days shall ye understand this fully.


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But if they had stood in my secret counsel, they should have announced my words to my people, and have caused them to turn back from their evil way, and from the wrongfulness of their doings.


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If a man should hide himself in secret places should I not then see him? saith the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? saith the Lord.


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I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy falsely in my name, saying, I have dreamt, I have dreamt.


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How long shall it be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy falsehood? yea, the prophets of the deceit of their own heart,


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<i>How long</i> do they think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they relate every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name for the sake of Baal?


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The prophet that hath had a dream, let him relate his dream; and he that hath received my word, let him speak my word of truth. What hath the straw to do with the corn? saith the Lord.


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Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor.


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Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their own word, and say, <i>The Lord</i> saith.


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Behold, I am against those that prophesy with false dreams, saith the Lord, and do relate them, and mislead my people by their falsehoods, and by their vain boasting: while I have not sent them, nor commanded them; and they cannot bring the least profit to this people, saith the Lord.


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And if this people, or the prophet, or a priest, should ask thee, saying, What is the message of the Lord? then shalt thou say unto them, Because of this "What is the message?" will I even cast you off, saith the Lord.


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And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that will say, "A message of the Lord," I will even inflict punishment on that man and on his house.


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Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?


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But "A message of the Lord" shall ye not mention any more; for the message cometh indeed to the man of his <i>prophetic</i> word; but ye pervert the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.


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Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?


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But if ye will say, "A message of the Lord," then thus saith the Lord, Because ye say this word, "A message of the Lord," and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, "A message of the Lord:"


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Therefore, behold, I am here, and I will tear you completely away, and I will cast you off, and the city that I have given to you and to your fathers, out of my presence;


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And I will lay upon you an everlasting disgrace, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.


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The Lord caused me to see, and, behold, there were two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon had carried away into exile Yechonyahu the son of Yehoyakim the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and the locksmiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.


