# verses

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And your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.


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Thus Ezekiel is for you a sign: according to all that he has done shall you do: and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


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Also, you son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,


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In that day shall your mouth be opened to him who is escaped, and you shall speak, and be no longer dumb: and you shall be a sign for them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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And say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus says the Lord GOD; Because you said, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity;


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Behold, therefore I will deliver you to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in you, and make their dwellings in you: they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.


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And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a place for flocks to lie down: and you shall know that I am the LORD.


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For thus says the Lord GOD; Because you have clapped your hands, and stamped with your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your contempt against the land of Israel;


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Behold, therefore I will stretch out my hand upon you, and will deliver you as a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut you off from the people, and I will cause you to perish out of the countries: I will destroy you; and you shall know that I am the LORD.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Because Moab and Seir say, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the heathen;


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Therefore, behold, I will open the outlying territory of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,


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To the men of the east along with the territory of the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Because Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended, and avenged himself upon them;


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out my hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and those of Dedan shall fall by the sword.


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


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.


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


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


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Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken who was the gates of the people: she is turned to me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes his waves to come up.


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


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It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.


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


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For thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.


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He shall slay with the sword your daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against you, and build a mound against you, and lift up the buckler against you.


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And he shall set engines of war against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers.


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Because of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover you: your walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into your gates, as men enter into a city in which a break is made.


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With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all your streets: he shall slay your people by the sword, and your strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.


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And they shall make a spoil of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise: and they shall break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses: and they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the water.


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And I will cause the noise of your songs to cease; and the sound of your harps shall no more be heard.


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And I will make you like the top of a rock: you shall be a place to spread nets upon; you shall be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, says the Lord GOD.


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Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of you?


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Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and put off their embroidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.


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And they shall take up a lamentation for you, and say to you, How you are destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, which was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who cause their terror to be on all who inhabit it!


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Now shall the isles tremble in the day of your fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at your departure.


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


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When I shall bring you down with those who descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set you in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;


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I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more: though you be sought for, yet shall you never be found again, says the Lord GOD.


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And say to Tyre, O you who are situated at the entrance of the sea, who are a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus says the Lord GOD; O Tyre, you have said, I am perfect in beauty.


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They have made all your ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for you.


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Of the oaks of Bashan have they made your oars; the company of the Ashurites have made your benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.


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Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was that which you spread out to be your sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered you.


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The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your mariners: your wise men, O Tyre, that were in you, were your pilots.


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The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were your caulkers in you: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to exchange your merchandise.


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They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in your army, your men of war: they hung the shield and helmet in you; they showed forth your comeliness.


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The men of Arvad with your army were upon your walls round about, and the Gammadims were in your towers: they hung their shields upon your walls round about; they have made your beauty perfect.


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Tarshish was your merchant because of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in your fairs.


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Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in your market.


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The men of Dedan were your merchants; many isles were the commerce of your hand: they brought you for a present horns of ivory and ebony.


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Syria was your merchant because of the multitude of the wares of your making: they traded in your fairs with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.


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Judah, and the land of Israel, they were your merchants: they traded in your market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.


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Damascus was your merchant in the multitude of the wares of your making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.


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Dan also and Javan going to and fro traded in your fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in your market.


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Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they traded with you in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they your merchants.


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The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were your merchants: they traded in your fairs with the best of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.


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These were your merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and embroidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among your merchandise.


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The ships of Tarshish sang of you in your market: and you were replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.


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Your rowers have brought you into great waters: the east wind has broken you in the midst of the seas.


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Your riches, and your fairs, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your caulkers, and the traders of your merchandise, and all your men of war, that are in you, and in all your company which is in the midst of you, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of your ruin.


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


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And shall cause their voice to be heard concerning you, and shall cry bitterly, and shall toss up dust upon their heads, they shall roll themselves in the ashes:


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And they shall make themselves completely bald for you, and clothe themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.


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And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for you, and lament over you, saying, What city is like Tyre, like the one destroyed in the midst of the sea?


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When your wares went forth out of the seas, you filled many people; you enriched the kings of the earth with the multitude of your riches and of your merchandise.


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In the time when you shall be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters your merchandise and all your company in the midst of you shall fall.


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All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at you, and their kings shall be greatly afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.


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The merchants among the people shall hiss at you; you shall be a terror, and never shall be any more.


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Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet you are a man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God:


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With your wisdom and with your understanding you have gotten yourself riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures:


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By your great wisdom and by your trade have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches:


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Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon you, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and they shall defile your brightness.


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They shall bring you down to the pit, and you shall die the deaths of those who are slain in the midst of the seas.


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Will you yet say before him who slays you, I am God? but you shall be a man, and no God, in the hand of him who slays you.


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You shall die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD.


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Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD; You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.


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You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created.


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You are the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set you so: you were upon the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.


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By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I will throw you as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.


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Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, you have corrupted your wisdom because of your brightness: I will throw you to the ground, I will lay you before kings, that they may behold you.


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You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trade; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all those who behold you.


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All those who know you among the people shall be astonished at you: you shall be a terror, and never shall you be any more.


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


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


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And there shall be no more a piercing brier to the house of Israel, nor any painful thorn among all who are round about them, who despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.


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


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In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,


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Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:


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Speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, My river is my own, and I have made it for myself.


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But I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales, and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, and all the fish of your rivers shall stick to your scales.


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And I will leave you thrown into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers: you shall fall upon the open fields; you shall not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given you for food to the beasts of the field and to the birds of the heaven.


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


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When they took hold of you by your hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon you, you broke, and made all their loins to be at a standstill.


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and cut off man and beast out of you.


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


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Behold, therefore I am against you, and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt completely waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even to the border of Ethiopia.


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


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


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Yet thus says the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people to which they were scattered:


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


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


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And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, bringing their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look to them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


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And it came to pass in the twenty seventh year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,


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Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn down: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyre, for the service that he had served against it:


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army.


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I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor with which he served against it, because they worked for me, says the Lord GOD.


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In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give you the opening of your mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.


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And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.


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Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mixed people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in alliance, shall fall with them by the sword.


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Thus says the LORD; Those also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, says the Lord GOD.


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


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


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In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the secure Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it comes.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.


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


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And I will make the rivers dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all that is in it, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it.


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


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And I will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be torn apart, and Noph shall have distresses daily.


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


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At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.


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


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Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put on a bandage to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.


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


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


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


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


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


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Son of man, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom are you like in your greatness?


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


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The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers to all the trees of the field.


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Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.


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


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The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like him in his beauty.


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I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him.


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Because you have lifted up yourself in height, and he has shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;


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I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness.


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And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken beside all the rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him.


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Upon his ruin shall all the birds of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his branches:


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So that none of all the trees by the waters shall exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were held back: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.


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I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I threw him down to the land of darkness with those who descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the lower parts of the earth.


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They also went down into the land of darkness with him to those who are slain with the sword; and those who were his arm, who dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.


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To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shall you be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.


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


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Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him, You are like a young lion of the nations, and you are as a whale in the seas: and you came forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters with your feet, and fouled their rivers.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over you with a company of many people; and they shall bring you up in my net.


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Then will I leave you upon the land, I will throw you out upon the open field, and will cause all the birds of the heaven to remain upon you, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with you.


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I will also water with your blood the land in which you swim, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of you.


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


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All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and set darkness upon your land, says the Lord GOD.


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I will also trouble the hearts of many people when I shall bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries which you have not known.


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Yea, I will make many people amazed at you, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for you, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of your fall.


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By the swords of the mighty will I cause your multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall lay waste the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.


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


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When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that of which it was full, when I shall strike all those who dwell in it, then shall they know that I am the LORD.


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This is the lamentation with which they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, says the Lord GOD.


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


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Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and throw them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.


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They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her along and all her multitudes.


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The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of the land of darkness with those who help him: they have gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.


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Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are around him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword:


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Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.


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


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They have made her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though they caused terror in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with those who go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of those who are slain.


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


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And they shall not lie with the mighty among the uncircumcised who are fallen, who have gone down to the land of darkness with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.


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Yea, you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with those who are slain with the sword.


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


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There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.


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Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, says the Lord GOD.


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For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with those who are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord GOD.


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Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their frontier, and set him for their watchman:


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Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet, and does not take warning; if the sword comes, and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.


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He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he who takes warning shall deliver his soul.


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But if the watchman sees the sword come, and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned; if the sword comes, and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.


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So you, O son of man, I have set you as a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.


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When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die; if you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at your hand.


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Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.


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Therefore, O you son of man, speak to the house of Israel; Thus you speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?


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


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Therefore, you son of man, say to the children of your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turns from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.


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When I shall say to the righteous that he shall surely live; if he trusts to his own righteousness, and commits iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die for it.


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Again, when I say to the wicked, You shall surely die; if he turns from his sin, and does that which is lawful and right;


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If the wicked returns the pledge, gives back what he had robbed, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.


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None of his sins that he has committed shall be mentioned to him: he has done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.


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Yet the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not just: but as for them, their way is not just.


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But if the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.


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Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not just. O you house of Israel, I will judge you every one according to his ways.


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


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Now the hand of the LORD was upon me in the evening, before he who had escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer dumb.


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Son of man, those who inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given to us for an inheritance.


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Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall you possess the land?


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You trust in your sword, you work abomination, and you defile every one his neighbor’s wife: and shall you possess the land?


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Say thou thus to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; As I live, surely those who are in the desolate places shall fall by the sword, and he who is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.


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For I will lay the land quite desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, so that none shall pass through.


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Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land quite desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.


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Also, you son of man, the children of your people are still talking against you by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that comes forth from the LORD.


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And they come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their covetousness.


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And, lo, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear your words, but they do not do them.


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And when this comes to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet has been among them.


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Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?


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You eat the fat, and you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill those who are fed: but you do not feed the flock.


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The diseased have you not strengthened, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have you ruled them.


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And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became food to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.


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My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.


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As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;


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


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As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.


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And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.


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


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


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And as for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.


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Does it seem a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but you must foul the rest with your feet?


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And as for my flock, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.


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Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad;


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Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.


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


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And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.


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


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


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And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those who made them serve them.


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


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


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Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD.


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And say to it, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against you, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you most desolate.


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Because you have had a perpetual hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity reached its limit:


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Therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you: since you have not hated blood, even blood shall pursue you.


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Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him who goes out and him who returns.


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And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your rivers, shall those fall who are slain with the sword.


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I will make you perpetual desolations, and your cities shall not return: and you shall know that I am the LORD.


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Because you have said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; although the LORD was there:


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Therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will even do according to your anger, and according to your envy which you have shown out of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged you.


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And you shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given to us to consume.


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Thus with your mouth you have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.


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As you rejoiced at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do to you: you shall be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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Also, you son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Because the enemy has said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:


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Therefore prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that you might be a possession for the rest of the heathen, and you are taken up on the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:


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Therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the rest of the heathen that are round about;


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the rest of the heathen, and against all Idumea, who have allotted my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with spiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.


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Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because you have borne the shame of the heathen:


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; I have lifted up my hand, Surely the heathen that are around you, they shall bear their shame.


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But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are soon to come.


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And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be built:


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And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear fruit: and I will settle you according to your former condition, and will do better for you than at your beginnings: and you shall know that I am the LORD.


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


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Because they say to you, You, land, devour men, and have bereaved your nations;


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Neither will I cause men to hear in you the shame of the heathen any more, neither shall you bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shall you cause your nations to fall any more, says the Lord GOD.


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Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me like the uncleanness of a woman who had been put apart.


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Therefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols with which they had polluted it:


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


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And when they entered among the heathen, to which they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and have gone forth out of his land.


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But I had pity for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, to which they went.


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Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, to which you went.


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And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.


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


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Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.


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


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And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.


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And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


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I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the grain, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.


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And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.


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


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Not for your sakes do I do this, says the Lord GOD, be it known to you: be ashamed and astonished for your own ways, O house of Israel.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be built.


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


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Then the heathen who are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that which was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.


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


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As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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The hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,


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


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Again he said to me, Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.


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Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live:


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


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


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And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them over: but there was no breath in them.


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Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.


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So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.


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Then he said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost: as for us, we are cut off.


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


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And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,


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And shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.


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Moreover, you son of man, take one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:


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And when the children of your people shall speak to you, saying, Will you not show us what you mean by these?


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Say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand.


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And say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, to which they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:


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


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Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.


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


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And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell in it, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.


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Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.


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And the heathen shall know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.


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Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,


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And say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:


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And I will turn you back, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:


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Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with you.


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Be prepared, and prepare for yourself, you, and all your company that are assembled to you, and be a guard to them.


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After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been continually waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.


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You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into your mind, and you shall think an evil thought:


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And you shall say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,


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To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn your hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten cattle and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.


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Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say to you, Are you come to take a spoil? have you gathered your company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?


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Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwell safely, shall you not know it?


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And you shall come from your place out of the north parts, you, and many people with you, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:


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And you shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring you against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Are you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied for many years in those days that I would bring you against them?


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And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.


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


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So that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.


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


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And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.


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Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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Therefore, you son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:


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And I will turn you back, and leave but the sixth part of you, and will cause you to come up from the north parts, and will bring you upon the mountains of Israel:


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And I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand.


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You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you, and all your bands, and the people that are with you: I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.


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And I will send a fire on Magog, and among those who dwell securely in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.


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And those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go out, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the javelins, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:


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So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall plunder those who plundered them, and rob those who robbed them, says the Lord GOD.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give to Gog there a place of graves in Israel, the valley of the travelers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the travelers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.


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


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And they shall choose men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the travelers those who remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.


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And the travelers who pass through the land, when any sees a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.


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And, you son of man, thus says the Lord GOD; Speak to every feathered bird, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh, and drink blood.


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You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.


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And you shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till you are drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.


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Thus you shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, says the Lord GOD.


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And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.


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And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore I hid my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so they all fell by the sword.


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According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done to them, and hid my face from them.


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;


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After they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.


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When I have brought them back from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;


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Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, who caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them to their own land, and have left none of them there any more.


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Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.


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In the twenty fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was stricken, in the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me there.


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In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was a structure like a city on the south.


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


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And the man said to me, Son of man, behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you; in order that I might show them to you are you brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.


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


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Then he came to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.


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And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.


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


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And the little chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; all three were of the same measure: and the posts had the same measure on this side and on that side.


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


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The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.


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He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was twenty five cubits, from one door to the opposite door.


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And from the face of the gate of the entrance to the face of the porch of the inner gate was fifty cubits.


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


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


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Then he measured the breadth from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner court outside, a hundred cubits eastward and northward.


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


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And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were according to the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty five cubits.


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And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were according to the measure of the gate that looks toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.


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And the gate of the inner court was opposite the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.


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After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty five cubits.


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


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And the chambers and the entrances thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering.


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


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And at the outer side, as one goes up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.


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Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, on which they slew their sacrifices.


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And the four tables were of cut stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high: on which also they laid the instruments with which they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.


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And within were hooks, a hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.


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And outside the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their face was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the face toward the north.


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And he said to me, This chamber, whose face is toward the south, is for the priests who have charge of the house.


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And the chamber whose face is toward the north is for the priests who have charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, who come near to the LORD to minister unto him.


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So he measured the court, a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.


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


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The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he brought me by the steps by which they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.


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


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


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


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


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


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And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house.


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And there was an enlarging, and a winding around still upward to the side chambers: for the winding around of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.


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I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.


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The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.


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


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


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


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


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And he measured the length of the building opposite the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;


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The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, overlaid with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered;


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To what was above the door, even to the inner house, and outside, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.


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And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;


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So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about.


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From the ground to above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple.


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The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one like the appearance of the other.


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


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


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And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch outside.


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And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.


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Then he brought me out into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was opposite the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north.


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Opposite the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and opposite the pavement which was for the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.


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


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Now the upper chambers were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and than the middle ones of the building.


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For they were in three stories, but had not pillars like the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was narrowed more than the lowest and the middle stories from the ground.


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And the wall that was outside along the chambers, toward the outer court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.


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


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


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The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separate place, and opposite the building.


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And the way before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their exits were both according to their fashions, and according to their doorways.


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And according to the doorways of the chambers that were toward the south was a doorway at the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one enters into them.


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Then said he to me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which are before the separate place, they are holy chambers, where the priests that approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the food offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.


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


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


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


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He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.


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And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters: and the earth shone with his glory.


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


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


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And he said to me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.


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In their placing of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.


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


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You son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.


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


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This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole area thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.


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And these are the measures of the altar according to the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.


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


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And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border around it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit around; and its stairs shall look toward the east.


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And he said to me, Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings on it, and to sprinkle blood thereon.


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And you shall give to the priests the Levites that be of the descendents of Zadok, who approach unto me, to minister unto me, says the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.


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And you shall take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border round about: thus shall you cleanse and purge it.


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You shall take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, outside the sanctuary.


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And on the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bullock.


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When you have made an end of cleansing it, you shall offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.


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And you shall offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall throw salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.


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


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And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord GOD.


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Then he brought me back by the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary which looks toward the east; and it was shut.


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Then said the LORD to me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.


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It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.


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


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And the LORD said to me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with all that goes out of the sanctuary.


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And you shall say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice for you of all your abominations,


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In that you have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.


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And you have not kept the charge of my holy things: but you have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.


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And the Levites that have gone away far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their iniquity.


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


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Because they ministered to them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.


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And they shall not come near to me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.


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


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But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, says the Lord GOD:


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They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.


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


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They shall have linen coverings upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.


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


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Neither shall they shave their heads, nor permit their locks to grow long; they shall only cut the hair of their heads.


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Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the people of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before.


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


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And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.


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


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


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And it shall be to them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.


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They shall eat the food offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.


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And the first of all the first fruits of all things, and every offering of all, of every sort of your offerings, shall be the priest’s: you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in your house.


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Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for an inheritance, you shall offer an offering unto the LORD, a holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of twenty five thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the territory thereof round about.


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Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the open land thereof.


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And from this area shall you measure the length of twenty five thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place.


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The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary.


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And the twenty five thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.


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And you shall appoint as the possession of the city five thousand broad, and twenty five thousand long, beside the offering of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.


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And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the offering of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, next to the offering of the holy portion, and next to the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be alongside one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.


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In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; Let it suffice for you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and robbery, and execute justice and righteousness, take away your exactions from my people, says the Lord GOD.


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The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be according to the homer.


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And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, twenty five shekels, and fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.


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This is the offering that you shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley:


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Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, you shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is a homer of ten baths; for ten baths are a homer:


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And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a food offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, says the Lord GOD.


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And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings, and food offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemn feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the food offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary:


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And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court.


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And so you shall do the seventh day of the month for every one who errs, and for him who is unknowing: so shall you reconcile the house.


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In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.


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And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.


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And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering.


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And he shall prepare a food offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil for an ephah.


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In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the same in the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the food offering, and according to the oil.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.


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And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go out; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.


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Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance of this gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons.


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And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD on the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.


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And the food offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the food offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish.


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And he shall prepare a food offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall be able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go out by the way thereof.


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But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he who enters in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go out by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go out opposite it.


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And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when they go out, shall go out.


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And in the feasts and in the solemn festivals the food offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil for an ephah.


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Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily for the LORD, one shall then open to him the gate that looks toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the sabbath day: then he shall go out; and after his going out one shall shut the gate.


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You shall daily prepare a burnt offering for the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish: you shall prepare it every morning.


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And you shall prepare a food offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a food offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD.


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Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the food offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt offering.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; If the prince gives a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance.


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But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his until the year of liberty; afterwards it shall return to the prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons' for them.


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Moreover the prince shall not take from the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons an inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.


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Afterwards he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward.


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Then said he to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the food offering; so that they do not carry them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.


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Then he brought me out into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.


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In the four corners of the court there were joined courts of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of the same measure.


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And there was a row built round about in them, round about the four of them, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about.


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Then said he to me, These are the places of those who boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.


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Afterward he brought me again to the door of the house; and, behold, waters flowed out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the front of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.


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Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around the way outside to the outer gate by the way that looks eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.


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And when the man who had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.


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Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.


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Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.


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And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.


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Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.


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Then he said to me, These waters flow out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.


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And it shall come to pass, that everything that lives, which moves, wherever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come there: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live where the river comes.


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And it shall come to pass, that the fishermen shall stand upon it from En-gedi even to En-eglaim; there shall be a place to spread out nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, like the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many.


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But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.


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And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for food, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to its months, because their waters they flowed out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for medicine.


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Thus says the Lord GOD; This shall be the boundary, by which you shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.


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And you shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for an inheritance.


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And this shall be the boundary of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;


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Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.


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And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north border northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.


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And the east side you shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by the Jordan, from the border to the east sea. And this is the east side.


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And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.


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The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till one comes opposite Hamath. This is the west side.


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And it shall come to pass, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance for you, and for the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you: and they shall be to you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.


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And it shall come to pass, that in whatever tribe the stranger sojourns, there shall you give him his inheritance, says the Lord GOD.


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Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast along the way of Hethlon, as one goes to Hamath, then Hazar-enan, and the boundary of Damascus northward, and along the boundary of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.


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And by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer of twenty five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.


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The offering that you shall offer to the LORD shall be of twenty five thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.


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And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy offering; toward the north twenty five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.


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It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; who have kept my charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.


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And this offering of the land that is offered shall be for them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.


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And alongside the border of the priests the Levites shall have twenty five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty five thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.


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And they shall not sell any of it, neither exchange, nor misuse the first fruits of the land: for it is holy to the LORD.


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And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth beside the twenty five thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for open country: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.


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And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand five hundred, and the south side four thousand five hundred, and on the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred.


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And the open country of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.


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And the remainder in length alongside the offering of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be alongside the offering of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food for those who work for the city.


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All the offering shall be twenty five thousand by twenty five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering foursquare, with the possession of the city.


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And the remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering, and of the possession of the city, up to the twenty five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward up to the twenty five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy offering; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst of it.


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Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.


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And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.


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This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their portions, says the Lord GOD.


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And the gates of the city shall be according to the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.


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And at the east side four thousand five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.


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And at the south side four thousand five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.


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At the west side four thousand five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.


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It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.


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In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it.


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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.


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And the king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's family, and of the princes;


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Children in whom was no blemish, but good looking, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and those that had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.


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And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's food, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.


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To whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave to Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.


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But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.


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And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse appearing than the children who are of your group? then shall you make me endanger my head to the king.


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Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


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Test your servants, I plead with you, ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.


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Then let our appearance be looked upon before you, and the appearance of the children who eat of the portion of the king's food: and as you see, deal with your servants.


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And at the end of ten days their appearance was fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children who ate the portion of the king's food.


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Thus Melzar took away the portion of their food, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them legumes.


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As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.


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Now at the end of the days that the king had said he would bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.


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And the king talked with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.


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And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.


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And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.


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Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to make known to the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.


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Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Syrian, O king, live for ever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.


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The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.


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But if you show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.


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They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.


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The king answered and said, I know with certainty that you would gain the time, because you see that the thing is gone from me.


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But if you will not make known to me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me the interpretation thereof.


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The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that ever asked such things of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.


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And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.


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For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.


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And the decree went out that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.


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Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to slay the wise men of Babylon:


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He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.


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Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.


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Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:


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That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


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Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:


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And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding:


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He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.


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I thank you, and praise you, O thou God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have made known to me now what we desired of you: for you have now made known to us the king's matter.


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Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus to him; Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.


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Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah that will make known to the king the interpretation.


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The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?


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Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, or the soothsayers, show to the king;


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But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these;


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As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what would come to pass hereafter: and he who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass.


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But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart.


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You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the form thereof was terrible.


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This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,


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You saw till a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.


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Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.


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You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.


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And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven has he given into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold.


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And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.


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And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.


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And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.


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And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.


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And as you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cling to one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.


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And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.


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For you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.


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Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.


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The king answered Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you could reveal this secret.


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Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.


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Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.


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Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


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Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


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That at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up:


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And whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be thrown into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.


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Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


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You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image:


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And whoever does not fall down and worship, that he should be thrown into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.


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There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they do not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.


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Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do you not serve my gods, or worship the golden image which I have set up?


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Now if you be ready that at the time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if you do not worship, you shall be thrown the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God who shall deliver you out of my hands?


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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not troubled to answer you in this matter.


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If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.


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But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.


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Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was accustomed to be heated.


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And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to throw them into the burning fiery furnace.


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Then these men were bound in their coats, their breeches, their hats, and their other garments, and were thrown into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.


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Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.


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And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counselors, Did we not throw three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king.


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He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the most high God, come out, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came out of the midst of the fire.


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And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor had the smell of fire come upon them.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.


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Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak anything improper against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God who can deliver in this way.


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Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.


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How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.


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I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.


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Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.


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Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me the interpretation thereof.


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But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,


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O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.


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Thus were the visions of my head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.


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The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:


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The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed from it.


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I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven;


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He cried aloud, and said thus, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the beasts go away from under it, and the birds from its branches:


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Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:


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Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given to him; and let seven times pass over him.


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This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: in order that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowliest of men.


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This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now you, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, seeing that all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation: but you are able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.


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Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to those who hate you, and the interpretation thereof to your enemies.


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The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;


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Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heaven had their habitation:


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It is you, O king, who have grown and become strong: for your greatness is grown, and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth.


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And since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Cut the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;


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This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which has come upon my lord the king:


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That they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.


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And just as they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; your kingdom shall be sure to you, after you shall have known that the heavens do rule.


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Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; perhaps there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.


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The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?


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While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken; The kingdom has departed from you.


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And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make you to eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.


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The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and ate grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.


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And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him who lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:


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And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can hold back his hand, or say to him, What are you doing?


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At the same time my reason returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought for me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me.


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Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and his ways justice: and those who walk in pride he is able to bring low.


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Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.


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Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink in them.


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Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.


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They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.


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In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote in front of the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.


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Then the king's appearance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against another.


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The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold around his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.


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Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.


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Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his appearance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.


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Now the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever: let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your appearance be changed:


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There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;


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Seeing that an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.


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Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, Are you that Daniel, who are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?


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I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.


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And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing:


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And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.


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Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.


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O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:


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And for the majesty that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.


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But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:


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And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appoints over it whomever he wills.


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But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified:


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Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.


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It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, who would be over the whole kingdom;


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And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts to them, and the king should have no loss.


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Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.


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Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault; seeing that he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.


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Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.


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Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus to him, King Darius, live for ever.


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All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, he shall be thrown into the den of lions.


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Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change.


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Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he knelt upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before.


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Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree; Have you not signed a decree that every man who shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, except of you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change.


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Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, does not regard you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.


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Then the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.


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Then these men assembled to the king, and said to the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed.


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Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and threw him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.


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And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.


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Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.


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And when he came to the den, he cried out with a sorrowful voice to Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?


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My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: seeing that before him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, have I done no hurt.


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Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.


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And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they threw them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they even came to the bottom of the den.


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Then king Darius wrote to all peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied to you.


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I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even to the end.


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He delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.


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In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.


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Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.


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The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon its feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.


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And behold another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus to it, Arise, devour much flesh.


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After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.


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After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the remainder with its feet: and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.


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I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.


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I beheld till the thrones were put down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool: his throne was like a fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.


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A fiery stream flowed and came forth from before him: a thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.


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I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.


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As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.


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I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.


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And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.


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I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.


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But the saints of the most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.


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Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the remainder with his feet;


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And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.


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Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.


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Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.


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And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.


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And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.


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But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end.


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And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.


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Thus far is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my appearance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.


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In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.


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And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.


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Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.


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I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.


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And as I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground: and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.


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And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran at him in the fury of his power.


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And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he threw him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.


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Therefore the he goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and in place of it came up four conspicuous ones toward the four winds of heaven.


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And out of one of the winds came forth a little horn, which became exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.


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And it became great, even to the host of heaven; and it threw down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.


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Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily service was taken up, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down.


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And a host was given him against the daily service because of transgression, and it threw down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.


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Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said to that certain saint which spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily service, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?


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And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.


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And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.


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So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said to me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.


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Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.


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And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.


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And the hairy goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.


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Now that being broken, just as four stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.


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And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce appearance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.


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And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy amazingly, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.


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And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.


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And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: therefore shut up the vision; for it shall be for many days.


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And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but did not understand it.


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In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the people of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;


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In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, of which the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.


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And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:


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And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love him, and to those who keep his commandments;


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We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments:


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Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.


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O Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us shame of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries to which you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.


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O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.


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Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.


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Yea, all Israel have transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey your voice; therefore the curse is poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.


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And he has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven has not been done such as has been done upon Jerusalem.


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As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us: yet we did not make our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand your truth.


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Therefore has the LORD watched over the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he does: for we did not obey his voice.


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And now, O Lord our God, who have brought your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have gotten yourself renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.


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O Lord, according to all your righteousness, I plead with you, let your anger and your fury be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.


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Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of your servant, and his supplications, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.


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O my God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercies.


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O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act; do not delay, for your own sake, O my God: for your city and your people are called by your name.


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And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;


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Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice.


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And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and understanding.


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At the beginning of your supplications the commandment came forth, and I have come to show you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.


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Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.


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Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times.


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And after sixty two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and until the end of the war desolations are determined.


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And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that which is determined shall be poured upon the desolate.


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In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.


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I ate no pleasant food, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.


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And in the twenty fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;


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Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were clothed with fine gold of Uphaz:


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His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.


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And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me did not see the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.


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Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my attractiveness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.


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Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.


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And he said to me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright: for unto you am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.


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Then said he to me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to afflict yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.


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But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty one days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.


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Now I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.


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And, behold, one having the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spoke, and said to him who stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows have come upon me, and I have retained no strength.


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For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, at once there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.


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And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be to you, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for you have strengthened me.


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Then said he, Do you know why I have come to you? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I have gone forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.


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But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that contends with me in these things but Michael your prince.


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And now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.


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And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.


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And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong more than him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.


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And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and those who brought her, and he who begot her, and he who strengthened her in these times.


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But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, who shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall act against them, and shall prevail:


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And shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.


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But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.


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And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.


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And when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall throw down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.


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For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.


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And in those times many shall stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.


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So the king of the north shall come, and build up a siege mound, and take the most fortified cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.


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But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.


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He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.


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After this shall he turn his face to the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own advantage shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn back upon him.


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Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.


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Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.


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And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.


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And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.


text:
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.


text:
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, even for a time.


text:
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall devise plans against him.


text:
Yea, those who eat of the portion of his food shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.


text:
And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.


text:
Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.


text:
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be like the former, or like the latter time.


text:
For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have an understanding with those who forsake the holy covenant.


text:
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily service, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.


text:
And those that do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.


text:
And those who understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by plunder, many days.


text:
Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cling to them with flatteries.


text:
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.


text:
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done.


text:
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.


text:
But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.


text:
Thus shall he do in the strongest fortresses with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.


text:
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.


text:
He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.


text:
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.


text:
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and to completely take away many.


text:
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


text:
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book.


text:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


text:
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever.


text:
But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.


text:
Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood two others, the one on the bank of the river on this side, and the other on the bank of the river on that side.


text:
And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?


text:
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.


text:
And I heard, but I did not understand: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?


text:
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.


text:
And from the time that the daily service shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.


text:
The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.


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The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land has committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.


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And the LORD said to him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.


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And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.


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And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And God said to him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will completely take them away.


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But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.


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Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people, there it shall be said to them, You are the sons of the living God.


text:
Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.


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Plead with your mother, plead: for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts;


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So that I do not strip her naked, and leave her as in the day that she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.


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For their mother has played the harlot: she who conceived them has done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.


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Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.


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And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.


text:
For she did not know that I gave her grain, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.


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Therefore will I return, and take away my grain in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.


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And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand.


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I will also cause all her gladness to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.


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And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, of which she has said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.


text:
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, in which she burned incense to them, and she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me, says the LORD.


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Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak encouragingly to her.


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And I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.


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And it shall be at that day, says the LORD, that you shall call me Ishi; and shall call me no more Baali.


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For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.


text:
And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.


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And I will betroth you to me for ever; yea, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, and in justice, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, says the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;


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And I will sow her for myself in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her who had not obtained mercy; and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people; and they shall say, You are my God.


text:
Then said the LORD to me, Keep on going, love a woman beloved by her friend, though an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.


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So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley:


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And I said to her, You shall remain mine many days; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not be for another man: so will I also be yours.


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For the children of Israel shall remain many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:


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Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.


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Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel: for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.


text:
By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they burst out, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.


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Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one who dwells therein shall grow feeble, with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of heaven; yea, the fish of the sea also shall be taken away.


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Yet let no man dispute, nor reprove another: for your people are like those who dispute with the priest.


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Therefore shall you fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with you in the night, and I will destroy your mother.


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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, so that you shall be no priest to me: seeing that you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.


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And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their doings.


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For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off taking heed to the LORD.


text:
My people ask counsel at their tree trunks, and their staff speaks to them: for the spirit of whoredoms has caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from being under their God’s care.


text:
They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow of them is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.


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I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for they themselves go away with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people who do not understand shall fall.


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Though you, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and do not come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The LORD lives.


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For Israel slides back like a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them like a lamb in a large place.


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Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers love with shame, saying Give ye.


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Hear ye this, O priests; and listen, you house of Israel; and give ear, O house of the king; for judgment is directed to you, because you have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.


text:
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, you commit whoredom, and Israel is defiled.


text:
They will not frame their doings to turn to their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.


text:
And the pride of Israel testifies to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.


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They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.


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They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.


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Blow ye the horn in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after you, O Benjamin.


text:
Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.


text:
The princes of Judah were like those who remove the landmark: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.


text:
Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the false commandment.


text:
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet he could not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.


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For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.


text:
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.


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Come, and let us return to the LORD: for he has torn, and he will heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up.


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After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.


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Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain to the earth.


text:
O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? for your goodness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew it goes away.


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Therefore have I cut them down by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and your judgments are as the light that goes forth.


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But they like other men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.


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And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.


text:
I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.


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When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief comes in, and the troop of robbers plunders outside.


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And they do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings surround them; they are before my face.


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They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker, who ceases from raising it after he has kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.


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In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.


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For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait: their baker sleeps all night; in the morning it burns like a flaming fire.


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They are all hot like an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them who calls to me.


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Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knows it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knows not.


text:
And the pride of Israel testifies to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.


text:
When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down like the birds of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard.


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Woe to them! for they have fled from me: destruction to them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.


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And they have not cried to me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for grain and wine, and they rebel against me.


text:
They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.


text:
Put the trumpet to your mouth. He shall come like an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.


text:
They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: from their silver and their gold have they made themselves idols, that they may be cut off.


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Your calf, O Samaria, has cast you off; my anger is kindled against them: how long will it be before they attain to innocence?


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For it was also from Israel: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.


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For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it has no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if perhaps it yields, the strangers shall swallow it up.


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Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.


text:
They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of my offerings, and eat it; but the LORD does not accept them; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.


text:
For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and builds temples; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour their palaces.


text:
Do not rejoice, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for you have gone a whoring from your God, you have loved a reward upon every grain floor.


text:
They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.


text:
They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing to him: their sacrifices shall be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat of it shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.


text:
For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.


text:
The days of visitation have come, the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of your iniquity, and the great hatred.


text:
The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.


text:
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.


text:
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves to that shame; and their abominations were according to their love.


text:
As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.


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Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!


text:
Ephraim, as I saw Tyre, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.


text:
All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house, I will love them no more: all their princes are rebels.


text:
Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.


text:
My God will throw them away, because they did not listen to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.


text:
Israel is an empty vine, he brings forth fruit for himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he has increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made beautiful images.


text:
Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall lay waste their images.


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For now they shall say, We have no king, because we did not fear the LORD; what then would a king do for us?


text:
They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.


text:
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced over it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.


text:
It shall be also carried to Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.


text:
The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.


text:
O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.


text:
It is my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.


text:
And Ephraim is like a heifer that is taught, and loves to tread out the grain; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break up his ground.


text:
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he comes and rains righteousness upon you.


text:
You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of lies: because you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men.


text:
Therefore shall a tumult arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be laid waste, as Shalman laid waste Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.


text:
So shall Bethel do to you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel be completely cut off.


text:
As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to sculptured images.


text:
I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as those who take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid food before them.


text:
He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.


text:
And the sword shall remain on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.


text:
And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.


text:
How shall I give you up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver you, Israel? how shall I make you like Admah? how shall I treat you like Zeboim? my heart is overturned within me, my repentings are kindled together.


text:
I will not execute the fierceness of my anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of you: and I will not enter into the city.


text:
They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.


text:
They shall tremble like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, says the LORD.


text:
Ephraim surrounds me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet rules with God, and is faithful with the saints.


text:
Ephraim feeds on wind, and follows after the east wind: he daily increases lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.


text:
The LORD has also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.


text:
Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;


text:
And Ephraim said, Yet I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself: in all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that would be sin.


text:
And I who am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt will yet make you to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.


text:
I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used parables, by the ministry of the prophets.


text:
Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are like heaps in the furrows of the fields.


text:
And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.


text:
Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly: therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return upon him.


text:
And now they sin more and more, and have made themselves molten images from their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.


text:
Therefore they shall be like the morning cloud, and like the early dew that passes away, like the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind away from the floor, and like the smoke out of the chimney.


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Yet I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt, and you shall know no god but me: for there is no savior besides me.


text:
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.


text:
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her cubs, and will tear the covering of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.


text:
I will be your king: where is any other that may save you in all your cities? and where are your judges of whom you said, Give me a king and princes?


text:
The sorrows of a woman in birth labor shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not remain long in the opening of the womb during birth.


text:
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be your plagues; O grave, I will be your destruction: turning back shall be hid from my eyes.


text:
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall plunder the treasure of all pleasant vessels.


text:
Samaria shall become desolate; for she has rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.


text:
Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say to him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we return the sacrifices of our lips.


text:
Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, You are our gods: for in you the fatherless finds mercy.


text:
His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance as Lebanon.


text:
Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.


text:
Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is your fruit found.


text:
Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.


text:
Hear this, you old men, and give ear, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?


text:
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.


text:
That which the creeping worm has left has the locust eaten; and that which the locust has left has the young locust eaten; and that which the young locust has left has the caterpiller eaten.


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Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and howl, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.


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For a nation has come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a great lion.


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He has laid my vine waste, and stripped the bark off my fig tree: he has made it clean bare, and thrown it away; the branches thereof are made white.


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The food offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn.


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The field is wasted, the land mourns; for the grain is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languishes.


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Be ashamed, O you husbandmen; howl, O you vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.


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The vine is dried up, and the fig tree droops; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.


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Clothe yourselves, and lament, you priests: howl, you ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God: for the food offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God.


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Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,


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Dreadful is the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.


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The seed is rotten under the clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered.


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How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.


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O LORD, to you will I cry: for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.


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The beasts of the field cry also unto you: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.


text:
Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand;


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A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there has never been the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.


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A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: the land is like the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.


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Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle formation.


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They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his way, and they shall not break their ranks:


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Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.


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They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.


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The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:


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And the LORD shall speak forth his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong who executes his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can endure it?


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Therefore also now, says the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:


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And break your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents of the evil.


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Who knows if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a food offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?


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Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.


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Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare your people, O LORD, and give not your heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: why should they say among the people, Where is their God?


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Yea, the LORD will answer and say to his people, Behold, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied with it: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:


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But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his rear part toward the farthest sea, and his stink shall come up, and his stench shall come up, because he has done great things.


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Be not afraid, you beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do sprout, for the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the vine yield their strength.


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Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he has given you the former rain in proper measure, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.


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And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the young locust, and the caterpiller, and the creeping locust, my great army which I sent among you.


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And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.


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And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.


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And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:


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The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.


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And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.


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For, behold, in those days, and at that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,


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I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up my land.


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And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.


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Yea, and what have you to do with me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the land of Philistia? will you repay to me a recompense? and if you recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;


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Because you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my beautiful pleasant things:


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The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have you sold to the Greeks, that you might remove them far from their land.


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Behold, I will raise them up out of the place to which you have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head:


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And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD has spoken it.


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Proclaim this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:


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Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.


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Assemble yourselves, and come, all you heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: cause your mighty ones to come down to there, O LORD.


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Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.


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Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.


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Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.


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The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and speak forth his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.


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So shall you know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and no strangers shall pass through her any more.


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And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.


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Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.


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The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.


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And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:


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I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir, says the LORD.


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they took away captive all the captives, to deliver them up to Edom:


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And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord GOD.


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up all the captives to Edom, and did not remember the brotherly covenant:


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his anger for ever:


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:


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But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:


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But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:


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And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, says the LORD.


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked:


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Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;


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Who covet the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in to the same maid, to profane my holy name:


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And they lay themselves down upon clothes given as a pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.


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Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.


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Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.


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And I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O you children of Israel? says the LORD.


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Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not gather his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:


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Neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself.


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Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,


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You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.


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Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?


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Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no trap is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?


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Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD has not done it?


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Announce in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.


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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; There shall be an adversary even round about the land; and he shall bring down your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered.


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Thus says the LORD; As the shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.


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That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.


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And I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says the LORD.


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Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.


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The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.


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And you shall go out through the broken places, every cow at that which is before her; and you shall throw them into the palace, says the LORD.


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Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:


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And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and announce the free offerings: for this pleases you, O you children of Israel, says the Lord GOD.


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And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD.


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And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one place was rained upon, and the place upon which it did not rain withered.


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So two or three cities wandered to one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD.


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I have stricken you with blight and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the creeping worm devoured them: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD.


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I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up to your nostrils: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD.


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I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick plucked out of the fire: yet have you not returned to me, says the LORD.


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Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel: and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.


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For, lo, he who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.


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The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.


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For thus says the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went forth by a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.


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But do not seek Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and do not pass over to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing.


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Seek the LORD, and you shall live, so that he does not break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.


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Seek him who makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:


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Who strengthens the oppressed against the strong, so that the oppressed shall come against the fortress.


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Seeing therefore that your trampling is upon the poor, and you take from him loads of wheat: you have built houses of cut stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink wine from them.


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For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.


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Seek good, and not evil, that you may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as you have spoken.


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Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.


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Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, says thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the farmer to mourning, and those that are skilful at lamentation to wailing.


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Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! to what purpose is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light,


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As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.


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Though you offer me burnt offerings and your food offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.


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Take away from me the noise of your songs; for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.


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But you have carried the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.


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Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.


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Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, who are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!


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Pass over to Calneh, and see; and from there go to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or their land larger than your land?


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Who lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs from the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;


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Who chant to the sound of the stringed instrument, and invent for themselves instruments of music, like David;


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Who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.


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Therefore now shall they go captive with the first who go captive, and the banquet of those who stretched themselves out shall be removed.


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The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, says the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellence of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is in it.


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And a man's uncle shall take up his body, and he who burns him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say to him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with you? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold your tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.


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For, behold, the LORD commands, and he will strike the great house with broken places, and the little house with cracks.


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Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for you have turned justice into bitterness, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:


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You who rejoice in nothingness, who say, Have we not taken to ourselves dominion by our own strength?


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But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, says the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hamath to the river of the wilderness.


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Thus has the Lord GOD shown me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the springing up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.


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And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I plead with you: by whom shall Jacob rise up again? for he is small.


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Thus has the Lord GOD shown me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called for fire to dispute with them, and it devoured the great deep, and ate up a part of them.


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Then said I, O Lord GOD, cease, I plead with you: by whom shall Jacob rise up again? for he is small.


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Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.


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And the LORD said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A plumb line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:


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And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.


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Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.


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For thus Amos says, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.


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Also Amaziah said to Amos, O you seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:


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But do not prophesy again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.


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Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit:


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And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.


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Now therefore hear the word of the LORD: You say, Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not let your word fall against the house of Isaac.


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Therefore thus says the LORD; Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line; and you shall die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity out of his land.


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And he said, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD to me, The end has come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.


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And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, says the Lord GOD: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall throw them out in silence.


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Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?


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That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the worthless part of the wheat?


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Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn who dwells in it? and all of it shall rise up like a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:


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And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.


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Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:


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And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.


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Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Your god, O Dan, lives; and, The way of Beer-sheba lives; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.


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I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Strike the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and wound them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he of them who flees shall not flee away, and he of them who escapes shall not be delivered.


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Though they dig into hell, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there will I bring them down:


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And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from there; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:


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And though they go into captivity before their enemies, there will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set my eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.


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And the Lord GOD of hosts is he who touches the land, and it shall melt, and all who dwell in it shall mourn: and all of it shall rise up like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.


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It is he who builds his upper chambers in the heavens, and has established his multitude in the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.


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Are you not like children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? says the LORD. Have I not brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?


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Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; except that I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob, says the LORD.


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For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.


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All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, The evil shall not overtake nor come upon us.


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In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the broken places thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:


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That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, who are called by my name, says the LORD who does this.


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Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; and the mountains shall drop down sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.


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And I will bring back the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.


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And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be uprooted out of their land which I have given them, says the LORD your God.


text:
The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumor from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise, and let us rise up against her in battle.


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The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; who says in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?


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Though you exalt yourself like the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there will I bring you down, says the LORD.


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If thieves came to you, if robbers by night, (how you are cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some grapes?


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All the men of your confederacy have brought you even to the border: the men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have prepared to wound you from beneath: there is no understanding in him.


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Shall I not in that day, says the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?


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And your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, so that every inhabitant of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.


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For your violence against your brother Jacob shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off for ever.


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In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that the strangers took away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even you were as one of them.


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But you should not have looked on the day of your brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither should you have spoken proudly in the day of distress.


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You should not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, you should not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their possessions in the day of their calamity;


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Neither should you have stood at the crossroad, to cut off those of his people who escaped; neither should you have delivered up those of his people who remained in the day of distress.


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For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as you have done, it shall be done to you: your reward shall return upon your own head.


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For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.


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But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess what belongs to them.


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And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD has spoken it.


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And those of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and those of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.


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And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites, even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.


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And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.


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Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.


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But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.


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But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was in danger of being broken.


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Then the sailors were afraid, and cried out every man to his god, and threw out the goods that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it from them. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay down, and was fast asleep.


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So the captain came to him, and said to him, What do you mean, O sleeper? arise, call upon your God, if perhaps God will think of us, so that we do not perish.


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And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose sake this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.


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Then said they to him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose sake this evil is upon us; What is your occupation? and from where do you come? what is your country? and of what people are you?


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And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.


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Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said to him, Why have you done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.


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Then said they to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm for us? for the sea was in motion, and was tempestuous.


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And he said to them, Take me up, and throw me out into the sea; so shall the sea be calm for you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.


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Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea was in motion, and was rushing against them.


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Therefore they cried out to the LORD, and said, We plead with you, O LORD, we plead with you, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you.


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Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


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And said, I cried out because of my affliction to the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell I cried out, and you heard my voice.


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For you had thrown me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods surrounded me: all your billows and your waves passed over me.


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The waters surrounded me, even to the soul: the depth closed round about me, the weeds were wrapped around my head.


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I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was around me for ever: yet have you brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.


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When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto you, into your holy temple.


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But I will sacrifice unto you with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.


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So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city of three days' journey.


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And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried out, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.


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So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.


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For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe aside from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.


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And he caused it to be proclaimed and announced throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:


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But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.


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Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish?


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And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do to them; and he did it not.


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And he prayed to the LORD, and said, I pray you, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before to Tarshish: for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and are sorry for the evil.


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Therefore now, O LORD, take, I plead with you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.


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So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.


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And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd.


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But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it struck down the gourd so that it withered.


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And it came to pass, when the sun rose, that God prepared a furious east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, so that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.


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And God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even to death.


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Then said the LORD, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored, neither made it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:


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And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred twenty thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?


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The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


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Hear, all you people; listen, O earth, and all that is in it: and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.


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For, behold, the LORD comes forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.


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And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be split, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.


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Because of the transgression of Jacob is all this, and because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?


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Therefore I will make Samaria like a heap of the field, and like a place for planting a vineyard: and I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations.


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And all her sculptured images shall be beaten to pieces, and all her gifts shall be burned with the fire, and all her idols will I lay desolate: for she gathered it from the wages of a harlot, and they shall return to the wages of a harlot.


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Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.


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For her wound is incurable; for it has come to Judah; he has come to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.


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Go away, you inhabitant of Saphir, having your shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan did not come forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive from you his standing place.


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For the inhabitant of Maroth waited anxiously for good: but evil came down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.


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O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.


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Therefore shall you give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.


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Yet will I bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come to Adullam the glory of Israel.


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Make yourself bald, and cut your hair for your delicate children; enlarge your baldness like the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from you.


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Woe to those who devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.


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And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.


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Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which you shall not remove your necks; neither shall you go haughtily: for this time is evil.


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In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a sorrowful lamentation, and say, We are completely laid waste: he has changed the portion of my people: how he has removed it from me! turning away he has divided our fields.


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Prophesy not, they say to those who prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, so that they shall not be put to shame.


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O you who are named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD restricted? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?


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Even of late my people are risen up like an enemy: you pull off the robe with the garment from those who pass by securely as men who turn away from war.


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The women of my people have you thrown out from their pleasant houses; from their children have you taken away my glory for ever.


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Arise, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a severe destruction.


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If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood lies, saying, I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.


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I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like the sheep of Bozrah, like the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make a loud noise because of the multitude of men.


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The one who breaks through has come up before them: they have broken through, and have passed through the gate, and have gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD at the head of them.


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And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and you princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know justice?


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Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones;


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Who also eat the flesh of my people, and strip their skin off from them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as if for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.


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Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, because they have behaved themselves wrongfully in their doings.


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Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who make my people err, who bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he who does not put something into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.


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Therefore there shall be night for you, so that you shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark for you, so that you shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.


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Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners brought into perplexity: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God.


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But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.


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Hear this, I pray you, you heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, who abhor justice, and pervert all uprightness.


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Their heads judge for reward, and their priests teach for wages, and their prophets divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? no evil can come upon us.


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Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house like the high places of the forest.


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But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow to it.


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And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


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And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.


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But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken it.


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For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.


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In that day, says the LORD, will I assemble her who limps, and I will gather her who is driven out, and her whom I have afflicted;


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And I will make her who limped a remnant, and her who was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from this time forwards, even for ever.


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And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.


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Now why do you cry out aloud? is there no king in you? is your counselor perished? for pangs have taken hold of you as of a woman in birth labor.


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Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth labor: for now shall you go forth out of the city, and you shall dwell in the field, and you shall go even to Babylon; there shall you be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.


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Now also many nations are gathered against you, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion.


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But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither do they understand his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the threshing floor.


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Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs brass: and you shall beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their possessions unto the Lord of the whole earth.


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Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops: he has laid siege against us: they shall strike the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.


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But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth for me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.


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Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who labors in birth has brought forth: then the remnant of his people shall return to the children of Israel.


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And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall remain: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.


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And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight leading men.


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And they shall lay waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in its entrances: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads within our borders.


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And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarry not for man, nor wait for the sons of men.


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And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he goes through, both treads down, and tears in pieces, and none can deliver.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that I will cut off your horses out of the midst of you, and I will destroy your chariots:


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Your sculptured images also will I cut off, and your standing images out of the midst of you; and you shall no more worship the work of your hands.


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Hear now what the LORD says; Arise, maintain your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.


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Hear, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and you strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.


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For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of servants; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


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O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal; that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.


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With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?


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Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


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He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?


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The LORD'S voice cries out to the city, and the man of wisdom shall see your name: hear ye the rod, and who has appointed it.


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Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the small measure that is abominable?


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For their rich men are full of violence, and their inhabitants have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.


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You shall eat, but not be satisfied; and your downfall shall be in the midst of you; and you shall take hold, but shall not deliver; and that which you deliver will I give up to the sword.


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You shall sow, but you shall not reap; you shall tread the olives, but you shall not anoint yourselves with oil; and sweet wine, but shall not drink wine.


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For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you walk in their counsels; that I should make you a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: therefore you shall bear the reproach of my people.


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Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.


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The good man has perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.


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So that they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a reward; and the great man, he speaks his mischievous desire: so they weave it together.


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The best of them is like a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of your watchmen and your visitation comes; now shall be their perplexity.


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Do not trust in a friend, put not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom.


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For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.


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Rejoice not against me, O my enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light to me.


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I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause, and executes judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.


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Then she who is my enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said to me, Where is the LORD your God? my eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down like the mire of the streets.


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In that day also he shall come even to you from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.


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Nevertheless the land shall be desolate because of those who dwell in it, as the fruit of their doings.


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Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your heritage, who dwell alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.


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The nations shall see and be astonished at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf.


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They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of you.


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Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he does not retain his anger for ever, because he delights in mercy.


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He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and you will throw all their sins down into the depths of the sea.


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You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.


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God is jealous, and the LORD avenges; the LORD avenges, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he keeps wrath in store for his enemies.


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The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.


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He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers: Bashan is exhausted, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon droops.


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The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all who dwell in it.


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Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.


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But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of their place, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.


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What do you imagine against the LORD? he will make a complete end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.


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For while they are twined together like thorns, and while they are drunken like drunkards, they shall be devoured like stubble fully dry.


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Thus says the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more.


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And the LORD has given a commandment concerning you, that no more who have your name shall be born: out of the house of your gods will I cut off the sculptured image and the molten image: I will make your grave; for you are vile.


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Behold upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who announces peace! O Judah, keep your solemn feasts, perform your vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through you; he is completely cut off.


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He who dashes in pieces has come up before your face: keep the stronghold, watch the way, make your loins strong, fortify your power mightily.


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For the LORD has turned away the excellence of Jacob, like the excellence of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and hurt their vine branches.


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The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation for battle, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.


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The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightning.


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He shall review his mighty ones: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defense shall be prepared.


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And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be taken away, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts.


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But Nineveh is from of old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.


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Take the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for there is no end of the abundance and glory of all the pleasant furniture.


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She is empty, and vacant, and ruined: and the heart melts, and the knees strike together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.


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Where is the dwelling of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's cub, and none made them afraid?


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The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with torn flesh.


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Behold, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions: and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no more be heard.


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The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots.


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The horseman lifts up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcasses; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:


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Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the beautiful harlot, the mistress of witchcraft, who sells nations through her whoredom, and families through her witchcraft.


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Behold, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts; and I will uncover your skirts over your face, and I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.


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And it shall come to pass, that all those who look upon you shall flee from you, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? where shall I seek comforters for you?


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Are you better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?


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Yet was she taken away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the head of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.


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All your strongholds shall be like fig trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.


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Behold, your people in the midst of you are women: the gates of your land shall be set wide open to your enemies: the fire shall devour your bars.


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Draw waters for the siege, fortify your strongholds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brick kiln.


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There shall the fire devour you; the sword shall cut you off, it shall eat you up like the young locust: make yourself numerous like the young locust, make yourself many like the locusts.


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You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven: the young locust plunders, and flies away.


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Your crowned ones are like the locusts, and your captains like the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun arises they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.


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Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: your nobles shall dwell in the dust: your people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathers them.


text:
There is no healing of your bruise; your wound is severe: all that hear the report of you shall clap their hands over you: for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?


text:
O LORD, how long shall I cry, and you will not hear! even cry out to you of violence, and you will not save!


text:
Why do you show me iniquity, and cause me to behold wrongdoing? for destruction and violence are before me: and there are those who raise up strife and contention.


text:
Therefore the law is weakened, and justice never goes forth: for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceeds.


text:
Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days, which you will not believe, though it be told you.


text:
For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.


text:
Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are fiercer than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves out, and their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly like the eagle that hastens to eat.


text:
They shall come only for violence: their faces shall gather up like the east wind, and they shall gather captives like the sand.


text:
And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn to them: they shall deride every stronghold; for they shall heap up dust, and take it.


text:
Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, giving credit to his god for this his power.


text:
Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, you have established them for correction.


text:
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity: why do you look upon those who deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours the man who is more righteous than he?


text:
They take up all of them with the hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet: therefore they rejoice and are glad.


text:
Therefore they sacrifice to their net, and burn incense to their dragnet; because by them their portion is fat, and their food plentiful.


text:
I will stand upon my watch, and take my place on the tower, and will watch to see what he will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.


text:
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run who reads it.


text:
For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it delays, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.


text:
Yea also, because he transgresses by wine, he is a proud man, neither stays at home, who enlarges his desire like hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathers to himself all nations, and heaps up for himself all people:


text:
Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him who increases that which is not his! how long? and to him who loads himself with thick clay!


text:
Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite you, and awaken that shall trouble you, and you shall be for plunder to them?


text:
Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the people shall plunder you; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all who dwell in it.


text:
Woe to him who covets with an evil covetousness for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!


text:
You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many people, and have sinned against your soul.


text:
Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor in the consuming fire, and the people shall weary themselves for utter vanity?


text:
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.


text:
Woe to him that gives his neighbor drink, that puts your bottle to him, and makes him drunken also, that you may look on their nakedness!


text:
You are filled with shame instead of glory: drink also, and let your foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned to you, and shameful spewing shall be on your glory.


text:
For the violence of Lebanon shall cover you, and the destruction of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all who dwell in it.


text:
What does the sculptured image profit, that its maker has carved it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make dumb idols?


text:
Woe to him who says to wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is covered over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.


text:
O LORD, I have heard your speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.


text:
God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.


text:
And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.


text:
He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and split the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills sank down: his ways are everlasting.


text:
Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? was your anger against the rivers? was your wrath against the sea, that you rode upon your horses and your chariots of salvation?


text:
Your bow was made entirely naked, according to the oaths made to the tribes, even your word. Selah. You divided the earth with rivers.


text:
The mountains saw you, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered its voice, and lifted up its hands on high.


text:
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation at the light of your arrows as they went, and at the shining of your glittering spear.


text:
You went forth for the salvation of your people, even for salvation with your anointed; you wounded the head out of the house of the wicked, by uncovering the foundation to the neck. Selah.


text:
You struck through with his rods the chief of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.


text:
When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he comes up to the people, he will invade them with his troops.


text:
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:


text:
The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like deers' feet, and he will make me to walk upon my high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.


text:
The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.


text:
I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man off of the land, says the LORD.


text:
I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;


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And those who worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and those who worship and swear by the LORD, and swear by Malcham;


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And those who are turned back from the LORD; and those who have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for him.


text:
Hold your peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has invited his guests.


text:
And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all those who are clothed with strange apparel.


text:
In the same day also will I punish all those who leap on the threshold, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.


text:
And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and a howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.


text:
Howl, you inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all those who carry silver are cut off.


text:
And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men who are settled on their lees: who say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.


text:
Therefore their goods shall become a plunder, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine of them.


text:
The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hastens greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.


text:
That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,


text:
And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.


text:
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a sudden end of all those who dwell in the land.


text:
Before the decree is fulfilled, before the day passes as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you.


text:
Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have obeyed his commands; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.


text:
For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.


text:
Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy you, that there shall be no inhabitant.


text:
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed upon it: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.


text:
I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, by which they have reproached my people, and boasted themselves against their border.


text:
Therefore as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah, even for the growing of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation: the remainder of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.


text:
This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.


text:
The LORD will be terrible to them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the lands of the heathen beyond the sea.


text:
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilderness.


text:
And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the marsh bird shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.


text:
This is the rejoicing city that dwelt without a care, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one who passes by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.


text:
She did not obey the voice; she did not receive correction; she did not trust in the LORD; she did not draw near to her God.


text:
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they do not leave the bones till the morrow.


text:
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary; they have done violence to the law.


text:
The just LORD is in the midst of her; he will not do iniquity: every morning he brings his judgment to light, he never fails; but the unjust knows no shame.


text:
I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, so that none passes by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is no inhabitant.


text:
I said, Surely you will fear me, you will receive instruction; so that their dwelling should not be cut off, however I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.


text:
Therefore wait upon me, says the LORD, until the day that I rise up to take the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.


text:
For then will I turn the people to a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.


text:
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia those who seek me, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring my offering.


text:
In that day shall you not be ashamed of all your doings, in which you have transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of you those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.


text:
I will also leave in the midst of you an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.


text:
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.


text:
Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.


text:
The LORD has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of you: you shall not see evil any more.


text:
The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.


text:
I will gather those who long for the solemn assembly, who are of your people, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.


text:
Behold, at that time I will ruin all who afflict you: and I will save her who limps, and gather her who was driven out; and I will bring them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.


text:
At that time will I bring you back, even at the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, says the LORD.


text:
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,


text:
Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time has not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.


text:
You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.


text:
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, says the LORD.


text:
You looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew upon it. Why? says the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that is in ruins, and you run every man to his own house.


text:
And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the grain, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands.


text:
Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people feared before the LORD.


text:
Then spoke Haggai the LORD'S messenger with the LORD'S message to the people, saying, I am with you, says the LORD.


text:
And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,


text:
In the seventh month, in the twenty first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,


text:
Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the rest of the people, saying,


text:
Who is left among you that saw this house in its first glory? and how do you see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison with it as nothing?


text:
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land, says the LORD, and work: for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts:


text:
According to the word of my covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among you: fear not.


text:
For thus says the LORD of hosts; Yet once more, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;


text:
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
In the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,


text:
If one carries holy flesh in the border of his garment, and with his border touches bread, or stew, or wine, or oil, or any food, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.


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Then said Haggai, If one who is unclean by a dead body touches any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.


text:
Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, says the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.


text:
And now, I pray you, consider from this day and onward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:


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Since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty vessels out of the winepress, there were but twenty.


text:
I struck you with blight and with mildew and with hail in all the labor of your hands; yet you did not turn to me, says the LORD.


text:
Consider now from this day and onward, from the twenty fourth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it.


text:
Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, have not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.


text:
And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those who ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall fall down, every one by the sword of his brother.


text:
In that day, says the LORD of hosts, will I take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the LORD, and will make you as a signet: for I have chosen you, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,


text:
Therefore say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
Be not like your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried out, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor listen to me, says the LORD.


text:
But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, As the LORD of hosts thought to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so has he dealt with us.


text:
Upon the twenty fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,


text:
I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the valley; and behind him there were red horses, speckled, and white.


text:
Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said to me, I will show you what these are.


text:
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are those whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro through the earth.


text:
And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sits still, and is at rest.


text:
Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?


text:
So the angel that communed with me said to me, Cry out, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.


text:
And I am very much displeased with the heathen who are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.


text:
Therefore thus says the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.


text:
Cry out again, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.


text:
And I said to the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.


text:
Then said I, What do these come to do? And he spoke, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head: but these have come to frighten them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.


text:
Then said I, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.


text:
And said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:


text:
For I, says the LORD, will be to her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.


text:
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, says the LORD: for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven, says the LORD.


text:
For thus says the LORD of hosts; After the glory of his deliverance he has sent me to the nations which plundered you: for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.


text:
For, behold, I will shake my hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me.


text:
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.


text:
And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.


text:
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.


text:
And the LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a branch plucked out of the fire?


text:
And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with a change of garments.


text:
And I said, Let them set a clean turban upon his head. So they set a clean turban upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.


text:
Thus says the LORD of hosts; If you will walk in my ways, and if you will obey my instruction, then you shall also judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these that stand by.


text:
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your companions that sit before you: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.


text:
For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.


text:
In that day, says the LORD of hosts, shall you invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.


text:
And the angel who talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is awakened out of his sleep,


text:
And said to me, What do you see? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps on it, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top of it:


text:
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side of it.


text:
Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord.


text:
Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
Who are you, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain: and he shall bring forth the crowning stone thereof with shouting, crying, Grace, grace to it.


text:
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.


text:
For who has despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the seven eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.


text:
Then I answered, and said to him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?


text:
And I answered again, and said to him, What are these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?


text:
And he said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; the length of it is twenty cubits, and the breadth of it ten cubits.


text:
Then said he to me, This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: for every one who steals shall be cut off as written on this side according to it; and every one who swears shall be cut off as written on that side according to it.


text:
I will bring it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.


text:
Then the angel who talked with me went forth, and said to me, Lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that goes forth.


text:
And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goes forth. He said moreover, This is their likeness through all the earth.


text:
And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sits in the midst of the ephah.


text:
And he said, This is wickedness. And he pushed her into the midst of the ephah; and he threw the weight of lead down upon its mouth.


text:
Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven.


text:
And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon its own base.


text:
And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.


text:
And the angel answered and said to me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.


text:
The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the mixed go forth toward the south country.


text:
And the reddish went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Go away, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.


text:
Then he cried out to me, and spoke to me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.


text:
Take from those of the captivity, even from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;


text:
Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;


text:
And speak to him, saying, Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:


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Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.


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And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.


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And those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.


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And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu;


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When they had sent to the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,


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And to speak to the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?


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Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did you at all fast for me, even for me?


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Should you not hear the words which the LORD has cried out by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?


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Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:


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And do not oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.


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But they refused to listen, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, so that they would not hear.


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Yea, they made their hearts as hard as an adamant stone, so that they would not hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts has sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.


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Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried out, and they would not hear; so they cried out, and I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts:


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But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate behind them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they made the pleasant land desolate.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.


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Thus says the LORD; I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand because of great age.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes? says the LORD of hosts.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;


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And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.


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For before these days there was no wage for man, nor any wage for beast; neither was there any peace to him who went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbor.


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But now I will not be to the remainder of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts.


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For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.


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And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.


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For thus says the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the LORD of hosts, and I did not repent:


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These are the things that you shall do; Speak every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:


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And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, says the LORD.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:


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And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.


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Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.


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Thus says the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the edge of the robe of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.


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The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the place it will rest: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.


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And Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.


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Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will strike her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.


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Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.


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And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he who remains, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be like a governor in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite.


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And I will encamp around my house because of the army, because of him who passes by, and because of him who returns: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with my eyes.


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Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King comes to you: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.


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And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace to the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.


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As for you also, by the blood of your covenant I have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit in which is no water.


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Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will restore double to you;


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When I have bent Judah for myself, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you as the sword of a mighty man.


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And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth like the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.


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The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.


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And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be like the stones of a crown, lifted up as a banner upon his land.


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For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! grain shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.


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Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make flashing clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.


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For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way like a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.


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My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts has visited his flock the house of Judah, and has made them like his majestic horse in the battle.


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Out of him came forth the cornerstone, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.


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And they shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be put to shame.


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And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back to give them a place; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.


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And those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.


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I will call for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.


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And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and return.


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I will bring them back also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and room shall not be found for them.


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And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall strike the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.


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Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are laid waste: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.


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There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is laid waste.


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Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and those who sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds do not pity them.


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For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.


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And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took to myself two staffs; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock.


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Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.


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Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.


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And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.


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And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock who waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.


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And I said to them, If you think good, give me my price; and if not, hold back. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.


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And the LORD said to me, Throw it to the potter: a goodly price that I was valued at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.


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Then I cut apart my other staff, even Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.


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For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit those that are cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which stands still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.


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Woe to the idol shepherd that leaves the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be completely dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.


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The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.


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Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.


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And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.


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In that day, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the people with blindness.


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And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.


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In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.


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The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.


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In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he who is feeble among them at that day shall be like David; and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


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And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.


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In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.


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And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;


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The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;


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In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.


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And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begot him shall say to him, You shall not live; for you speak lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he has prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:


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And one shall say to him, What are these wounds in your hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.


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Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is my fellow, says the LORD of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones.


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And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says the LORD, two parts in it shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left in it.


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And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them as gold is tested: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.


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For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.


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Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.


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And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall split in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.


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And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal: yea, you shall flee, as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with you.


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But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.


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And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the sea in front, and half of them toward the sea in back: in summer and in winter shall it be.


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And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.


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All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses.


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And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more total destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.


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And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.


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And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and clothing, in great abundance.


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And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, like this plague.


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And it shall come to pass, that every one who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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And it shall be, that whoever will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.


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And if the family of Egypt do not go up, and do not come, that have no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike the heathen that do not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that do not come up to keep the feast of tabernacles.


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In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.


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Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts: and all those who sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil in them: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.


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I have loved you, says the LORD. Yet you say, How have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,


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Though Edom says, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus says the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The land of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD has indignation for ever.


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A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is my honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. And you say, How have we despised your name?


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You offer polluted food upon my altar; and you say, How have we polluted you? In that you say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.


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And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now to your governor; will he be pleased with you, or accept your person? says the LORD of hosts.


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And now, I pray you, plead with God that he will be gracious to us: this has been your doing: will he regard your persons? says the LORD of hosts.


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Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nothing? neither do you kindle fire on my altar for nothing. I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.


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For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, says the LORD of hosts.


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But you have profaned it, in that you say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his food, is contemptible.


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You said also, Behold, what a weariness it is! and you have sniffed at it, says the LORD of hosts; and you brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus you brought an offering: should I accept this from your hand? says the LORD.


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But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.


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If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.


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Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and you shall be taken away with it.


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And you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant might be with Levi, says the LORD of hosts.


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My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me, and was afraid before my name.


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The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity.


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For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.


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But you have departed out of the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts.


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Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as you have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.


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Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?


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Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and has married the daughter of a strange god.


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The LORD will cut off the man who does this, the teacher and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him who offers an offering unto the LORD of hosts.


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And this have you done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, so that he does not regard the offering any more, or receive it with good will at your hand.


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Yet you say, Why? Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously: yet is she your companion, and the wife of your covenant.


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And did he not make one? Yet had he much more of the spirit. And why one? That he might seek a godly offspring. Therefore be careful of your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.


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For the LORD, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce: for a man covers violence with his garment, says the LORD of hosts: therefore be careful of your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.


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You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, How have we wearied him? When you say, Every one that does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?


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Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.


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But who may endure the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:


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And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.


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Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.


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And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.


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Even from the days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you said, How shall we return?


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Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, How have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings.


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Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now hereby, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.


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And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground; neither shall your vine drop her fruit before the time in the field, says the LORD of hosts.


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Your words have been strong against me, says the LORD. Yet you say, What have we spoken so much against you?


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You have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?


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And now we call the proud happy; yea, those who work wickedness are established; yea, those who tempt God are even delivered.


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Then those who feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD listened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the LORD, and who thought upon his name.


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And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.


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Then shall you return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not.


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For, behold, the day is coming that shall burn like an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.


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But to you who fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go out, and grow up like calves of the stall.


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And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts.


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Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.


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Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:


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And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I do not come and strike the earth with a curse.


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And Jesse begot David the king; and David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah;


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So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.


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Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.


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Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away privately.


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But while he thought over these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take to yourself Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.


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And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.


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Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken concerning the Lord by the prophet, saying,


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Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.


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Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had directed him, and took to himself his wife:


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Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,


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Saying, Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.


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And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.


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And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a Governor, who shall rule my people Israel.


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Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.


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And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when you have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.


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When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over the place where the young child was.


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And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.


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And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.


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And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there until I bring you word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.


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And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken concerning the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.


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Then Herod, when he saw that he was despised by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the region thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.


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In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.


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Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead who sought the young child's life.


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But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there: nevertheless, being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the territory of Galilee:


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And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.


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For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.


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And the same John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.


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But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said to them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?


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And do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham as our father: for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.


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And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees: therefore every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.


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I indeed baptize you with water for repentance: but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire:


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Whose winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.


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And Jesus answering said to him, Permit it to be so now: for thus it is suitable for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permitted him.


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And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up immediately out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and coming upon him:


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And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.


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But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.


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And said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you: and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone.


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Again, the devil took him up into an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;


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Then said Jesus to him, Be gone, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.


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And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the region of Zebulon and Naphtali:


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The land of Zebulon, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;


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The people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.


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And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishermen.


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And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.


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And Jesus went around in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.


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And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought to him all sick people that were taken with various diseases and torments, and those who were possessed with devils, and those who were insane, and those who were paralytics; and he healed them.


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And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.


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And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was seated, his disciples came to him:


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Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.


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Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


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You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be thrown out, and to be trodden under foot by men.


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Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house.


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Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.


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Think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill.


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For truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one dot shall by no means pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.


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Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.


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For I say to you, That unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven.


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You have heard that it was said by men of old, You shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:


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But I say to you, That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother, Good for nothing, shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.


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Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you;


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Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.


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Agree with your accuser quickly, while you are on the way with him; lest at any time the accuser delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.


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But I say to you, That whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.


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And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out, and throw it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell.


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And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, and throw it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell.


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But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her who is divorced commits adultery.


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Again, you have heard that it has been said by men of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord your oaths:


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Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.


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But I say to you, Do not resist evil: but whoever shall strike you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.


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But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you;


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That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.


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For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?


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And if you greet your kindred only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?


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Be careful that you do not do your giving before men, to be seen by them: otherwise you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.


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Therefore when you do your giving, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.


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That your giving may be in secret: and your Father who sees in secret himself shall reward you openly.


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And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.


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But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.


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But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard because of their much speaking.


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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.


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Moreover when you fast, do not be, like the hypocrites, of a sad appearance: for they make their faces unsightly, that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.


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That you do not appear to men to fast, but to your Father who is in secret: and your Father, who sees in secret, shall reward you openly.


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Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:


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But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:


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The light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body shall be full of light.


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But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!


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No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and the riches of this world.


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Therefore I say to you, Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body more than clothing?


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Look at the birds of the air: for they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?


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And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin:


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Therefore, if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?


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Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed?


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(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.


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But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.


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Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow: for tomorrow shall be anxious about the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.


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For with the judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with the measure you use, it shall be measured to you again.


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And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not consider the board that is in your own eye?


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Or how will you say to your brother, Let me pull out the speck out of your eye; and, behold, a board is in your own eye?


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You hypocrite, first take out the board out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to take out the speck out of your brother's eye.


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Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, so that they do not trample them under their feet, and turn again and tear you.


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If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?


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Therefore whatever things you would like for men to do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.


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Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it:


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Because the gate is not wide, and the way is not broad, that leads to life, and few there are who find it.


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Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are voracious wolves.


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Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.


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Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?


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Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will compare him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:


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And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it did not fall: for it was founded upon a rock.


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And every one who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do them, shall be compared to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand:


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And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.


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And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching:


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And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if you desire, you can make me clean.


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And Jesus put out his hand, and touched him, saying, I desire it; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.


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And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.


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The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.


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For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.


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When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel.


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And I say to you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.


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But the children of the kingdom shall be thrown out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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And Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done to you. And his servant was healed at the very same moment.


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And when Jesus had come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying down, and sick with a fever.


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When the evening had come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:


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That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, He himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.


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And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.


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And, behold, there arose a powerful wind in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.


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And he said to them, Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.


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And when he had come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.


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And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, thou Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?


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So the devils pleaded with him, saying, If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.


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And he said to them, Go. And when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.


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And those who kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told everything, and what happened to the ones possessed by the devils.


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And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they pleaded with him that he would depart out of their territory.


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And, behold, they brought to him a man sick from paralysis, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said to the man sick from paralysis; Son, be of good cheer; your sins be forgiven you.


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But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the one sick from paralysis,) Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.


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And as Jesus passed away from there, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the place of collecting taxes: and he said to him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.


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And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at dinner in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.


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And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?


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But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, Those who are whole do not need a physician, but those who are sick.


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But go ye and learn what that means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice: for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.


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Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?


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And Jesus said to them, Can the companions of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.


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No man puts a piece of new cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.


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Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles are destroyed: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.


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While he spoke these things to them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshiped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay your hand upon her, and she shall live.


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And, behold, a woman, who was diseased with a flow of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the edge of his garment:


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But Jesus turned around, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.


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And when Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.


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And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord.


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And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke: and the multitudes marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.


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And Jesus went around in all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.


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But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were widely scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.


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And when he had called to himself his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.


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Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;


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Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;


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These twelve Jesus sent out, and commanded them, saying, Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans do not enter:


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Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely you have received, freely give.


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Nor a pouch for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staffs: for the workman is worthy of his food.


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And into whatever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there remain till you go from there.


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And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.


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And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.


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Truly I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.


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Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.


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But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;


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And you shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony against them and the Gentiles.


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But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak.


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And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.


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But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another: for truly I say to you, You shall not have gone through all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man has come.


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It is enough for the disciple that he be like his master, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of his household?


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Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.


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What I tell you in darkness, speak it in the light: and what you hear in the ear, preach it upon the housetops.


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And do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.


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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.


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Whoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.


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For I have come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.


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He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.


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He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.


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And whoever shall give one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.


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And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of instructing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.


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The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.


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And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?


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But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.


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For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.


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Truly I say to you, Among those who are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: nevertheless he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.


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And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.


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But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets, and calling to their friends,


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And saying, We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned to you, and you have not lamented.


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The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But wisdom is justified by her children.


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Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his mighty works were done, because they did not repent:


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Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.


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But I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.


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And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in you, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.


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But I say to you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.


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At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes.


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All things are delivered to me by my Father: and no one knows the Son, but the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son will reveal him.


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Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls.


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At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grain fields; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of grain, and to eat.


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But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, Look, your disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day.


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But he said to them, Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him;


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How he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?


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Or have you not read in the law, how on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?


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But if you had known what this means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.


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And, behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.


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And he said to them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?


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Then said he to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out; and it was restored whole, like the other.


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But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;


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Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.


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A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment bringing victory.


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Then was brought to him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw.


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But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, except by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.


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And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:


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And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.


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Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and plunder his goods, unless he first ties up the strong man? and then he will plunder his house.


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Therefore I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven men.


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And whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.


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Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit.


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O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.


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A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.


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But I say to you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment.


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Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from you.


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But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:


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For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.


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The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here.


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The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the farthest parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.


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When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.


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Then he says, I will return into my house from which I came out; and when he has come, he finds it empty, swept, and decorated.


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Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also for this wicked generation.


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While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, desiring to speak with him.


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Then one said to him, Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to speak with you.


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For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.


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And great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he went into a boat, and sat down; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.


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Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth:


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But other seed fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.


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He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.


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For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away even what he has.


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Therefore I speak to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.


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And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:


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For this people's heart has become fat, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.


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For truly I say to you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.


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When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the way side.


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But he who received the seed into stony places, the same is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;


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Yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended.


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He also who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word; and the concerns of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.


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But he who received seed into the good ground is he who hears the word, and understands it; who also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.


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Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field:


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So the servants of the head of the household came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did the tares come from?


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He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us to go and gather them up?


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But he said, No; because if you gather up the tares now, you might also root up the wheat with them.


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Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.


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Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:


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Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among vegetables, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.


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Another parable spoke he to them; The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.


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All these things spoke Jesus to the multitude in parables; and without a parable he did not speak to them:


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That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.


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Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.


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The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;


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The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.


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As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.


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The Son of man shall send out his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity;


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Then shall the righteous shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.


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Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.


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Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was thrown into the sea, and gathered of every kind:


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Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.


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So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and separate the wicked from among the just,


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Then said he to them, Therefore every scribe who is instructed for the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.


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And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, From where does this man receive this wisdom, and these mighty works?


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Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?


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And they were offended at him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.


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And said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works reveal themselves in him.


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For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.


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And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they considered him to be a prophet.


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And she, being before instructed by her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.


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And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and those who sat with him at dinner, he commanded it to be given her.


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When Jesus heard of it, he departed from there by boat into a lonely place apart: and when the people had heard of it, they followed him on foot out of the cities.


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And Jesus went on, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.


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And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is an uninhabited place, and the hour is now late; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.


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And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.


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And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.


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And immediately Jesus urged his disciples to get into a boat, and to go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.


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And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.


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And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.


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And he said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.


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But when he saw the wind roaring, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me.


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And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?


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And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought to him all who were diseased;


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And pleaded with him that they might only touch the edge of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.


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Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.


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For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother: and, He who curses father or mother, let him die the death.


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But you say, Whoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatever you might be profited by me;


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And do not honor his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.


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This people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.


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Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.


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Then came his disciples, and said to him, Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?


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But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up.


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Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.


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Do you not yet understand, that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly, and is cast out into the drain?


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For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:


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And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same area, and cried out to him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is greatly distressed with a devil.


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But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and pleaded with him, saying, Send her away; for she is crying out after us.


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Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you desire. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.


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And Jesus departed from there, and came near to the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.


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And great multitudes came to him, having with them those who were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and put them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:


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So that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speak, the maimed whole, the lame walk, and the blind see: and they glorified the God of Israel.


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Then Jesus called his disciples to him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, so that they do not faint on the way.


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And his disciples said to him, Where should we get so much bread in the wilderness, to fill so great a multitude?


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And he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks, and broke them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.


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And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets full.


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The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and testing him desired of him that he would show them a sign from heaven.


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He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.


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And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and cloudy. O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but can you not discern the signs of the times?


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A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them, and departed.


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Which when Jesus perceived, he said to them, O ye of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves, because you have brought no bread?


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Do you not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?


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How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak it to you concerning bread, that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?


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Then they understood how he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.


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When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?


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And they said, Some say that you are John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.


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And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven.


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And I say also to you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.


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And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be what is already bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be what is already loosed in heaven.


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From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.


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Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you.


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But he turned, and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you are not concerned with the things that are of God, but those that are of men.


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Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.


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For whoever will save his life shall lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.


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For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?


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For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.


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Truly I say to you, There are some standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.


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And after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain apart,


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And was transfigured before them: and his face shone like the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.


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Then answered Peter, and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if you wish, let us make here three tabernacles; one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.


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While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.


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And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus instructed them, saying, Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.


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But I say to you, That Elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but have done to him whatever they desired. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer from them.


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And when they had come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,


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Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is insane, and greatly distressed: for frequently he falls into the fire, and frequently into the water.


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Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to me.


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And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.


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And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Move over to there; and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.


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And while they remained in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:


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And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceedingly sorry.


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And when they had come to Capernaum, those who received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Does not your master pay tribute?


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He said, Yes. And when he had come into the house, Jesus met him, saying, What do you think, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? From their own children, or from strangers?


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Nevertheless, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first comes up; and when you have opened his mouth, you shall find a piece of money: take that, and give it to them for me and you.


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And said, Truly I say to you, Unless you are converted, and become like little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.


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Whoever therefore shall humble himself like this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.


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But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.


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Woe to the world because of offenses! for it is necessary that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!


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Therefore if your hand or your foot offends you, cut it off, and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be thrown into everlasting fire.


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And if your eye offends you, pluck it out, and throw it away from you: it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be thrown into hell fire.


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Be careful that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.


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What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety nine, and go into the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray?


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And if it happens that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep, than over the ninety nine which did not go astray.


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Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.


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Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone: if he shall hear you, you have gained your brother.


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But if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.


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And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be to you as a heathen man and a tax collector.


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Truly I say to you, Whatever you shall bind on earth shall be what is already bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be what is already loosed in heaven.


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Again I say to you, That if two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.


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Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?


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Therefore is the kingdom of heaven compared to a certain king, who wanted to take account of his servants.


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And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him, who owed him ten thousand talents.


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But seeing that he was not able to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.


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The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.


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Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and released him, and forgave him the debt.


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But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred silver coins: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.


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And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and pleaded with him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.


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So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done.


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Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you pleaded with me:


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And his lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him.


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So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also to each one of you, if you from your hearts do not forgive your brother for his trespasses.


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And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;


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The Pharisees also came to him, testing him, and saying to him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every reason?


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And he answered and said to them, Have you not read, that he who made them at the beginning made them male and female,


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And said, For this reason shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cling to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh?


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Therefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.


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He said to them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.


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And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and whoever marries her who is put away commits adultery.


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For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it.


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Then were there brought to him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.


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But Jesus said, Let little children come to me, and do not forbid them: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.


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And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?


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And he said to him, Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.


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He said to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,


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Jesus said to him, If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.


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Then said Jesus to his disciples, Truly I say to you, That a rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of heaven.


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And again I say to you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


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But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.


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Then answered Peter and said to him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed you; what shall we have therefore?


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And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, That you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


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And every one who has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.


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For the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is the head of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.


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And said to them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. And they went their way.


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And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here all the day idle?


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They said to him, Because no man has hired us. He said to them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatever is right, that shall you receive.


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So when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their wages, beginning from the last until the first.


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But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.


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Saying, These last have worked but one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day.


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But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do you no wrong: did you not agree with me for a penny?


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Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,


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And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.


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Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.


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And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom.


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But Jesus answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to him, We are able.


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And he said to them, You shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared by my Father.


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But Jesus called them to him, and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.


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Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.


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And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.


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And the multitude rebuked them, because they should be quiet: but they cried out all the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David.


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So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.


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And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and had come to Bethpage, to the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,


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Saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you shall find a donkey tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them to me.


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And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them; and at once he will send them.


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Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King comes to you, meek, and sitting upon a donkey, and a colt the foal of a donkey.


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And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and scattered them in the way.


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And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.


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And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of those who sold doves,


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And said to them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.


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And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were greatly displeased,


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And said to him, Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings you have perfected praise?


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And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing on it, but leaves only, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you from now on for ever. And soon after the fig tree withered away.


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Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Be moved, and be thrown into the sea; it shall be done.


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And when he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?


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And Jesus answered and said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I in like manner will tell you by what authority I do these things.


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The baptism of John, where was it from? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why did you not then believe him?


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And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said to them, Neither will I tell I by what authority I do these things.


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But what do you think? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.


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And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I am going, sir: and did not go.


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Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to him, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, That the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.


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For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not: but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, did not afterward repent, that you might believe him.


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Hear another parable: There was a certain head of a household, who planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to farmers, and went into a far country:


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And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the farmers, that they might receive the fruits of it.


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But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.


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They said to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other farmers, who shall return to him the fruits in their seasons.


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Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?


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Therefore I say to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.


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And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.


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And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them.


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But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they held him to be a prophet.


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Again, he sent out other servants, saying, Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage.


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But when the king heard of it, he was angry: and he sent out his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.


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So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all, as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was supplied with guests.


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And he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.


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Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and throw him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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And they sent out to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God in truth, neither do you care for any man: for you do not regard the person of men.


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They said to him, Caesar's. Then said he to them, Return therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.


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Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up descendents for his brother.


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Now there were with us seven brothers: and the first, when he had married a wife, died, and, having no offspring, left his wife to his brother:


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For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven.


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But as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,


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I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.


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But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.


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Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.


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And no man was able to answer him a word, neither dared any man from that day on to ask him any more questions.


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All therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do; but do not do according to their works: for they say, and do not.


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For they bind burdens that are heavy and hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.


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But all their works they do in order to be seen by men: they make their phylacteries wide, and enlarge the borders of their garments,


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But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, nor permit those who are entering to go in.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel sea and land to make one convert, and when he is made, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.


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Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!


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And, whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.


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You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is inside the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.


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Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.


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Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the sepulchers of the righteous,


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And say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.


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Therefore you are witnesses to yourselves, that you are the children of those who killed the prophets.


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Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall you scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:


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That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berachiah, whom you slew between the temple and the altar.


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O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and stone those who are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!


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For I say to you, You shall see me no more at all, till you shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.


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And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.


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And Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.


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And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?


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And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.


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For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in different places.


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Then shall they deliver you up to be persecuted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name's sake.


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And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.


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When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (he who reads, let him understand:)


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For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.


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And unless those days should be shortened, there would no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.


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For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; to the extent that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.


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Therefore if they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the desert; do not go out: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.


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For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.


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Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:


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And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.


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And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.


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Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When its branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near:


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For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,


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And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.


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But know this, that if the head of the household had known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have let his house be broken into.


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Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them food at the proper time?


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The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he is not looking for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,


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And shall cut him in pieces, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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Then shall the kingdom of heaven be compared to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went out to meet the bridegroom.


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But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.


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And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.


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For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered to them his goods.


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And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his own ability; and immediately took his journey.


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Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made with them five more talents.


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And so he who had received five talents came and brought five more talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents: look! I have gained besides them five talents more.


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His lord said to him, Well done, you good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of your lord.


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He also who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents: look!, I have gained two other talents besides them.


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His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of your lord.


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Then he who had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered:


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His lord answered and said to him, You wicked and slothful servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I have not scattered:


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You ought therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received my own with interest.


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For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has.


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And throw the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


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When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:


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And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:


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Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:


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For I was hungry, and you gave me food: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in:


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Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and fed you? or thirsty, and gave you drink?


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And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, To the extent that you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.


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Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:


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I was a stranger, and you did not take me in: naked, and you did not clothe me: sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.


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Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to you?


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Then shall he answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, To the extent that you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.


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You know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is to be betrayed to be crucified.


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Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, to the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,


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There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at dinner.


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When Jesus understood it, he said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work on me.


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Truly I say to you, Wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman has done, be told for a memorial of her.


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And said to them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him to you? And they agreed with him for thirty pieces of silver.


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Now on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the passover?


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And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say to him, The Master says, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at your house with my disciples.


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The Son of man goes as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born.


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And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.


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But I say to you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.


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Then said Jesus to them, All of you shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered away.


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Peter answered and said to him, Though all men shall be offended because of you, yet will I never be offended.


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Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, That this night, before the cock crows, you shall deny me three times.


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Peter said to him, Though I should die with you, yet will I not deny you. Likewise also said all the disciples.


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Then came Jesus with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray over there.


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Then said he to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death: remain here, and watch with me.


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And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.


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And he came to the disciples, and found them asleep, and said to Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour?


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Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.


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He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, unless I drink it, your will be done.


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Then came he to his disciples, and said to them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.


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And while he yet spoke, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and sticks, from the chief priests and elders of the people.


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Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomever I shall kiss, that is he: hold him fast.


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And Jesus said to him, Friend, why have you come? Then they came, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.


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And, behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and struck off his ear.


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Then said Jesus to him, Put up again your sword into its place: for all those who take the sword shall perish with the sword.


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Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall quickly give me more than twelve legions of angels?


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In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Have you come out as against a thief with swords and sticks to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and you laid no hold on me.


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But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.


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And those who had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.


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But Peter followed him at a distance to the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.


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Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;


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But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At last came two false witnesses,


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And the high priest arose, and said to him, Do you answer nothing? What is it which these witness against you?


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But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.


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Jesus said to him, You have said it: nevertheless I say to you, After this shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.


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Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy.


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Now Peter sat outside in the palace: and a young woman came to him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee.


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And when he had gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.


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And after a while came to him those who stood by, and said to Peter, Surely you also are one of them; for your speech betrays you.


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Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I do not know the man. And immediately the cock crowed.


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And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, who said to him, Before the cock crows, you shall deny me three times. And he went out, and wept bitterly.


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When the morning had come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:


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Then Judas, who had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, regretted it, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,


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Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See to that yourself.


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And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.


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Then was fulfilled that which was spoken in Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him who was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;


