# verses

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 Listen! the fugitives, the escaped from the land of Babylon: They announce in Zion the vengeance of the LORD, our God.


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 Call up against Babylon archers, all who bend the bow; Encamp around her, let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; as she has done, do to her, For she insulted the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.


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 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, all her warriors shall perish on that day, says the LORD.


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 I am against you, man of insolence, says the Lord GOD of hosts; For your day has come, the time for me to punish you.


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 Insolence stumbles and falls; there is no one to raise him up. I will kindle in his cities a fire that shall devour everything around him.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Oppressed are the men of Israel, and with them the men of Judah; All their captors hold them fast and refuse to let them go.


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 Strong is their avenger, whose name is LORD of hosts; He will defend their cause with success, and give rest to the earth, but unrest to those who live in Babylon.


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 A sword upon the soothsayers, that they may become fools! A sword upon her warriors, that they may tremble;


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 A sword upon her motley throng, that they may become women! A sword upon her treasures, that they may be plundered;


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 A sword upon her waters, that they may dry up! For it is a land of idols, and they shall be made frantic by fearful things.


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 Hence, wildcats and desert beasts shall dwell there, and ostriches shall occupy it; Never again shall it be peopled, or lived in, from age to age.


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 As when God overturned Sodom and Gomorrah, with their neighbors, says the LORD, Not a man shall dwell there, no human being shall tarry there.


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 See! a people comes from the north, a great nation, and mighty kings roused from the ends of the earth.


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 Bow and javelin they wield, cruel and pitiless are they; They sound like the roaring sea, as they ride forth on steeds, Each in his place for battle against you, daughter Babylon.


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 The king of Babylon hears news of them, and helpless fall his hands; Anguish seizes him, throes like a mother's in childbirth.


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 As when a lion comes up from the Jordan's thicket to the permanent feeding grounds, So I, in one instant, will drive them off, and whom I choose I will establish there; For who is like me? who calls me to account? what shepherd can stand against me?


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 Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD which he has taken against Babylon; Hear the plans he has made against the land of the Chaldeans: They shall be dragged away, even the smallest sheep; their own pasture shall be aghast because of them.


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 Thus says the LORD: See! I rouse against Babylon, and against those who live in Chaldea, a destroying wind.


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 Against Babylon I will send winnowers to winnow her and lay waste her land; They shall besiege her from all sides on the day of affliction.


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 Let the bowman draw his bow, and flaunt his coat of mail; Spare not her young men, doom her entire army.


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 For Israel and Judah are not widowed of their God, the LORD of hosts, And the Chaldean land is full of guilt to be punished by the Holy One of Israel.


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 Flee out of Babylon; let each one save his life, perish not for her guilt; This is a time of vengeance for the LORD, he pays her her due.


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 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the LORD which made the whole earth drunk; The nations drank its wine, with this they have become mad.


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 Babylon suddenly falls and is crushed: howl over her! Bring balm for her wounds, in case she can be healed.


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 "We have tried to heal Babylon, but she cannot be healed. Leave her, let us go, each to his own land." Her judgment reaches heaven, it touches the clouds.


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 The LORD has brought to light our just cause; come, let us tell in Zion what the LORD, our God, has done.


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 Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers; The LORD has stirred up the spirit of Media's kings; Babylon he is resolved to destroy. Yes, it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for his temple.


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 Against the walls of Babylon raise a signal, make strong the watch; Post sentries, arrange ambushes! For the LORD has planned and he will carry out his threat against the inhabitants of Babylon.


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 You who dwell by mighty waters, rich in treasure, Your end has come, the term at which you shall be cut off!


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 The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: I will fill you with men as numerous as locusts, who shall raise over you the vintage shout!


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 He has sworn who made the earth by his power, and established the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his skill.


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 Every man is stupid, ignorant; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He molded a fraud, without breath of life.


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 Not like these is the portion of Jacob, he is the creator of all things; Israel is his very own tribe, LORD of hosts is his name.


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 With you I shatter man and wife, with you I shatter old and young, with you I shatter the youth and maiden.


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 With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, with you I shatter the farmer and his team, with you I shatter satraps and prefects.


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 Thus will I repay Babylon, and all who live in Chaldea All the evil they did to Zion, as you shall see with your own eyes, says the LORD.


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 Beware! I am against you, destroying mountain, destroyer of the entire earth, says the LORD; I will stretch forth my hand against you, roll you down over the cliffs, and make you a burnt mountain:


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 They will not take from you a cornerstone, or a foundation stone; Ruins forever shall you be, says the LORD.


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 Raise a signal on the earth, blow the trumpet among the nations; Dedicate peoples to war against her, summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; Appoint recruiting officers against her, send up horses like bristling locusts.


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 Dedicate peoples to war against her: the king of Media, Its governors and all its prefects, every land in his domain.


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 The earth quakes and writhes, the LORD'S plan against Babylon is carried out, Turning the land of Babylon into a desert where no one lives.


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 Babylon's warriors have ceased to fight, they remain in their strongholds; Dried up is their strength, they have become women. Burned are their homes, and broken their bars.


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 One runner meets another, herald meets herald, Telling the king of Babylon that all his city is taken.


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 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trodden; Yet a little while, and the harvest time will come for her.


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 He has consumed me, routed me, (Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,) he has left me as an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a dragon: filled his belly with my delights, and cast me out.


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 My torn flesh be upon Babylon, says the city on Zion; My blood upon the people of Chaldea, says Jerusalem.


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 But now, thus says the LORD: Surely I will defend your cause, I will avenge you; I will dry up her sea, and drain her fountain.


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 Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; A place of horror and ridicule, where no one lives.


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 When they are parched, I will set a drink before them to make them drunk, that they may be overcome with perpetual sleep, never to awaken, says the LORD.


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 How has she been seized, made captive, the glory of the whole world! What a horror has Babylon become among nations:


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 Her cities have become a desert, parched and arid land Where no man lives, and no one passes through.


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 I will punish Bel in Babylon, and make him disgorge what he swallowed; peoples shall stream to him no more. The wall of Babylon falls!


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 Be not discouraged for fear of rumors spread in the land; this year the rumor comes, then violence in the land, tyrant against tyrant.


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 But behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall lie fallen within her.


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 Then heaven, and earth, and everything in them shall shout over Babylon with joy, when the destroyers come against her from the north, says the LORD.


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 Babylon, too, must fall, O slain of Israel, as at the hands of Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.


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 You who have escaped the sword, go on, stand not still; Remember the LORD from afar, let Jerusalem come to your minds.


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 We are ashamed because we have heard taunts, confusion covers our faces; strangers have entered the holy places of the house of the LORD.


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 But behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish her idols, and in her whole land the wounded will groan.


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 Though Babylon scale the heavens, and make her strong heights inaccessible, destroyers from me shall reach her, says the LORD.


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 For the LORD lays Babylon waste, stills her loud cry, Though her waves were roaring like mighty waters, and their clamor was heard afar.


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 For the destroyer comes upon her, (Babylon,) her heroes are captured, their bows broken; The LORD is a God who requites, he will surely repay.


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 I will make her princes and her wise men drunk, her governors, her prefects, and her warriors, so that they sleep an eternal sleep, never to awaken, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The walls of spacious Babylon shall be leveled utterly; her lofty gates shall be destroyed by fire. The toil of the nations is for nothing; for the flames the peoples weary themselves.


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 This was the errand given by the prophet Jeremiah to Seraiah, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon for the king in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah; Seraiah was chief quartermaster.


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 Jeremiah had written all the misfortune that was to befall Babylon in a single book: all these words that were written against Babylon.


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 and then say: O LORD, you yourself threatened to destroy this place, so that neither man nor beast should dwell in it, since it would remain an everlasting desert.


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 and say: Thus shall Babylon sink. Never shall she rise, because of the evil I am bringing upon her. (To "weary themselves" are the words of Jeremiah.)


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 Indeed, what was done in Jerusalem and in Judah so angered the LORD that he cast them out from his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.


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 In the tenth month of the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it, and built siege walls on every side.


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 On the ninth day of the fourth month, when famine had gripped the city and the people had no more bread,


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 the city walls were breached. Then all the soldiers took to flight and left the city by night through the gate between the two walls which was near the king's garden. With the Chaldeans surrounding the city, they went in the direction of the Arabah.


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 But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the desert near Jericho, while his whole army fled from him.


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 The king, therefore, was arrested and brought to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him.


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 As Zedekiah looked on, the king of Babylon slew his sons as well as all the princes of Judah at Riblah.


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 Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters, and had him brought to Babylon and kept in prison until the day of his death.


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 On the tenth day of the fifth month (this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, came to Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon.


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 He burned the house of the LORD, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every large building he destroyed with fire.


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 And the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down all the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.


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 Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the rest of the people left in the city, and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the artisans.


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 The bronze pillars that belonged to the house of the LORD, and the wheeled carts and the bronze sea in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke into pieces; they carried away all the bronze to Babylon.


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 They took also the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, the pans, and all the bronze vessels used for service.


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 The basins also, the fire holders, the bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the pans, the sacrificial bowls which were of gold or silver, these too the captain of the guard carried off,


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 as well as the two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve oxen of bronze under the sea, and the wheeled carts which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD. The bronze of all these furnishings could not be weighed.


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 Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in diameter; each was four fingers thick, and hollow inside.


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 A bronze capital five cubits high surmounted the one pillar, and a network with pomegranates encircled the capital, all of brass; and so for the other pillar. The pomegranates...


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 The captain of the guard also took Seraiah, the high priest, Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the entry.


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 And from the city he took one courtier, a commander of soldiers, and seven men in the personal service of the king who were present in the city, and the scribe of the army commander who mustered the people of the land, and sixty of the common people who were in the city.


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 The captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, arrested these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah,


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 who had them struck down and put to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus was Judah exiled from her land.


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 This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar led away captive: in his seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three people of Judah;


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 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, exiled seven hundred and forty-five people of Judah: four thousand six hundred persons in all.


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 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, in the inaugural year of his reign, took up the case of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and released him from prison.


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 The allowance given him by the king of Babylon was a perpetual allowance, in fixed daily amounts, all the days of his life until the day of his death.


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 How lonely she is now, the once crowded city! Widowed is she who was mistress over nations; The princess among the provinces has been made a toiling slave.


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 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears upon her cheeks, With not one to console her of all her dear ones; Her friends have all betrayed her and become her enemies.


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 Judah has fled into exile from oppression and cruel slavery; Yet where she lives among the nations she finds no place to rest: All her persecutors come upon her where she is narrowly confined.


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 The roads to Zion mourn for lack of pilgrims going to her feasts; All her gateways are deserted, her priests groan, Her virgins sigh; she is in bitter grief.


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 Her foes are uppermost, her enemies are at ease; The LORD has punished her for her many sins. Her little ones have gone away, captive before the foe.


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 Gone from daughter Zion is all her glory: Her princes, like rams that find no pasture, Have gone off without strength before their captors.


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 Jerusalem is mindful of the days of her wretched homelessness, When her people fell into enemy hands, and she had no one to help her; When her foes gloated over her, laughed at her ruin.


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 Through the sin of which she is guilty, Jerusalem is defiled; All who esteemed her think her vile now that they see her nakedness; She herself groans and turns away.


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 Her filth is on her skirt; she gave no thought how she would end. Astounding is her downfall, with no one to console her. Look, O LORD, upon her misery, for the enemy has triumphed!


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 The foe stretched out his hand to all her treasures; She has seen those nations enter her sanctuary Whom you forbade to come into your assembly.


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 All her people groan, searching for bread; They give their treasures for food, to retain the breath of life. "Look O LORD, and see how worthless I have become!


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 "Come, all you who pass by the way, look and see Whether there is any suffering like my suffering, which has been dealt me When the LORD afflicted me on the day of his blazing wrath.


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 "From on high he sent fire down into my very frame; He spread a net for my feet, and overthrew me. He left me desolate, in pain all the day.


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 "He has kept watch over my sins; by his hand they have been plaited: They have settled about my neck, he has brought my strength to its knees; The Lord has delivered me into their grip, I am unable to rise.


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 "All the mighty ones in my midst the Lord has cast away; He summoned an army against me to crush my young men; The LORD has trodden in the wine press virgin daughter Judah.


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 "At this I weep, my eyes run with tears: Far from me are all who could console me, any who might revive me; My sons were reduced to silence when the enemy prevailed."


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 Zion stretched out her hands, but there was no one to console her; The LORD gave orders against Jacob for his neighbors to be his foes; Jerusalem has become in their midst a thing unclean.


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 "The LORD is just; I had defied his command. Listen, all you peoples, and behold my suffering: My maidens and my youths have gone into captivity.


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 "I cried out to my lovers, but they failed me. My priests and my elders perished in the city; Where they sought food for themselves, they found it not.


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 "Look, O LORD, upon my distress: all within me is in ferment, My heart recoils within me from my monstrous rebellion. In the streets the sword bereaves, at home death stalks.


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 "Give heed to my groaning; there is no one to console me. All my enemies rejoice at my misfortune: it is you who have wrought it. Bring on the day you have proclaimed, that they may be even as I.


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 "Let all their evil come before you; deal with them As you have dealt with me for all my sins; My groans are many, and I am sick at heart."


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 How the Lord in his wrath has detested daughter Zion! He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, Unmindful of his footstool on the day of his wrath.


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 The Lord has consumed without pity all the dwellings of Jacob; He has torn down in his anger the fortresses of daughter Judah; He has brought to the ground in dishonor her king and her princes.


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 He broke off, in fiery wrath, the horn that was Israel's whole strength; He withheld the support of his right hand when the enemy approached; He blazed up in Jacob like a flaming fire devouring all about it.


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 Like an enemy he made taut his bow; with his arrows in his right hand He took his stand as a foe, and slew all on whom the eye doted; Over the tent of daughter Zion he poured out his wrath like fire.


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 The Lord has become an enemy, he has consumed Israel: Consumed all her castles and destroyed her fortresses; For daughter Judah he has multiplied moaning and groaning.


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 He has demolished his shelter like a garden booth, he has destroyed his dwelling; In Zion the LORD has made feast and sabbath to be forgotten; He has scorned in fierce wrath both king and priest.


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 The Lord has disowned his altar, rejected his sanctuary; The walls of her towers he has handed over to the enemy, Who shout in the house of the LORD as on a feast day.


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 The LORD marked for destruction the wall of daughter Zion: He stretched out the measuring line; his hand brought ruin, yet he did not relent-- He brought grief on wall and rampart till both succumbed.


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 Sunk into the ground are her gates; he has removed and broken her bars. Her king and her princes are among the pagans; priestly instruction is wanting, And her prophets have not received any vision from the LORD.


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 On the ground in silence sit the old men of daughter Zion; They strew dust on their heads and gird themselves with sackcloth; The maidens of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.


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 Worn out from weeping are my eyes, within me all is in ferment; My gall is poured out on the ground because of the downfall of the daughter of my people, As child and infant faint away in the open spaces of the town.


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 They ask their mothers, "Where is the cereal?"-- in vain, As they faint away like the wounded in the streets of the city, And breathe their last in their mothers' arms.


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 To what can I liken or compare you, O daughter Jerusalem? What example can I show you for your comfort, virgin daughter Zion? For great as the sea is your downfall; who can heal you?


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 Your prophets had for you false and specious visions; They did not lay bare your guilt, to avert your fate; They beheld for you in vision false and misleading portents.


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 All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and wag their heads over daughter Jerusalem: "Is this the all-beautiful city, the joy of the whole earth?"


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 All your enemies open their mouths against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have devoured her. This at last is the day we hoped for; we have lived to see it!"


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 The LORD has done as he decreed: he has fulfilled the threat He set forth from days of old; he has destroyed and had no pity, Letting the enemy gloat over you and exalting the horn of your foes.


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 Cry out to the Lord; moan, O daughter Zion! Let your tears flow like a torrent day and night; Let there be no respite for you, no repose for your eyes.


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 Rise up, shrill in the night, at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones (Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street).


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 "Look, O LORD, and consider: whom have you ever treated thus? Must women eat their offspring, their well-formed children? Are priest and prophet to be slain in the sanctuary of the LORD?


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 "Dead in the dust of the streets lie young and old; My maidens and young men have fallen by the sword; You have slain on the day of your wrath, slaughtered without pity.


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 "You summoned as for a feast day terrors against me from all sides; There was not, on the day of your wrath, either fugitive or survivor; Those whom I bore and reared my enemy has utterly destroyed."


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 How tarnished is the gold, how changed the noble metal; How the sacred stones lie strewn at every street corner!


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 Zion's precious sons, fine gold their counterpart, Now worth no more than earthen jars made by the hands of a potter!


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 Even the jackals bare their breasts and suckle their young; The daughter of my people has become as cruel as the ostrich in the desert.


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 The tongue of the suckling cleaves to the roof of its mouth in thirst; The babes cry for food, but there is no one to give it to them.


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 Those accustomed to dainty food perish in the streets; Those brought up in purple now cling to the ash heaps.


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 The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant without the turning of a hand.


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 Brighter than snow were her princes, whiter than milk, More ruddy than coral, more precious than sapphire.


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 Now their appearance is blacker than soot, they are unrecognized on the streets; Their skin shrinks on their bones, as dry as wood.


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 Better for those who perish by the sword than for those who die of hunger, Who waste away, as though pierced through, lacking the fruits of the field!


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 The hands of compassionate women boiled their own children, To serve them as mourners' food in the downfall of the daughter of my people.


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 The LORD has spent his anger, poured out his blazing wrath; He has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations.


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 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the world's inhabitants, That enemy or foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.


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 Because of the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, Who shed in her midst the blood of the just!--


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 They staggered blindly in the streets, soiled with blood, So that people could not touch even their garments:


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 "Away you unclean!" they cried to them, "Away, away, do not draw near!" If they left and wandered among the nations, nowhere could they remain.


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 The LORD himself has dispersed them, he regards them no more; He does not receive the priests with favor, nor show kindness to the elders.


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 Our eyes ever wasted away, looking in vain for aid; From our watchtower we watched for a nation that could not save us.


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 Men dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; Our end drew near, and came; our time had expired.


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 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the air, They harassed us on the mountains and waylaid us in the desert.


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 The anointed one of the LORD, our breath of life, was caught in their snares, He in whose shadow we thought we could live on among the nations.


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 Though you rejoice and are glad, O daughter Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz, To you also shall the cup be passed; you shall become drunk and naked.


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 Your chastisement is completed, O daughter Zion, he will not prolong your exile; But your wickedness, O daughter Edom, he will punish, he will lay bare your sins.


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 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens opened, and I saw divine visions.--


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 the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.-- There the hand of the LORD came upon me.


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 As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire (enveloped in brightness), from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum.


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 Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human,


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 and their legs went straight down; the soles of their feet were round. They sparkled with a gleam like burnished bronze.


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 Their faces (and their wings) looked out on all their four sides; they did not turn when they moved, but each went straight forward.


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 Their faces were like this: each of the four had the face of a man, but on the right side was the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, and finally each had the face of an eagle.


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 Each had two wings spread out above so that they touched one another's, while the other two wings of each covered his body.


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 (Each went straight forward; wherever the spirit wished to go, there they went; they did not turn when they moved.)


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 In among the living creatures something like burning coals of fire could be seen; they seemed like torches, moving to and fro among the living creatures. The fire gleamed, and from it came forth flashes of lightning.


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 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one beside each of the four living creatures.


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 The wheels had the sparkling appearance of chrysolite, and all four of them looked the same: they were constructed as though one wheel were within another.


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 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living creatures were raised from the ground, the wheels also were raised.


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 Wherever the spirit wished to go, there the wheels went, and they were raised together with the living creatures; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.


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 Over the heads of the living creatures, something like a firmament could be seen, seeming like glittering crystal, stretched straight out above their heads.


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 Beneath the firmament their wings were stretched out, one toward the other. (Each of them had two covering his body.)


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 Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. (And when they stood still, they lowered their wings.)


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 Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man.


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 Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor.


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 Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I had seen it, I fell upon my face and heard a voice that said to me:


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 As he spoke to me, spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking


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 say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day.


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 Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD!


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 And whether they heed or resist-- for they are a rebellious house-- they shall know that a prophet has been among them.


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 But as for you, son of man, fear neither them nor their words when they contradict you and reject you, and when you sit on scorpions. Neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.


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 As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you: be not rebellious like this house of rebellion, but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.


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 which he unrolled before me. It was covered with writing front and back, and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe!


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 He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.


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 Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said:


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 nor to the many peoples (with difficult speech and barbarous language) whose words you cannot understand. If I were to send you to these, they would listen to you;


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 but the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, since they will not listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is stubborn of brow and obstinate in heart.


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 like diamond, harder than flint. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.


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 Now go to the exiles, to your countrymen, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD!-- whether they heed or resist!


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 Then spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the noise of a loud rumbling as the glory of the LORD rose from its place:


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 the noise made by the wings of the living creatures striking one another, and by the wheels alongside them, a loud rumbling.


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 The spirit which had lifted me up seized me, and I went off spiritually stirred, while the hand of the LORD rested heavily upon me.


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 Thus I came to the exiles who lived at Tel-abib by the river Chebar, and for seven days I sat among them distraught.


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 Thus the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.


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 If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death.


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 If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life.


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 If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him.


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 When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.


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 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he said to me: Get up and go out into the plain, where I will speak with you.


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 So I got up and went out into the plain, and I saw that the glory of the LORD was in that place, like the glory I had seen by the river Chebar. I fell prone,


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 but then spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me. He said to me: Go shut yourself up in your house.


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 (As for you, son of man, they will put cords upon you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them.)


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 I will make your tongue stick to your palate so that you will be dumb and unable to rebuke them for being a rebellious house.


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 Only when I speak with you and open your mouth, shall you say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD! Let him heed who will, and let him resist who will, for they are a rebellious house.


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 As for you, son of man, take a clay tablet; lay it in front of you, and draw on it a city (Jerusalem).


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 Raise a siege against it: build a tower, lay out a ramp, pitch camps, and set up batteringrams all around.


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 Then take an iron griddle and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Fix your gaze on it: it shall be in the state of siege, and you shall besiege it. This shall be a sign for the house of Israel.


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 Then you shall lie on your left side, while I place the sins of the house of Israel upon you. As many days as you lie thus, you shall bear their sins.


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 For the years of their sins I allot you the same number of days, three hundred and ninety, during which you will bear the sins of the house of Israel.


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 When you finish this, you are to lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the sins of the house of Judah forty days; one day for each year I have allotted you.


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 See, I will bind you with cords so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.


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 Again, take wheat and barley, and beans and lentils, and millet and spelt; put them in a single vessel and make bread out of them. Eat it for as many days as you lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety.


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 "Oh no, Lord GOD!" I protested. "Never have I been made unclean, and from my youth till now, never have I eaten carrion flesh or that torn by wild beasts; never has any unclean meat entered my mouth."


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 Very well, he replied, I allow you cow's dung in place of human excrement; bake your bread on that.


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 Then he said to me: Son of man, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread which they have weighed out anxiously, and they shall drink water which they have measured out fearfully,


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 so that, owing to the scarcity of bread and water, everyone shall be filled with terror and waste away because of his sins.


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 As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it like a barber's razor, passing it over your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair you have cut.


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 Burn a third in the fire, within the city, when the days of your siege are completed; place another third around the city and strike it with the sword; the final third strew in the wind, and pursue it with the sword.


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 Then take some of these and throw them in the midst of the fire and burn them.) Say to the whole house of Israel:


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem! In the midst of the nations I placed her, surrounded by foreign countries.


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 But she rebelled against my ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against my statutes more than the foreign countries surrounding her; she has spurned my ordinances and has not lived by my statutes.


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 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have been more rebellious than the nations surrounding you, not living by my statutes nor fulfilling my ordinances, but acting according to the ordinances of the surrounding nations;


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 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See, I am coming at you! I will inflict punishments in your midst while the nations look on.


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 Because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never done before, the like of which I will never do again.


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 This means that fathers within you shall eat sons, and sons shall eat fathers. I will inflict punishments upon you and scatter all that remain of your people in every direction.


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 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable abominations, I swear to cut you down. I will not look upon you with pity nor have mercy.


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 A third of your people shall die of pestilence and perish of hunger within you; another third shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third I will scatter in every direction, and I will pursue them with the sword.


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 Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will wreak my fury upon them till I am appeased; they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my jealousy when I spend my fury upon them.


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 I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that surround you, which every passer-by may see.


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 When I execute judgment upon you in anger and fury and with furious chastisements, you shall be a reproach and an object of scorn, a terrible warning to the nations that surround you. I, the LORD, have spoken!


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 When I loose against you the cruel, destructive arrows of hunger, I will break your staff of bread;


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 I will send famine against you, and wild beasts that shall rob you of your children. Pestilence and bloodshed shall stalk through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the LORD, have spoken!


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 Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus says the Lord GOD (to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys): See, I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.


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 Your altars shall be laid waste, your incense stands shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain ones before your idols;


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 In all your dwelling places cities shall be made desolate and high places laid waste, so that your altars will be made desolate and laid waste, your idols broken and removed, and your incense stands smashed to bits.


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 I have warned you.) When some of your people have escaped to other nations from the sword, and have been scattered over the foreign lands,


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 then those who have escaped will remember me among the nations to which they have been exiled, after I have broken their adulterous hearts that turned away from me (and their eyes which lusted after idols). They shall loathe themselves because of their evil deeds, all their abominations.


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 Then they shall know that it was not in vain that I, the LORD, threatened to inflict this calamity upon them.


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry "Alas!" because of all the abominations of the house of Israel, for which they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.


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 He that is far off shall die of pestilence, he that is near shall fall by the sword, and he that is besieged shall perish by famine; so will I spend my fury upon them.


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 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when their slain shall lie amid their idols, all about their altars, on every high hill and mountaintop, beneath every green tree and leafy oak, wherever they offered appeasing odors to any of their gods.


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 I will stretch out my hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the desert to Riblah; thus shall they know that I am the LORD.


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 Son of man, now say: Thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land!


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 Now the end is upon you; I will unleash my anger against you and judge you according to your conduct and lay upon you the consequences of all your abominations.


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 I will not look upon you with pity nor have mercy; I will bring your conduct down upon you, and the consequences of your abominations shall be in your midst; then shall you know that I am the LORD.


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 The climax has come for you who dwell in the land! The time has come, near is the day: a time of consternation, not of rejoicing.


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 Soon now I will pour out my fury upon you and spend my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your conduct and lay upon you the consequences of all your abominations.


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 I will not look upon you with pity nor have mercy; I will deal with you according to your conduct, and the consequences of your abominations shall be in your midst; then shall you know that it is I, the LORD, who strike.


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 See, the day of the LORD! See, the end is coming! Lawlessness is in full bloom, insolence flourishes,


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 The time has come, the day dawns. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath shall be upon all the throng.


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 The seller shall not regain what he sold as long as he lives, for wrath shall be upon all the throng. Because of his sins, no one shall preserve his life.


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 They shall sound the trumpet and make everything ready, yet no one shall go to war, for my wrath is upon all the throng.


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 The sword is outside; pestilence and hunger are within. He that is in the country shall die by the sword; pestilence and famine shall devour those in the city.


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 Even those who escape and flee to the mountains like the doves of the valleys-- I will put them all to death, each one for his own sins.


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 They shall put on sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; shame shall be on all their faces and baldness on all their heads.


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 They shall fling their silver into the streets, and their gold shall be considered refuse. Their silver and gold cannot save them on the day of the LORD'S wrath. They shall not be allowed to satisfy their craving or fill their bellies, for this has been the occasion of their sin.


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 In the beauty of their ornaments they put their pride: they made of them their abominable images (their idols). For this reason I make them refuse.


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 I will hand them over as booty to foreigners, to be spoiled and defiled by the wicked of the earth.


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 I will turn away my face from them, and my treasure shall be profaned: robbers shall enter and profane it.


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 I will bring in the worst of the nations, who shall take possession of their houses. I will put an end to their proud strength, and their sanctuaries shall be profaned.


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 There shall be disaster after disaster, rumor after rumor. Prophetic vision shall fade; instruction shall be lacking to the priest, and counsel to the elders,


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 while the prince shall be enveloped in terror, and the hands of the common people shall tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and according to their judgments I will judge them; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


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 On the fifth day of the sixth month, in the sixth year, as I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.


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 I looked up and saw a form that looked like a man. Downward from what seemed to be his waist, there was fire; from his waist upward there seemed to be a brightness like the sheen of electrum. He stretched out what appeared to be a hand and seized me by the hair of my head....


text:
 Spirit lifted me up in the air and brought me in divine visions to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate, where stood the statue of jealousy which stirs up jealousy.


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 I saw there the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain. The cherubim were stationed to the right of the temple;


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 He said to me: Son of man, look toward the north! I looked toward the north and saw northward of the gate the altar of the statue of jealousy.


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 Son of man, he asked me, do you see what they are doing? Do you see the great abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary? But you shall see still greater abominations!


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 I entered and saw that all around upon the wall were pictured the figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts (all the idols of the house of Israel).


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 Before these stood seventy of the elders of the house of Israel, among whom stood Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, each of them with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the incense was rising upward.


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 Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what each of these elders of the house of Israel is doing in his idol room? They think: "The LORD cannot see us; the LORD has forsaken the land."


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 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the temple, and I saw sitting there the women who were weeping for Tammuz.


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 Then he said to me: Do you see this, son of man? You shall see other abominations, greater than these!


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 Then he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and there at the door of the LORD'S temple, between the vestibule and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the LORD'S temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing down to the sun.


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 Do you see, son of man? he asked me. Is it such a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the abominable things they have done here-- for they have filled the land with violence, and again and again they have provoked me-- that now they must also put the branch to my nose?


text:
 With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer's case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.


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 saying to him: Pass through the city (through Jerusalem) and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it.


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 To the others I heard him say: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy!


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 Old men, youths and maidens, women and children-- wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the X; begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men (the elders) who were in front of the temple.


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 Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain; then go out and strike in the city.


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 As they began to strike, I was left alone. I fell prone, crying out, Alas, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all that is left of Israel when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?"


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 He answered me: The sins of the house of Israel are great beyond measure; the land is filled with bloodshed, the city with lawlessness. They think that the LORD has forsaken the land, that he does not see them.


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 I, however, will not look upon them with pity, nor show any mercy. I will bring down their conduct upon their heads.


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 Then I saw the man dressed in linen with the writing case at his waist make his report: "I have done as you ordered."


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 I looked and saw in the firmament above the cherubim what appeared to be sapphire stone; something like a throne could be seen upon it.


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 He said to the man dressed in linen: Go within the wheelwork under the cherubim; fill both your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim, then scatter them over the city. As I looked on, he entered. The glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherubim, upon which it had been, to the threshold of the temple.


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 and the glory of the LORD rose from over the cherubim to the threshold of the temple; the temple was filled with the cloud, and all the court was bright with the glory of the LORD.


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 The noise of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court; it was like the voice of God the Almighty when he speaks.


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 When he had commanded the man dressed in linen to take fire from within the wheelwork, among the cherubim, the man entered and stood by one of the wheels.


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 Thereupon its cherub stretched out his hand toward the fire that was among the cherubim. He took up some of it and put it in the hands of the one dressed in linen, who took it and came out.


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 I also saw four wheels beside them, one wheel beside each cherub; the wheels appeared to have the luster of chrysolite stone.


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 When they moved, they went in any one of their four directions without veering as they moved; for in whichever direction they were faced, they went straight toward it without veering as they moved.


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 Each had four faces: the first face was that of an ox, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.


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 When the cherubim moved, the wheels went beside them; when the cherubim lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not leave their sides.


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 When they stood still, the wheels stood still; when they rose, the wheels rose with them; for the living creatures' spirit was in them.


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 These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth, the wheels rising along with them. They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the LORD'S house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them.


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 these were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, whom I now recognized to be cherubim.


text:
 Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the temple. At the entrance of the gate I saw twenty-five men, among whom were Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah, princes of the people.


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 The LORD said to me: Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city.


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 Then the spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he told me to say: Thus says the LORD: This is the way you talk, house of Israel, and what you are plotting I well know.


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 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have placed within it, they are the meat, and the city is the kettle; but you I will take out of it.


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 I will bring you out of the city, and hand you over to foreigners, and inflict punishments upon you.


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 By the sword you shall fall; at the boundaries of Israel I will judge you; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 The city shall not be a kettle for you, nor shall you be the meat within it. At the boundaries of Israel I will judge you,


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 and you shall know that I am the LORD, by whose statutes you have not lived, and whose ordinances you have not kept; rather, you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.


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 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. I fell prone and cried out in a loud voice: "Alas, Lord GOD! will you utterly wipe out what remains of Israel?"


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 Son of man, it is about your kinsmen, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel that the inhabitants of Jerusalem say, "They are far away from the LORD; to us the land of Israel has been given as our possession."


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 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I have removed them far among the nations and scattered them over foreign countries-- and was for a while their only sanctuary in the countries to which they had gone--


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 I will gather you from the nations and assemble you from the countries over which you have been scattered, and I will restore to you the land of Israel.


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 I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart,


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 so that they will live according to my statutes, and observe and carry out my ordinances; thus they shall be my people and I will be their God.


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 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their detestable abominations, I will bring down their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.


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 Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them, while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel.


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 And the glory of the LORD rose from the city and took a stand on the mountain which is to the east of the city.


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 Spirit lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Chaldea (in a vision, by God's spirit). Then the vision I had seen left me,


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 Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.


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 Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on, prepare your baggage as though for exile, and again while they are looking on, migrate from where you live to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.


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 You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on; in the evening, again while they are looking on, you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;


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 while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness; cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.


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 I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my baggage as though it were that of an exile, and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden.


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 Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it.


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 I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; as captives they shall go into exile.


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 The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole that he has dug in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.


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 But I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans-- but he shall not see it-- and there he shall die.


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 All his retinue, his aides, and his troops I will scatter in every direction, and pursue them with the sword.


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 Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them over foreign lands.


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 Yet I will leave a few of them to escape the sword, famine and pestilence, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations to which they will come; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Then say to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (to the land of Israel): They shall eat their bread in anxiety and drink their water in horror, that their land may be emptied of the violence of all its inhabitants that now fills it.


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 Inhabited cities shall be in ruins, and the land shall be a waste; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel: "The days drag on, and no vision ever comes to anything"?


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 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb; they shall never quote it again in Israel. Rather, say to them: The days are at hand, and also the fulfillment of every vision.


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 There shall no longer be any false visions or deceitful divinations within the house of Israel, because it is I, the LORD, who will speak.


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 Whatever I speak is final, and it shall be done without further delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I speak I will bring about, says the Lord GOD.


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 Son of man, listen to the house of Israel saying, "The vision he sees is a long way off; he prophesies of the distant future!"


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 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words shall be delayed any longer; whatever I speak is final, and it shall be done, says the Lord GOD.


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 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, prophesy! Say to those who prophesy their own thought: Hear the word of the LORD:


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to those prophets who are fools, who follow their own spirit and have seen no vision.


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 You did not step into the breach, nor did you build a wall about the house of Israel that would stand firm against attack on the day of the LORD.


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 Their visions are false and their divination lying. They say, "Thus says the LORD!" though the LORD did not send them; then they wait for him to fulfill their word!


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 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have spoken falsehood and have seen lying visions, therefore see! I am coming at you, says the Lord GOD.


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 But I will stretch out my hand against the prophets who have false visions and who foretell lies. They shall not belong to the community of my people, nor be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 For the very reason that they led my people astray, saying, "Peace!" when there was no peace, and that, as one built a wall, they would cover it with whitewash,


text:
 say then to the whitewashers: I will bring down a flooding rain; hailstones shall fall, and a stormwind shall break out.


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 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: In my fury I will let loose stormwinds; because of my anger there shall be a flooding rain, and hailstones shall fall with destructive wrath.


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 I will tear down the wall that you have whitewashed and level it to the ground, laying bare its foundations. When it falls, you shall be crushed beneath it; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 When I have spent my fury on the wall and its whitewashers, I tell you there shall be no wall, nor shall there be whitewashers--


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 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw for it visions of peace when there was no peace, says the Lord GOD.


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 Now, son of man, turn toward the daughters of your people who prophesy their own thoughts; against these, prophesy: Thus says the Lord GOD:


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 Woe to those who sew bands for everyone's wrists and make veils for every size of head so as to entrap their owners. Do you think to entrap the lives of my people, yet keep yourselves alive?


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 You dishonor me before my people with handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread, killing those who should not die and keeping alive those who should not live, lying to my people who willingly hear lies.


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 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at those bands of yours in which you entrap men's lives: I will tear them from their arms and set free those you have caught.


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 I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your power, so that they shall no longer be prey to your hands. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Because you have disheartened the upright man with lies when I did not wish him grieved, and have encouraged the wicked man not to turn from his evil conduct and save his life;


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 therefore you shall no longer see false visions and practice divination, but I will rescue my people from your power. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 Son of man, these men have the memory of their idols fresh in their hearts, and they keep the occasion of their sin before them. Why should I allow myself to be consulted by them?


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 Therefore speak with them, and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: If anyone of the house of Israel, holding the memory of his idols in his heart and keeping the occasion of his sin before him, has recourse to a prophet, I, the LORD, will be his answer in person because of his many idols.


text:
 Thus would I bring back to their senses the house of Israel, who have become estranged from me through all their idols.


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 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Return and be converted from your idols; turn yourselves away from all your abominations.


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 For if anyone of the house of Israel or any alien resident in Israel is estranged from me, and holds the memory of his idols in his heart and keeps the occasion of his sin before him, yet asks a prophet to consult me for him, I, the LORD, will be his answer in person.


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 I will turn against that man, and make of him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from the midst of my people. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 As for the prophet, if he is beguiled into speaking a word, I, the LORD, shall have beguiled that prophet; I will stretch out my hand against him and root him out of my people Israel.


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 so that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me and may no longer be defiled by all their sins. Thus they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord GOD.


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 Son of man, when a land sins against me by breaking faith, I stretch out my hand against it and break its staff of bread, I let famine loose upon it and cut off from it both man and beast;


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 and even if these three men were in it, Noah, Daniel, and Job, they could save only themselves by their virtue, says the Lord GOD.


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 If I were to cause wild beasts to prowl the land, depopulating it so that it became a waste, traversed by none because of the wild beasts,


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 and these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear they could save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would be saved, and the land would be a waste.


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 Or if I brought the sword upon this country, commanding the sword to pass through the land cutting off from it man and beast,


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 and these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they would be unable to save either sons or daughters; they alone would be saved.


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 Or if I were to send pestilence into this land, pouring out upon it my bloodthirsty fury, cutting off from it man and beast,


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 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear that they could save neither son nor daughter; they would save only themselves by their virtue.


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: Even though I send Jerusalem my four cruel punishments, the sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast,


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 still some survivors shall be left in it who will bring out sons and daughters; when they come out to you, you shall see their conduct and their actions and be consoled regarding the evil I have brought on Jerusalem (all that I have brought upon it).


text:
 They shall console you when you see their conduct and actions, for you shall then know that it was not without reason that I did to it what I did, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, what makes the wood of the vine better than any other wood? That branch among the trees of the forest!


text:
 Can you use its wood to make anything worthwhile? Can you make even a peg from it, to hang on it any kind of vessel?


text:
 If you throw it on the fire as fuel and the fire devours both ends and even the middle is scorched, is it still good for anything?


text:
 Why, even when it was whole it was good for nothing; how much less, when the fire has devoured and scorched it, can it be used for anything!


text:
 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have destined as fuel for the fire, do I make the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


text:
 I will set my face against them; they have escaped from the fire, but the fire shall devour them. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD, when I turn my face against them.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.


text:
 As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were neither washed with water nor anointed, nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes.


text:
 No one looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome, the day you were born.


text:
 and grow like a plant in the field. You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty; your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still stark naked.


text:
 Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you; you became mine, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 I clothed you with an embroidered gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear.


text:
 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food. You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen.


text:
 You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was, because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by, whose own you became.


text:
 You took some of your gowns and made for yourself gaudy high places, where you played the harlot....


text:
 You took the splendid gold and silver ornaments that I had given you and made for yourself male images, with which also you played the harlot.


text:
 the food that I had given you, the fine flour, the oil, and the honey with which I fed you, you set before them as an appeasing odor, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 The sons and daughters you had borne me you took and offered as sacrifices to be devoured by them! Was it not enough that you had become a harlot?


text:
 And through all your abominations and harlotries you remembered nothing of when you were a girl, stark naked and weltering in your blood.


text:
 At every street corner you built a dais for yourself to use your beauty obscenely, spreading your legs for every passer-by, playing the harlot countless times.


text:
 You played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, so many times that I was provoked to anger.


text:
 Therefore I stretched out my hand against you, I diminished your allowance and delivered you over to the will of your enemies, the Philistines, who revolted at your lewd conduct.


text:
 You also played the harlot with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; and after playing the harlot with them, you were still not satisfied.


text:
 Again and again you played the harlot, now going to Chaldea, the land of the traders; but despite this, you were still not satisfied.


text:
 How wild your lust! says the Lord GOD, that you did all these things, acting like a shameless prostitute,


text:
 building your platform at every street corner and erecting your dais in every public place! Yet you were unlike a prostitute, since you disdained payment.


text:
 All harlots receive gifts. But you rather bestowed your gifts on all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from all sides for your harlotry.


text:
 Thus in your harlotry you were different from all other women. No one sought you out for prostitution. Since you gave payment instead of receiving it, how different you were!


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you poured out your lust and revealed your nakedness in your harlotry with your lovers and abominable idols, and because you sacrificed the life-blood of your children to them,


text:
 I will now gather together all your lovers whom you tried to please, whether you loved them or loved them not; I will gather them against you from all sides and expose you naked for them to see.


text:
 I will inflict on you the sentence of adulteresses and murderesses; I will wreak fury and jealousy upon you.


text:
 I will hand you over to them to tear down your platform and demolish your dais; they shall strip you of your garments and take away your splendid ornaments, leaving you stark naked.


text:
 They shall burn your apartments with fire and inflict punishments on you while many women look on. Thus I will put an end to your harlotry, and you shall never again give payment.


text:
 When I have wreaked my fury upon you I will cease to be jealous of you, I will be quiet and no longer vexed.


text:
 Because you did not remember what happened when you were a girl, but enraged me with all these things, therefore in return I am bringing down your conduct upon your head, says the Lord GOD. For did you not add lewdness to the rest of your abominable deeds?


text:
 Yes, you are the true daughter of the mother who spurned her husband and children, and you are a true sister to those who spurned their husbands and children-- your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.


text:
 Your elder sister was Samaria with her daughters, living to the north of you; and your younger sister, living to the south of you, was Sodom with her daughters.


text:
 Yet not only in their ways did you walk, and act as abominably as they did; in a very short time you became more corrupt in all your ways than they.


text:
 As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear that your sister Sodom, with her daughters, has not done as you and your daughters have done!


text:
 And look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy.


text:
 Rather, they became haughty and committed abominable crimes in my presence; then, as you have seen, I removed them.


text:
 Samaria did not commit half your sins! You have done more abominable things than they, and have even made your sisters appear just, with all the abominable deeds you have done.


text:
 You, then, bear your shame; you are an argument in favor of your sisters! In view of your sinful deeds, more abominable than theirs, they appear just in comparison with you. Blush for shame, and bear the shame of having made your sisters appear just.


text:
 I will restore their fortunes, the fortune of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters (and I will restore your fortune along with them),


text:
 Yes, your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, Samaria and her daughters, shall return to their former state (you and your daughters shall return to your former state).


text:
 before your wickedness became evident? Now you are like her, reproached by the Edomites and all your neighbors, despised on all sides by the Philistines.


text:
 For thus speaks the Lord GOD: I will deal with you according to what you have done, you who despised your oath, breaking a covenant.


text:
 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you.


text:
 Then you shall remember your conduct and be ashamed when I take your sisters, those older and younger than you, and give them to you as daughters, even though I am not bound by my covenant with you.


text:
 that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus speaks the Lord GOD: The great eagle, with great wings, with long pinions, with thick plumage, many-hued, came to Lebanon. He took the crest of the cedar,


text:
 tearing off its topmost branch, And brought it to a land of tradesmen, set it in a city of merchants.


text:
 Then he took some seed of the land, and planted it in a seedbed; A shoot by plentiful waters, like a willow he placed it,


text:
 To sprout and grow up a vine, dense and low-lying, Its branches turned toward him, its roots lying under him. Thus it became a vine, produced branches and put forth shoots.


text:
 But there was another great eagle, great of wing, rich in plumage; To him this vine bent its roots, sent out its branches, That he might water it more freely than the bed where it was planted.


text:
 In a fertile field by plentiful waters it was planted, to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic vine.


text:
 Say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Can it prosper? Will he not rather tear it out by the roots and strip off its fruit, so that all its green growth will wither when he pulls it up by the roots? (No need of a mighty arm or many people to do this.)


text:
 True, it is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not rather wither, when touched by the east wind, in the bed where it grew?


text:
 Son of man, say now to the rebellious house: Do you not understand what this means? It is this: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took away its king and princes with him to Babylon.


text:
 Then he selected a man of the royal line with whom he made a covenant, binding him under oath, while removing the nobles of the land,


text:
 so that the kingdom would remain a modest one, without aspirations, and would keep his covenant and obey him.


text:
 But this man rebelled against him, sending envoys to Egypt to obtain horses and a great army. Can he prosper? Can he who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still go free?


text:
 As I live, says the Lord GOD, in the home of the king who set him up to rule, whose oath he spurned, whose covenant with him he broke, there in Babylon I swear he shall die!


text:
 When ramps are cast up and siege towers are built for the destruction of many lives, he shall not be saved in the conflict by Pharaoh with a great army and numerous troops.


text:
 He spurned his oath, breaking his covenant. Though he gave his hand in pledge, he did all these things. He shall not escape!


text:
 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, my oath which he spurned, my covenant which he broke, I swear to bring down upon his head.


text:
 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there over his breaking faith with me.


text:
 All the crack troops among his forces shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered in every direction. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.


text:
 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, And plant it on a high and lofty mountain;


text:
 on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.


text:
 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, Bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, Wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.


text:
 what is the meaning of this proverb that you recite in the land of Israel: "Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children's teeth are on edge"?


text:
 As I live, says the Lord GOD: I swear that there shall no longer be anyone among you who will repeat this proverb in Israel.


text:
 For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die.


text:
 if he does not eat on the mountains, nor raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; if he does not defile his neighbor's wife, nor have relations with a woman in her menstrual period;


text:
 if he oppresses no one, gives back the pledge received for a debt, commits no robbery; if he gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked;


text:
 if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury; if he holds off from evildoing, judges fairly between a man and his opponent;


text:
 if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances, that man is virtuous-- he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 (though the father does none of them), a son who eats on the mountains, defiles the wife of his neighbor,


text:
 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not give back a pledge, raises his eyes to idols, does abominable things,


text:
 lends at interest and exacts usury-- this son certainly shall not live. Because he practiced all these abominations, he shall surely die; his death shall be his own fault.


text:
 On the other hand, if a man begets a son who, seeing all the sins his father commits, yet fears and does not imitate him;


text:
 a son who does not eat on the mountains, or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife;


text:
 who does not oppress anyone, or exact a pledge, or commit robbery; who gives his food to the hungry and clothes the naked;


text:
 who holds off from evildoing, accepts no interest or usury, but keeps my ordinances and lives by my statutes-- this one shall not die for the sins of his father, but shall surely live.


text:
 Only the father, since he violated rights, and robbed, and did what was not good among his people, shall in truth die for his sins.


text:
 You ask: "Why is not the son charged with the guilt of his father?" Because the son has done what is right and just, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.


text:
 Only the one who sins shall die. The son shall not be charged with the guilt of his father, nor shall the father be charged with the guilt of his son. The virtuous man's virtue shall be his own, as the wicked man's wickedness shall be his own.


text:
 But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.


text:
 None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.


text:
 Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?


text:
 And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die.


text:
 You say, "The LORD'S way is not fair!" Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?


text:
 When a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.


text:
 But if a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life;


text:
 since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.


text:
 And yet the house of Israel says, "The LORD'S way is not fair!" Is it my way that is not fair, house of Israel, or rather, is it not that your ways are not fair?


text:
 Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Turn and be converted from all your crimes, that they may be no cause of guilt for you.


text:
 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?


text:
 Then nations raised cries against him, in their pit he was caught; They took him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.


text:
 Then she saw that in vain she had waited, her hope was destroyed. She took another of her whelps, him she made a young lion.


text:
 He ravaged their strongholds, their cities he wasted. The land and all in it were appalled at the noise of his roar.


text:
 Nations laid out against him snares all about him; They spread their net to take him, in their pit he was caught.


text:
 They put him in a cage and took him away to the king of Babylon, So that his voice would not be heard on the mountains of Israel.


text:
 Your mother was like a vine planted by the water; Fruitful and branchy was she because of the abundant water.


text:
 One strong branch she put out as a royal scepter. Stately was her height amid the dense foliage; Notably tall was she with her many clusters.


text:
 But she was torn up in fury and flung to the ground; The east wind withered her up, her fruit was torn off; Then her strong branch withered up, fire devoured it.


text:
 For fire came out of the branch and devoured her shoots; She is now without a strong branch, a ruler's scepter. This is a lamentation and serves as a lamentation.


text:
 In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to consult the LORD and sat down before me.


text:
 Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: Have you come to consult me? As I live! I swear I will not allow myself to be consulted by you, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Will you judge them? Will you judge, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their ancestors


text:
 in these words: Thus speaks the Lord GOD: The day I chose Israel, I swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob; in the land of Egypt I revealed myself to them and swore: I am the LORD, your God.


text:
 That day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt to the land I had scouted for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, a jewel among all lands.


text:
 Then I said to them: Throw away, each of you, the detestable things that have held your eyes; do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD, your God.


text:
 But they rebelled against me and refused to listen to me; none of them threw away the detestable things that had held their eyes, they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I thought of pouring out my fury on them and spending my anger on them there in the land of Egypt;


text:
 but I acted for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they were, in whose presence I had made myself known to them, revealing that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt.


text:
 Then I gave them my statutes and made known to them my ordinances, which everyone must keep, to have life through them.


text:
 I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, to show that it was I, the LORD, who made them holy.


text:
 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not observe my statutes, and they despised my ordinances that bring life to those who keep them. My sabbaths, too, they desecrated grievously. Then I thought of pouring out my fury on them in the desert to put an end to them,


text:
 but I acted for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose presence I had brought them out.


text:
 Nevertheless I swore to them in the desert not to bring them to the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, a jewel among all lands.


text:
 So much were their hearts devoted to their idols, they had not lived by my statutes, but despised my ordinances and desecrated my sabbaths.


text:
 But I looked on them with pity, not wanting to destroy them, so I did not put an end to them in the desert.


text:
 Then I said to their children in the desert: Do not observe the statutes of your parents or keep their ordinances; do not defile yourselves with their idols.


text:
 But their children rebelled against me: they did not observe my statutes or keep my ordinances that bring life to those who observe them, and my sabbaths they desecrated. Then I thought of pouring out my fury on them, of spending my anger on them in the desert;


text:
 but I stayed my hand, acting for my name's sake, lest it be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose presence I brought them out.


text:
 Nevertheless I swore to them in the desert that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them over foreign lands;


text:
 for they did not keep my ordinances, but despised my statutes and desecrated my sabbaths, with eyes only for the idols of their fathers.


text:
 Therefore I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances through which they could not live.


text:
 I let them become defiled by their gifts, by their immolation of every first-born, so as to make them an object of horror.


text:
 Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: In this way also your fathers blasphemed me, breaking faith with me:


text:
 when I had brought them to the land I had sworn to give them, and they saw all its high hills and leafy trees, there they offered their sacrifices (there they brought their offensive offerings), there they sent up appeasing odors, and there they poured out their libations.


text:
 I asked them: To what sort of high place do you betake yourselves?-- and so they call it a high place even to the present day.


text:
 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers? Will you lust after their detestable idols?


text:
 By offering your gifts, by making your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols even to this day. Shall I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live! says the Lord GOD: I swear I will not let myself be consulted by you.


text:
 What you are thinking of shall never happen: "We shall be like the nations, like the peoples of foreign lands, serving wood and stone."


text:
 As I live, says the Lord GOD, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, with poured-out wrath, I swear I will be king over you!


text:
 With a mighty hand and outstretched arm, with poured-out wrath, I will bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries over which you are scattered;


text:
 then I will lead you to the desert of the peoples, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.


text:
 Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 I will separate from you those who have rebelled and transgressed against me; from the land where they sojourned as aliens I will bring them out, but they shall not return to the land of Israel. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Come, each one of you, destroy your idols! Then listen to me, and never again profane my holy name with your gifts and your idols.


text:
 For on my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel without exception shall worship me; there I will accept them, and there I will claim your tributes and the first fruits of your offerings, and all that you dedicate.


text:
 As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I have brought you from among the nations and gathered you out of the countries over which you were scattered; and by means of you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of the nations.


text:
 Thus you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you back to the land of Israel, the land which I swore to give to your fathers.


text:
 There you shall recall your conduct and all the deeds by which you defiled yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves because of all the evil things you did.


text:
 And you shall know that I am the LORD when I deal with you thus, for my name's sake, and not according to your evil conduct and corrupt actions, O house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, look southward, preach toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the southern land.


text:
 Hear the word of the LORD! you shall say to the southern forest. Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am kindling a fire in you that shall devour all trees, the green as well as the dry. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, but from south to north every face shall be scorched by it.


text:
 But I said, "Alas! Lord GOD, they say to me, 'Is not this the one who is forever spinning parables?'"


text:
 Son of man, look toward Jerusalem, preach against their sanctuary, and prophesy against the land of Israel,


text:
 saying to the land of Israel: Thus says the LORD: See! I am coming at you; I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you the virtuous and the wicked.


text:
 and everyone shall know that I, the LORD, have drawn my sword from its sheath, and it shall not be sheathed again.


text:
 And when they ask you, "Why are you groaning?", you shall say: Because of a report; when it comes every heart shall fail, every hand shall fall helpless, every spirit shall be daunted, and every knee shall run with water. See, it is coming, it is here! says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, prophesy! say: Thus says the LORD: A sword, a sword has been sharpened, a sword, a sword has been burnished:


text:
 To work slaughter has it been sharpened, to flash lightning has it been burnished. Why should I now withdraw it? You have spurned the rod and every judgment!


text:
 I have given it over to the burnisher that he might hold it in his hand, A sword sharpened and burnished to be put in the hand of a slayer.


text:
 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is destined for my people; It is for all the princes of Israel, victims of the sword with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,


text:
 for the sword has been tested; and why should it not be so? says the Lord GOD, since you have spurned the rod.


text:
 As for you, son of man, prophesy, brushing one hand against the other: While the sword is doubled and tripled, this sword of slaughter, This great sword of slaughter which threatens all around,


text:
 That every heart may tremble; for many will be the fallen. At all their gates I have appointed the sword for slaughter, Fashioned to flash lightning, burnished for slaughter.


text:
 Son of man, make for yourself two roads over which the sword of the king of Babylon can come. Both roads shall lead out from the same land. Then put a signpost at the head of each road,


text:
 For at the fork where the two roads divide stands the king of Babylon, divining; he has shaken the arrows, inquired of the teraphim, inspected the liver.


text:
 In his right hand is the divining arrow marked "Jerusalem," bidding him to give the order for slaying, to raise his voice in the battle cry, to post battering rams at the gates, to cast up a ramp, to build a siege tower.


text:
 In their eyes this is but a lying oracle; yet they are bound by the oaths they have sworn, and the arrow taken in hand marks their guilt.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, with your crimes laid bare and your sinfulness in all your wicked deeds revealed (because attention has been drawn to you), you shall be taken in hand.


text:
 And as for you, depraved and wicked prince of Israel, whose day is coming when your life of crime will be ended,


text:
 thus says the Lord GOD: Off with the turban and away with the crown! Nothing shall be as it was! Up with the low and down with the high!


text:
 Twisted, twisted, twisted will I leave it; it shall not be the same until he comes who has the claim against the city; and to him I will hand it over.


text:
 As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord GOD against the Ammonites and their insults: A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter, burnished to consume and to flash lightning,


text:
 because you planned with false visions and lying divinations to lay it on the necks of depraved and wicked men whose day has come when their crimes are at an end.


text:
 Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.


text:
 I will pour out my indignation upon you, breathing my fiery wrath upon you, I will hand you over to ravaging men, artisans of destruction.


text:
 You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall flow throughout the land. You shall not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.


text:
 You, son of man, would you judge, would you judge the bloody city? Then make known all her abominations,


text:
 and say: Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the city which sheds blood within herself so that her time has come, and which has made idols for her own defilement.


text:
 By the blood which you shed you have been made guilty, and with the idols you made you have become defiled; you have brought on your day, so that the end of your years has come. Therefore I make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all foreign lands.


text:
 Those near you and those far off shall deride you because of your foul reputation and your great perversity.


text:
 Within you, father and mother are despised; in your midst, they extort from the resident alien; within you, they oppress orphans and widows.


text:
 There are those in you who slander to cause bloodshed; within you are those who feast on the mountains; in your midst are those who do lewd things.


text:
 In you are those who uncover the nakedness of their fathers, and in you those who coerce women in their menstrual period.


text:
 There are those in you who do abominable things with the wives of their neighbors, men who defile their daughters-in-law by incest, men who coerce their sisters, the daughters of their own fathers.


text:
 There are those in you who take bribes to shed blood. You exact interest and usury; you despoil your neighbors violently; and me you have forgotten, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 See, I am brushing one hand against the other because of the unjust profits you have made and because of the blood shed in your midst.


text:
 Can your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.


text:
 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you over foreign lands, so that I may purge your uncleanness.


text:
 In you I will allow myself to be profaned in the eyes of the nations; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross for me. All of them are bronze and tin, iron and lead (in the midst of a furnace): dross from silver have they become.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because all of you have become dross, therefore I must gather you together within Jerusalem.


text:
 Just as silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a furnace and smelted in the roaring flames, so I will gather you together in my furious wrath, put you in, and smelt you.


text:
 You shall be smelted by it just as silver is smelted in a furnace. Thus you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you.


text:
 Son of man, say to her: You are a land unrained on (that is, not rained on) at the time of my fury.


text:
 Her princes are like roaring lions that tear prey; they devour people, seizing their wealth and precious things, and make widows of many within her.


text:
 Her priests violate my law and profane what is holy to me; they do not distinguish between the sacred and the profane, nor teach the difference between the unclean and the clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been profaned in their midst.


text:
 Her nobles within her are like wolves that tear prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to get unjust gain.


text:
 Her prophets cover them with whitewash, pretending to visions that are false and performing lying divinations, saying, "Thus says the Lord GOD," although the LORD has not spoken.


text:
 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they afflict the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice.


text:
 Thus I have searched among them for someone who could build a wall or stand in the breach before me to keep me from destroying the land; but I found no one.


text:
 Therefore I have poured out my fury upon them; with my fiery wrath I have consumed them; I have brought down their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 who even as young girls played the harlot in Egypt. There the Egyptians caressed their bosoms and fondled their virginal breasts.


text:
 Oholah was the name of the elder, and the name of her sister was Oholibah. They became mine and bore sons and daughters. (As for their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.)


text:
 dressed in purple, governors and officers, all of them attractive young men, knights mounted on horses.


text:
 Thus she gave herself as a harlot to them, to all the elite of the Assyrians, and she defiled herself with all those for whom she lusted (with all their idols).


text:
 She did not give up the harlotry which she had begun in Egypt, when they had lain with her as a young girl, fondling her virginal breasts and pouring out their impurities on her.


text:
 They exposed her nakedness, her sons and daughters they took away, and herself they slew with the sword. Thus she became a byword for women, for they punished her grievously.


text:
 Though her sister Oholibah saw all this, her lust was more depraved than her sister's, and she outdid her in harlotry.


text:
 She too lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officers, warriors impeccably clothed, knights mounted on horses, all of them attractive young men.


text:
 yet she went further in her harlotry. When she saw men drawn on the wall, the images of Chaldeans drawn with vermillion,


text:
 with sashes girded about their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all looking like chariot warriors, the portraits of Babylonians, natives of Chaldea,


text:
 she lusted for them; no sooner had she set eyes on them than she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.


text:
 Then the Babylonians came to her, to the love couch, and defiled her with their intercourse. As soon as she was defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.


text:
 Her harlotry was discovered and her shame was revealed, and I became disgusted with her as I had become disgusted with her sister.


text:
 But she played the harlot all the more, recalling the days of her girlhood, when she had been a harlot in the land of Egypt.


text:
 She lusted for the lechers of Egypt, whose members are like that of an ass, and whose heat is like that of stallions.


text:
 You yearned for the lewdness of your girlhood, when the Egyptians fondled your breasts, caressing your bosom.


text:
 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: I will now stir up your lovers against you, those with whom you are disgusted, and I will bring them against you from every side:


text:
 the men of Babylon and all of Chaldea, Pekod, Shoa and Koa, along with all those of Assyria, attractive young men, all of them governors and officers, charioteers and warriors, all of them horsemen.


text:
 They shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and many peoples. Shields, bucklers, and helmets they shall array against you everywhere.


text:
 I will leave it to them to judge, and they will judge you by their own ordinances. I will let loose my jealousy against you, so that they shall deal with you in fury, cutting off your nose and ears; and what is left of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and daughters, and what is left of you shall be devoured by fire.


text:
 I will put an end to your lewdness and to the harlotry you began in Egypt; you shall no longer look toward it, nor shall you remember Egypt again.


text:
 For thus says the Lord GOD: I am now handing you over to those whom you hate, to those who fill you with disgust.


text:
 They shall deal with you in hatred, seizing all that you have worked for and leaving you stark naked, so that your indecent nakedness is exposed. Your lewdness and harlotry


text:
 have brought these things upon you, because you played the harlot with the nations by defiling yourself with their idols.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: The cup of your sister you shall drink, so wide and deep, which holds so much,


text:
 You shall drain it dry, and gnaw at the very sherds of the cup, and you shall tear out your breasts; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, it is for you to bear the penalty of your lewdness and harlotry.


text:
 Then the LORD said to me: Son of man, would you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then make known to them their abominations.


text:
 For they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; to feed them they immolated the children they had borne me.


text:
 On the very day they slew their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. Thus they acted within my house.)


text:
 Moreover, they sent for men who had to come from afar, to whom messengers were sent. And so they came-- and for them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and put on ornaments.


text:
 You sat on a couch prepared for them, with a table spread before it, on which you had set my incense and oil.


text:
 Then was heard the shout of a carefree mob in the city, and these were men brought in from the desert, who put bracelets on the women's arms and splendid diadems on their heads.


text:
 So I said: "Oh, this woman jaded with adulteries! Now they will commit whoredom with her, and as for her...."


text:
 And indeed they did come to her as men come to a harlot. Thus they came to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women.


text:
 But just men shall punish them with the sentence meted out to adulteresses and murderesses, for they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Summon an assembly against them, and deliver them over to terror and plunder.


text:
 The assembly shall stone them and hack them to pieces with their swords. They shall slay their sons and daughters, and burn their houses with fire.


text:
 Thus I will put an end to lewdness in the land, and all the women will be warned not to imitate your lewdness.


text:
 They shall inflict on you the penalty of your lewdness, and you shall pay for your sins of idolatry. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Son of man, write down this date today, for this very day the king of Babylon has invested Jerusalem.


text:
 Propose this parable to the rebellious house: Thus says the Lord GOD: Set up the pot, set it up, then pour in some water.


text:
 taken from the pick of the flock. Then pile the wood beneath it; bring to a boil these pieces and the joints that are in it.


text:
 Take out its pieces, one by one, without casting lots for it. Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, a pot containing rust, whose rust has not been removed.


text:
 For the blood she shed is in her midst; she poured it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the earth, to be covered with dust.


text:
 To work up my wrath, to excite my vengeance, she put her blood on the bare rock, not to be covered.


text:
 Then I will set the pot empty on the coals till its metal glows red hot, till the impurities in it melt, and its rust disappears.


text:
 Because you have sullied yourself with lewdness when I would have purified you, and you refused to be purified of your uncleanness, therefore you shall not be purified until I wreak my fury on you.


text:
 I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming, for I will bring it about without fail. I will not have pity nor repent. By your conduct and your deeds you shall be judged, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.


text:
 Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead, bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet, do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.


text:
 Then the people asked me, "Will you not tell us what all these things that you are doing mean for us?" I therefore spoke to the people that morning,


text:
 Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride, the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.


text:
 Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.


text:
 Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: all that he did you shall do when it happens. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 As for you, son of man, truly, on the day I take away from them their bulwark, their glorious joy, the delight of their eyes, the desire of their soul, and the pride of their hearts, their sons and daughters,


text:
 that day your mouth shall be opened and you shall be dumb no longer. Thus you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you cried out your joy over the desecration of my sanctuary, the devastation of the land of Israel, and the exile of the house of Judah,


text:
 therefore I will deliver you into the possession of the Easterners. They shall set up their encampments among you and pitch their tents; they shall eat your fruits and drink your milk.


text:
 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the villages of the Ammonites a resting place for flocks. Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing most maliciously in your heart over the land of Israel,


text:
 therefore I will stretch out my hand against you. I will make you plunder for the nations, I will cut you off from the peoples, and remove you from the lands. I will destroy you, and thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 therefore I will clear the shoulder of Moab totally of its cities, the jewels of the land: Beth-jesimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim.


text:
 I will hand her over, along with the Ammonites, into the possession of the Easterners, that she may not be remembered among the peoples.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom has taken vengeance on the house of Judah and has made itself grievously guilty by taking vengeance on them,


text:
 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. I will make it a waste from Teman to Dedan; they shall fall by the sword.


text:
 My vengeance upon Edom I will entrust to my people Israel, who will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my fury; thus they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have acted revengefully, and have taken vengeance with destructive malice in their hearts, with an undying enmity,


text:
 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines; I will cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the remnant on the seacoast.


text:
 I will execute great acts of vengeance on them, punishing them furiously. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD, when I wreak my vengeance on them.


text:
 Son of man, because of what Tyre said of Jerusalem: "Aha! it is broken, the gateway to the peoples; now that it is ruined, its wealth reverts to me!"


text:
 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Tyre; I will churn up against you many nations, even as the sea churns up its waves;


text:
 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and raze her towers. I will scrape the ground from her and leave her a bare rock;


text:
 She shall be a drying place for nets in the midst of the sea. I have spoken, says the Lord GOD: and she shall be booty for the nations.


text:
 And her daughters on the mainland shall be slaughtered by the sword; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 For thus says the Lord GOD: I am now bringing up against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the king of kings, with horses and chariots, with cavalry and a great and mighty army.


text:
 Your daughters on the mainland he shall slay with the sword; He shall place a siege tower against you, cast up a ramp about you, and raise his shields against you.


text:
 The surge of his horses shall cover you with dust, amid the noise of steeds, of wheels and of chariots. Your walls shall shake as he enters your gates, even as one enters a city that is breached.


text:
 With the hoofs of his horses he shall trample all your streets; Your people he shall slay by the sword; your mighty pillars he shall pull to the ground.


text:
 Your wealth shall be plundered, your merchandise pillaged; Your walls shall be torn down, your precious houses demolished; Your stones, your timber, and your clay shall be cast into the sea.


text:
 I will make you a bare rock; a drying place for nets shall you be. Never shall you be rebuilt, for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: At the noise of your fall, at the groaning of the wounded, when the sword slays in your midst, shall not the isles quake?


text:
 All the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall be clothed in mourning and, sitting on the ground, they shall tremble at every moment and be horrified at you.


text:
 Then they shall utter a lament over you: How have you perished, gone from the seas, city most prized! Once she was mighty on the sea, she and her dwellers, Who spread terror into all that dwelt by the sea.


text:
 On this, the day of your fall, the islands quake! The isles in the sea are terrified at your passing.


text:
 For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city desolate like cities that are no longer inhabited, when I churn up the abyss against you, and its mighty waters cover you,


text:
 then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the pit, those of the bygone age; and I will make you dwell in the nether lands, in the everlasting ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you may never return to take your place in the land of the living.


text:
 I will make you a devastation, and you shall be no more; you shall be sought, but never again found, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 and say to Tyre that is situated at the approaches of the sea, that brought the trade of the peoples to many a coastland: Thus says the Lord GOD: Tyre, you said, "I am a ship, perfect in beauty."


text:
 With cypress from Senir they built for you all of your decks; Cedar from Lebanon they took to make you a mast;


text:
 From the highest oaks of Bashan they made your oars; Your bridge they made of cypress wood from the coasts of Kittim.


text:
 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt became your sail (to serve you as a banner). Purple and scarlet from the coasts of Elishah covered your cabin.


text:
 Citizens of Sidon and Arvad served as your oarsmen; Skilled men of Zemer were in you to be your mariners;


text:
 The elders and experts of Gebal were in you to caulk your seams. Every ship and sailor on the sea came to you to carry trade.


text:
 Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as warriors; shield and helmet they hung upon you, increasing your splendor.


text:
 The men of Arvad were all about your walls, and the Gamadites were in your towers; they hung their bucklers all around on your walls, and made perfect your beauty.


text:
 Tarshish traded with you, so great was your wealth, exchanging silver, iron, tin, and lead for your wares.


text:
 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were also traders with you, exchanging slaves and articles of bronze for your goods.


text:
 The Rhodanites trafficked with you; many coastlands traded with you; ivory tusks and ebony wood they gave you for payment.


text:
 Edom traded with you, so many were your products, exchanging garnets, purple, embroidered cloth, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.


text:
 Judah and the land of Israel trafficked with you, exchanging Minnith wheat, figs, honey, oil, and balm for your goods.


text:
 The trade of Arabia and of all the sheikhs of Kedar belonged to you; they dealt in lambs, rams, and goats.


text:
 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah also traded with you, exchanging for your wares the very choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.


text:
 traded with you, marketing with you rich garments, violet mantles, embroidered cloth, varicolored carpets, and firmly woven cords.


text:
 Ships of Tarshish journeyed for you in your merchandising. You were full and heavily laden in the heart of the sea.


text:
 Through the deep waters your oarsmen brought you home, But the east wind smashed you in the heart of the sea.


text:
 Your wealth, your goods, your wares, your sailors, and your crew, (the caulkers of your seams, those who traded for your goods, all your warriors who were in you, and all the great crowd within you) Sank into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck.


text:
 Down from their ships come all who ply the oar; The sailors, all the mariners of the sea, stand on the shore,


text:
 Making their voice heard on your behalf, shouting bitter cries, Strewing dust on their heads, rolling in the ashes.


text:
 For you they shave their heads and put on sackcloth, For you they weep in anguish, with bitter lament.


text:
 In their mourning they utter a lament over you; thus they wail over you: Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea?


text:
 With your goods which you drew from the seas you filled many peoples; With your great wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.


text:
 Now you are wrecked in the sea, in the watery depths; Your wares and all your crew have gone down with you.


text:
 All who dwell on the coastlands are aghast over you, Their kings are terrified, their faces convulsed.


text:
 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, "A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!"-- And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god.


text:
 By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have put gold and silver into your treasuries.


text:
 By your great wisdom applied to your trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches--


text:
 Therefore I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel.


text:
 Will you then say, "I am a god!" when you face your murderers? No, you are a man, not a god, handed over to those who will slay you.


text:
 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners, for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, utter a lament over the king of Tyre, saying to him: Thus says the Lord GOD: You were stamped with the seal of perfection, of complete wisdom and perfect beauty.


text:
 In Eden, the garden of God, you were, and every precious stone was your covering (carnelian, topaz, and beryl, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, garnet, and emerald); Of gold your pendants and jewels were made, on the day you were created.


text:
 With the Cherub I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God, walking among the fiery stones.


text:
 the result of your far-flung trade; violence was your business, and you sinned. Then I banned you from the mountain of God; the Cherub drove you from among the fiery stones.


text:
 You became haughty of heart because of your beauty; for the sake of splendor you debased your wisdom. I cast you to the earth, so great was your guilt; I made you a spectacle in the sight of kings.


text:
 Because of your guilt, your sinful trade, I have profaned your sanctuaries, And I have brought out fire from your midst which will devour you. I have reduced you to dust on the earth in the sight of all who should see you.


text:
 Among the peoples, all who knew you stand aghast at you; You have become a horror, you shall be no more.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I inflict punishments upon it and use it to manifest my holiness.


text:
 Into it I will send pestilence, and blood shall flow in its streets. Within it shall fall those slain by the sword that comes against it from every side. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Sidon shall no longer be a tearing thorn for the house of Israel, a brier that scratches them more than all the others about them who despise them; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, then I will manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations. Then they shall live on their land which I gave to my servant Jacob;


text:
 they shall live on it in security, building houses and planting vineyards. They shall dwell secure while I inflict punishments on all their neighbors who despised them; thus they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God.


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


text:
 Say this to him: Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, Great crouching monster amidst your Niles: Who say, "The Niles are mine; it is I who made them!"


text:
 I will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your Niles stick to your scales, then draw you up from the midst of your Niles along with all the fish of your Niles sticking to your scales.


text:
 I will cast you into the desert, you and all the fish of your Niles; You shall fall upon the open field, you shall not be taken up or buried; To the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air I give you as food,


text:
 That all who dwell in Egypt may know that I am the LORD. Because you have been a reed staff for the house of Israel:


text:
 When they held you in hand, you splintered, throwing every shoulder out of joint; When they leaned on you, you broke, bringing each one of them down headlong;


text:
 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I will bring the sword against you, and cut off from you both man and beast.


text:
 The land of Egypt shall become a desolate waste; thus they shall know that I am the LORD. Because you said, "The Niles are mine; it is I who made them,"


text:
 therefore see! I am coming at you and against your Niles; I will make the land of Egypt a waste and a desolation from Migdol to Syene, and even to the frontier of Ethiopia.


text:
 No foot of man or beast shall pass through it; they shall not pass through it, and it will be uninhabited for forty years.


text:
 I will make the land of Egypt the most desolate of lands, and its cities shall be the most deserted of cities for forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and strew them over foreign lands.


text:
 Yet thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they are scattered,


text:
 and I will restore Egypt's fortune, bringing them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, where it will be the lowliest


text:
 of kingdoms, never more to set itself above the nations. I will make them few, that they may not dominate the nations.


text:
 No longer shall they be for the house of Israel to trust in, but the living reminder of its guilt for having turned to follow after them. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has led his army in an exhausting campaign against Tyre. Their heads became bald and their shoulders were galled; but neither he nor his army received any wages from Tyre for the campaign he led against it.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I am now giving the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He shall carry off its riches, plundering and pillaging it for the wages of his soldiers, who did it for me;


text:
 On that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will cause you to speak out in their midst; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 for near is the day, near is the day of the LORD; a day of clouds, doomsday for the nations shall it be.


text:
 Then a sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt, when her riches are seized and her foundations are overthrown.


text:
 Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya, and people of the allied territory shall fall by the sword with them.


text:
 Those who support Egypt shall fall, and down shall come her proud strength; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall there by the sword, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I set fire to Egypt and when all who help her are broken.


text:
 On that day messengers shall hasten forth at my command to terrify unsuspecting Ethiopia; they shall be in anguish on the day of Egypt, which is surely coming.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to the throngs of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.


text:
 He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to devastate the land. They shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.


text:
 I will turn the Niles into dry land and sell the land over to the power of the wicked. The land and everything in it I will hand over to foreigners to devastate. I, the LORD, have spoken.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to the great ones of Memphis and the princes of the land of Egypt, that they may be no more. I will cast fear into the land of Egypt, and devastate Pathros.


text:
 I will set fire to Egypt; Syene shall writhe in anguish; Thebes shall be breached and its walls shall be demolished.


text:
 The young men of On and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword, and the cities themselves shall go into captivity.


text:
 In Tehaphnehes the day shall be darkened when I break the scepter of Egypt. Her haughty pride shall cease from her, clouds shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.


text:
 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and see, it has not been bound up with bandages and healing remedies that it may be strong enough to hold the sword.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. I will break his strong arm, so that the sword drops from his hand.


text:
 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand, which he will bring against Egypt so as to plunder and pillage it.


text:
 (I will make the arms of the king of Babylon strong, but the arms of Pharaoh shall drop.) Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon for him to wield against the land of Egypt.


text:
 (I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and strew them over foreign lands.) Thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his hordes: What are you like in your greatness?


text:
 Behold, a cypress (cedar) in Lebanon, beautiful of branch, lofty of stature, amid the very clouds lifted its crest.


text:
 Waters made it grow, the abyss made it flourish, sending its rivers round where it was planted, turning its streams to all the trees of the field.


text:
 Thus it grew taller than every other tree of the field, and longer of branch because of the abundant water.


text:
 In its boughs nested all the birds of the air, under its branches all beasts of the field gave birth, in its shade dwelt numerous peoples of every race.


text:
 It became beautiful and stately in its spread of foliage, for its roots were turned toward abundant water.


text:
 The cedars in the garden of God were not its equal, nor could the fir trees match its boughs, Neither were the plane trees like it for branches; no tree in the garden of God matched its beauty.


text:
 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because it became lofty in stature, raising its crest among the clouds, and because it became proud in heart at its height,


text:
 I have handed it over to the mightiest of the nations, which has dealt with it in keeping with its wickedness. I humiliated it.


text:
 Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it on the mountains. Its foliage was brought low in all the valleys, its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the land withdrew from its shade, abandoning it.


text:
 On its fallen trunk rested all the birds of the air, and by its branches were all the beasts of the field.


text:
 Thus no tree may grow lofty in stature or raise its crest among the clouds; no tree fed by water may stand by itself in its loftiness. For all of them are destined for death, for the land below, For the company of mortals, those who go down into the pit.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day he went down to the nether world I made the abyss close up over him; I stopped its streams so that the deep waters were held back. I cast gloom over Lebanon because of him, so that all the trees in the land drooped on his account.


text:
 At the crash of his fall I made the nations rock, when I cast him down to the nether world with those who go down into the pit. In the land below, all Eden's trees were consoled, Lebanon's choice and best, all that were fed by water.


text:
 They too have come down with him to the nether world, to those slain by the sword; those who dwelt in his shade are dispersed among the nations.


text:
 Which was your equal in glory or size among the trees of Eden? Yet you have been brought down with the trees of Eden to the land below. You shall lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. Such are Pharaoh and all his hordes, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, utter a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saying to him: Lion of the nations, you are destroyed. You were like a monster in the sea, spouting in your streams, Stirring the water with your feet and churning its streams.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: I will spread my net over you (with a host of many nations), and draw you up in my seine.


text:
 I will leave you on the land; on the open field I will cast you. I will have all the birds of the air alight on you, and all the beasts of the earth eat their fill of you.


text:
 I will water the land with what flows from you, and the river beds shall be filled with your blood.


text:
 When I snuff you out I will cover the heavens, and all their stars I will darken; The sun I will cover with clouds, and the moon shall not give its light.


text:
 All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken on your account, And I will spread darkness over your land, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 I will grieve the hearts of many peoples when I lead you captive among the nations, to lands which you do not know.


text:
 Many peoples shall be appalled at you, and their kings shall shudder over you in horror when they see me brandish my sword, and on the day of your downfall every one of them shall continuously tremble for his own life.


text:
 I will cut down your horde with the blades of warriors, all of them the most ruthless of the nations; They shall lay waste the glory of Egypt, and all her hordes shall be destroyed.


text:
 I will have all of her animals perish beside her abundant waters; The foot of man shall stir them no longer, nor shall the hoof of beast disturb them.


text:
 When I turn Egypt into a waste, the land shall be devastated of all that is in it; when I strike all who live there, they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 This is a dirge, and it shall be sung: the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt and all its hordes shall they chant it, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, lament over the throngs of Egypt, for the mighty nations have thrust them down to the bottom of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.


text:
 In the midst of those slain by the sword shall they fall, and place shall be made with them for all their hordes. Then from the midst of the nether world, the mighty warriors shall speak to Egypt:


text:
 whose graves have been made in the recesses of the pit; her company is around Egypt's grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.


text:
 There is Elam with all her throng about Egypt's grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword: they have gone down uncircumcised to the bottom of the earth, who spread their terror in the land of the living, and they bear their disgrace with those who go down into the pit;


text:
 There are Meshech and Tubal and all their throng about her grave, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.


text:
 They do not lie with the mighty men fallen of old, who went down to the nether world with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads and whose shields were laid over their bones, though the mighty men caused terror in the land of the living.


text:
 There are Edom, her kings, and all her princes, who despite their might have been placed with those slain by the sword; with the uncircumcised they lie, and with those who go down into the pit.


text:
 There are all the princes of the north and all the Sidonians, who have gone down with the slain, because of the terror their might inspired; they lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bear their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.


text:
 When Pharaoh sees these, he shall be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword-- Pharaoh and all his army, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Since he spread his terror in the land of the living, therefore is he laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword-- Pharaoh and all his hordes, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, speak thus to your countrymen: When I bring the sword against a country, and the people of this country select one of their number to be their watchman,


text:
 and the watchman, seeing the sword coming against the country, blows the trumpet to warn the people,


text:
 anyone hearing but not heeding the warning of the trumpet and therefore slain by the sword that comes against him, shall be responsible for his own death.


text:
 He heard the trumpet blast yet refused to take warning; he is responsible for his own death, for had he taken warning he would have escaped with his life.


text:
 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the warning trumpet, so that the sword comes and takes anyone, I will hold the watchman responsible for that person's death, even though that person is taken because of his own sin.


text:
 You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.


text:
 If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.


text:
 But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.


text:
 As for you, son of man, speak to the house of Israel: You people say, "Our crimes and our sins weigh us down; we are rotting away because of them. How can we survive?"


text:
 Answer them: As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, O house of Israel?


text:
 As for you, son of man, tell your countrymen: The virtue which a man has practiced will not save him on the day that he sins; neither will the wickedness that a man has done bring about his downfall on the day that he turns from his wickedness (nor can the virtuous man, when he sins, remain alive).


text:
 Though I say to the virtuous man that he shall surely live, if he then presumes on his virtue and does wrong, none of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong he has done, he shall die.


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 And though I say to the wicked man that he shall surely die, if he turns away from his sin and does what is right and just,


text:
 giving back pledges, restoring stolen goods, living by the statutes that bring life, and doing no wrong, he shall surely live, he shall not die.


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 None of the sins he committed shall be held against him; he has done what is right and just, he shall surely live.


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 But when a wicked man turns away from wickedness and does what is right and just, because of this he shall live.


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 And still you say, "The way of the LORD is not fair!"? I will judge every one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.


text:
 On the fifth day of the tenth month, in the twelfth year of our exile, the fugitive came to me from Jerusalem and said, "The city is taken!"


text:
 The hand of the LORD had come upon me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and he opened my mouth when the fugitive reached me in the morning. My mouth was opened, and I was dumb no longer.


text:
 Son of man, they who live in the ruins on the land of Israel reason thus: "Abraham, though but a single individual, received possession of the land; we, therefore, being many, have as permanent possession the land that has been given to us."


text:
 Give them this answer: Thus says the Lord GOD: You eat on the mountains, you raise your eyes to your idols, you shed blood-- yet you would keep possession of the land?


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 You rely on your sword, you do abominable things, each one of you defiles his neighbor's wife-- yet you would keep possession of the land?


text:
 Tell them this: Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, those who are in the ruins I swear shall fall by the sword; those who are in the open field I have given to the wild beasts for food; and those who are in fastnesses and in caves shall die by the plague.


text:
 I will make the land a desolate waste, so that its proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will cross them.


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 Thus they shall know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolate waste because of all the abominable things they have done.


text:
 As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking about you along the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to one another, "Come and hear the latest word that comes from the LORD."


text:
 My people come to you as people always do; they sit down before you and hear your words, but they will not obey them, for lies are on their lips and their desires are fixed on dishonest gain.


text:
 For them you are only a ballad singer, with a pleasant voice and a clever touch. They listen to your words, but they will not obey them.


text:
 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, in these words prophesy to them (to the shepherds): Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?


text:
 You have fed off their milk, worn their wool, and slaughtered the fatlings, but the sheep you have not pastured.


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 You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost, but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.


text:
 So they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered


text:
 and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth, with no one to look after them or to search for them.


text:
 As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have been given over to pillage, and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast, for lack of a shepherd; because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: I swear I am coming against these shepherds. I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep so that they may no longer pasture themselves. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths.


text:
 As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.


text:
 I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel (in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places).


text:
 In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel.


text:
 The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly.


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 As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.


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 Was it not enough for you to graze on the best pasture, that you had to trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? Was it not enough for you to drink the clearest water, that you had to foul the remainder with your feet?


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 Because you push with side and shoulder, and butt all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them out,


text:
 I will save my sheep so that they may no longer be despoiled, and I will judge between one sheep and another.


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 I will appoint one shepherd over them to pasture them, my servant David; he shall pasture them and be their shepherd.


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 I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.


text:
 I will make a covenant of peace with them, and rid the country of ravenous beasts, that they may dwell securely in the desert and sleep in the forests.


text:
 I will place them about my hill, sending rain in due season, rains that shall be a blessing to them.


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 The trees of the field shall bear their fruits, and the land its crops, and they shall dwell securely on their own soil. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD when I break the bonds of their yoke and free them from the power of those who enslaved them.


text:
 They shall no longer be despoiled by the nations or devoured by beasts of the earth, but shall dwell secure, with no one to frighten them.


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 I will prepare for them peaceful fields for planting; they shall no longer be carried off by famine in the land, or bear the reproaches of the nations.


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


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 Say to it: Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Mount Seir. I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste.


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 Your cities I will turn into ruins, and you shall be a waste; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Because you never let die your hatred for the Israelites, whom you delivered over to the power of the sword at the time of their trouble, when their crimes came to an end,


text:
 therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, you have been guilty of blood, and blood, I swear, shall pursue you.


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 With the slain I will fill your hills, your valleys, and all your ravines (in them the slain shall fall by the sword):


text:
 desolate will I make you forever, and leave your cities without inhabitants; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Because you said: The two nations and the two lands have become mine; we shall possess them-- although the LORD was there--


text:
 therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, I will deal with you according to your anger and your envy which you have exercised (in your hatred) against them. I will make myself known among you when I judge you,


text:
 and you shall know that I am the LORD. I have heard all the contemptuous things you have uttered against the mountains of Israel: "They are desolate, they have been given us to devour."


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Just as you rejoiced over my land because it was desolate, so will I do to you.


text:
 In keeping with your glee over the devastation of the inheritance of the house of Israel, so will I treat you. A waste shall you be, Mount Seir, you and the whole of Edom. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy has said of you, "Ha! the everlasting heights have become our possession"


text:
 (therefore prophesy in these words: Thus says the Lord GOD:); because you have been ridiculed and despised on all sides for having become a possession for the rest of the nations, and have become a byword and a popular jeer;


text:
 therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: (Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have been given over to the pillage and mockery of the remaining nations round about;


text:
 therefore thus says the Lord GOD:) Truly, with burning jealousy I speak against the rest of the nations (and against all of Edom) who with wholehearted joy and utter contempt have considered my land their possession to be delivered over to plunder.


text:
 (Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys: Thus says the Lord GOD:) With jealous fury I speak, because you have borne the reproach of the nations.


text:
 As for you, mountains of Israel, you shall grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they shall soon return.


text:
 and I will settle crowds of men upon you, the whole house of Israel; cities shall be repeopled, and ruins rebuilt.


text:
 I will settle crowds of men and beasts upon you, to multiply and be fruitful. I will repeople you as in the past, and be more generous to you than in the beginning; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.


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 (My people Israel are the ones whom I will have walk upon you; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their heritage. Never again shall you rob them of their children.)


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they have said of you, "You are a land that devours men, and you rob your people of their children";


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 therefore, never again shall you devour men or rob your people of their children, says the Lord GOD.


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 No more will I permit you to hear the reproach of nations, or bear insults from peoples, or rob your people of their children, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their conduct and deeds. In my sight their conduct was like the defilement of a menstruous woman.


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 Therefore I poured out my fury upon them (because of the blood which they poured out on the ground, and because they defiled it with idols).


text:
 I scattered them among the nations, dispersing them over foreign lands; according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.


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 But when they came among the nations (wherever they came), they served to profane my holy name, because it was said of them: "These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave their land."


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 So I have relented because of my holy name which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they came.


text:
 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you came.


text:
 I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it. Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.


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 For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.


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 I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.


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 I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.


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 I will save you from all your impurities; I will order the grain to be abundant, and I will not send famine against you.


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 I will increase the fruit on your trees and the crops in your fields; thus you shall no longer bear among the nations the reproach of famine.


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 Then you shall remember your evil conduct, and that your deeds were not good; you shall loathe yourselves for your sins and your abominations.


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 Not for your sakes do I act, says the Lord GOD-- let this be known to you! Be ashamed and abashed because of your conduct, O house of Israel.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: When I purify you from all your crimes, I will repeople the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt;


text:
 the desolate land shall be tilled, which was formerly a wasteland exposed to the gaze of every passer-by.


text:
 "This desolate land has been made into a garden of Eden," they shall say. "The cities that were in ruins, laid waste, and destroyed are now repeopled and fortified."


text:
 Thus the neighboring nations that remain shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have promised, and I will do it.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will be persuaded to do for the house of Israel: to multiply them like sheep.


text:
 As with sacrificial sheep, the sheep of Jerusalem on its feast days, the cities which were in ruins shall be filled with flocks of men; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the LORD and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones.


text:
 He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were!


text:
 He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? "Lord GOD," I answered, "you alone know that."


text:
 Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!


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 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.


text:
 I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.


text:
 I prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.


text:
 I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.


text:
 Then he said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.


text:
 I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.


text:
 Then he said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off."


text:
 Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.


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 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!


text:
 I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.


text:
 Now, son of man, take a single stick, and write on it: Judah and those Israelites who are associated with him. Then take another stick and write on it: Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.


text:
 answer them: Thus says the Lord GOD: (I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and of the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will join to it the stick of Judah, making them a single stick; they shall be one in my hand.


text:
 Tell them: Thus speaks the Lord GOD:) I will take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.


text:
 I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.


text:
 No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.


text:
 My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.


text:
 They shall live on the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children's children, with my servant David their prince forever.


text:
 I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.


text:
 Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.


text:
 Son of man, turn toward Gog (the land of Magog), the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him:


text:
 I will lead you forth with all your army, horses and riders all handsomely outfitted, a great horde with bucklers and shields, all of them carrying swords:


text:
 Gomer with all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of the north with all its troops, many peoples with you.


text:
 After many days you will be mustered (in the last years you will come) against a nation which has survived the sword, which has been assembled from many peoples (on the mountains of Israel which were long a ruin), which has been brought forth from among the peoples and all of whom now dwell in security.


text:
 You shall come up like a sudden storm, advancing like a cloud to cover the earth, you and all your troops and the many peoples with you.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: At that time thoughts shall arise in your mind, and you shall devise an evil scheme:


text:
 "I will go up against a land of open villages and attack the peaceful people who are living in security, all of them living without walls, having neither bars nor gates,


text:
 to plunder and pillage, turning my hand against the ruins that were repeopled and against a people gathered from the nations, a people concerned with cattle and goods, who dwell at the navel of the earth."


text:
 Sheba and Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish and all her young lions shall ask you: "Is it for plunder that you have come? Is it for pillage that you have summoned your horde, to carry off silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to seize much plunder?"


text:
 Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: Thus says the Lord GOD: When my people Israel are dwelling in security, will you not bestir yourself


text:
 and come from your home in the recesses of the north, you and many peoples with you, all mounted on horses, a great horde and a mighty army?


text:
 You shall come up against my people Israel like a cloud covering the land. In the last days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know of me, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you, O Gog.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: It is of you that I spoke in ancient times through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days that I would bring you against them.


text:
 But on that day, the day when Gog invades the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, my fury shall be aroused. In my anger


text:
 and in my jealousy, in my fiery wrath, I swear: On that day there shall be a great shaking upon the land of Israel.


text:
 Before me shall tremble the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, the beasts of the field and all the reptiles that crawl upon the ground, and all men who are on the land. Mountains shall be overturned, and cliffs shall tumble, and every wall shall fall to the ground.


text:
 Against him I will summon every terror, says the Lord GOD, every man's sword against his brother. I will hold judgment with him in pestilence and bloodshed;


text:
 flooding rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone, I will rain upon him, upon his troops, and upon the many peoples with him.


text:
 I will prove my greatness and holiness and make myself known in the sight of many nations; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 Now, son of man, prophesy against Gog in these words: Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.


text:
 I will turn you about, I will urge you on, and I will make you come up from the recesses of the north; I will lead you against the mountains of Israel.


text:
 Upon the mountains of Israel you shall fall, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you. To birds of prey of every kind and to the wild beasts I am giving you to be eaten.


text:
 I will send fire upon Magog and upon those who live securely in the coastlands; thus they shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 I will make my holy name known among my people Israel; I will no longer allow my holy name to be profaned. Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.


text:
 Then shall those who live in the cities of Israel go out and burn weapons: (shields and bucklers,) bows and arrows, clubs and lances; for seven years they shall make fires with them.


text:
 They shall not have to bring in wood from the fields or cut it down in the forests, for they shall make fires with the weapons. Thus they shall plunder those who plundered them and pillage those who pillaged them, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 On that day I will give Gog for his tomb a well-known place in Israel, the Valley of Abarim east of the sea (it is blocked to travelers). Gog shall be buried there with all his horde, and it shall be named "Valley of Hamon-gog."


text:
 All the people of the land shall bury them and gain renown for it, when I reveal my glory, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Men shall be permanently employed to pass through the land burying those who lie unburied, so as to purify the land. For seven months they shall keep searching.


text:
 When they pass through, should they see a human bone, let them put up a marker beside it, until others have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.


text:
 As for you, son of man, says the Lord GOD, say to birds of every kind and to all the wild beasts: Come together, from all sides gather for the slaughter I am about to provide for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel: you shall have flesh to eat and blood to drink.


text:
 You shall eat the flesh of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the land (rams, lambs, and goats, bullocks, fatlings of Bashan, all of them).


text:
 From the slaughter which I will provide for you, you shall eat fat until you are filled and drink blood until you are drunk.


text:
 You shall be filled at my table with horses and riders, with warriors and soldiers of every kind, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see the judgment I have executed and the hand I have laid upon them.


text:
 The nations shall know that because of its sins the house of Israel went into exile; for they transgressed against me, and I hid my face from them and handed them over to their foes, so that all of them fell by the sword.


text:
 According to their uncleanness and their transgressions I dealt with them, hiding my face from them.


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 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have pity on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.


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 They shall forget their disgrace and all the times they broke faith with me, when they live in security on their land with no one to frighten them.


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 When I bring them back from among the peoples, I will gather them from the lands of their enemies, and will prove my holiness through them in the sight of many nations.


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 Thus they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God, since I who exiled them among the nations, will gather them back on their land, not leaving any of them behind.


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 No longer will I hide my face from them, for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.


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 On the tenth day of the month beginning the twenty-fifth year of our exile, fourteen years after the city was taken, that very day the hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me


text:
 in divine visions to the land of Israel, where he set me down on a very high mountain. On it there seemed to be a city being built before me.


text:
 When he had brought me there, all at once I saw a man whose appearance was that of bronze; he was standing in the gate, holding a linen cord and a measuring rod.


text:
 The man said to me, "Son of man, look carefully and listen intently, and pay strict attention to all that I will show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Tell the house of Israel all that you see."


text:
 (Then I saw an outer wall that completely surrounded the temple. The man was holding a measuring rod six cubits long, each cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth; he measured the width and the height of the structure, each of which were found to be one rod.)


text:
 Then he went to the gate which faced the east, climbed its steps, and measured the gate's threshold, which was found to be a rod wide.


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 The cells were a rod long and a rod wide, and the pilasters between the cells measured five cubits. The threshold of the gate adjoining the vestibule of the gate toward the inside measured one rod.


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 which was eight cubits, and its pilasters, which were two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was toward the inside.


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 The cells of the east gate were three on either side, of equal size, and the pilasters on either side were also of equal size.


text:
 He measured the gate's entrance, which was ten cubits wide, while the width of the gate's passage itself was thirteen cubits.


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 The border before each of the cells on both sides was one cubit; the cells themselves were six cubits on either side, from opening to opening.


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 He measured the gate from the back wall of one cell to the back wall of the cell on the opposite side: the width was twenty-five cubits.


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 He measured the vestibule, which was twenty-five cubits. The pilasters adjoining the court on either side were six cubits.


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 The length of the gate from the front entrance to the front of the vestibule on the inside was fifty cubits.


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 Within the gateway on both sides there were splayed windows let into the cells (and into their pilasters); likewise, within the vestibule on both sides there were windows. The pilasters were decorated with palms.


text:
 Then he brought me to the outer court, where there were chambers and a pavement. The pavement was laid all around the court, and the chambers, which were on the pavement, were thirty in number.


text:
 He measured the width of the court from the front of the lower gate to the front of the inner gate; it was one hundred cubits between them. Then he proceeded north,


text:
 Its cells, three on either side, its pilasters, and its vestibule had the same measurements as those of the first gate; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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 Its windows, the windows of its vestibule, and its palm decorations were of the same proportions as those of the gate facing the east. Seven steps led up to it, and its vestibule was toward the inside.


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 The inner court had a gate opposite the north gate, just as at the east gate; he measured one hundred cubits from one gate to the other.


text:
 Then he led me south, to where there was a southern gate, whose cells, pilasters, and vestibule he measured; they were the same size as the others.


text:
 The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides, like the other windows. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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 It was ascended by seven steps; its vestibule was toward the inside; and it was decorated with palms here and there on its pilasters.


text:
 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate, where he measured the south gate. Its dimensions were the same as the others;


text:
 its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as the others. The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides; and it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


text:
 But its vestibule was toward the outer court; palms were on its pilasters, and it had a stairway of eight steps.


text:
 Then he brought me to the gate facing the east, where he measured the gate, whose dimensions were found to be the same.


text:
 Its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule were the same size as the others; the gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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 But its vestibule was toward the outer court; palms were on its pilasters here and there, and it had a stairway of eight steps.


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 of its cells, its pilasters, and its vestibule, and found them the same. The gate and its vestibule had windows on both sides; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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 Its vestibule was toward the outer court; palms were on its pilasters here and there, and it had a stairway of eight steps.


text:
 In the vestibule of the gate there were two tables on either side, on which were slaughtered the sin offerings and guilt offerings.


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 Along the wall of the vestibule, but outside, near the entrance of the north gate, were two tables, and on the other side of the vestibule of the gate there were two tables.


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 There were four tables on either side of the gate (eight tables), on which the sacrifices were slaughtered.


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 There were four tables for holocausts, made of cut stone, one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one cubit high.


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 The ledges, a handbreadth wide, were set on the inside all around, and on them were laid the instruments with which the holocausts were slaughtered. On the tables themselves the flesh was laid.


text:
 He then led me to the inner court where there were two chambers, one beside the north gate, facing south, and the other beside the south gate, facing north.


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 and the chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the Zadokites, the only Levites who may come near to minister to the LORD."


text:
 Then he measured the court, which was a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits wide, a perfect square. The altar stood in front of the temple.


text:
 Then he brought me into the vestibule of the temple and measured the pilasters on each side, which were five cubits. The width of the doorway was fourteen cubits, and the side walls on either side of the door measured three cubits.


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 The vestibule was twenty cubits wide and twelve cubits deep; ten steps led up to it, and there were columns by the pilasters, one on either side.


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 Then he brought me to the nave and measured the pilasters, which were six cubits thick on either side.


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 The width of the entrance was ten cubits, and the walls at either side of it measured five cubits each. He measured the length of the nave, which was found to be forty cubits, while its width was twenty.


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 Then he went in beyond and measured the pilasters flanking that entrance, which were two cubits; the width of the entrance was six cubits, and the walls at either side of it extended seven cubits each.


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 He measured the space beyond the nave, twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, and said to me, "This is the holy of holies."


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 Then he measured the wall of the temple, which was six cubits thick; the side chambers, which extended all the way around the temple, had a width of four cubits.


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 There were thirty side chambers built one above the other in three stories, and there were offsets in the outside wall of the temple that enclosed the side chambers; these served as supports, so that there were no supports in the temple wall proper.


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 There was a broad circular passageway that led upward to the side chambers, for the temple was enclosed all the way around and all the way upward; therefore the temple had a broad way running upward so that one could pass from the lowest to the middle and the highest story.


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 About the temple was a raised pavement completely enclosing it-- the foundations of the side chambers-- a full rod of six cubits in extent.


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 The width of the outside wall which enclosed the side chambers was five cubits. Between the side chambers of the temple


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 The side chambers had entrances to the open space, one entrance on the north and another on the south. The width of the wall surrounding the open space was five cubits.


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 The building fronting the free area on the west side was seventy cubits front to back; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and it measured ninety cubits from side to side.


text:
 He measured the temple, which was one hundred cubits long. The free area, together with the building and its walls, was a hundred cubits in length.


text:
 He measured the building which lay the length of the free area and behind it, and together with its walls on both sides it was one hundred cubits. The inner nave and the outer vestibule


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 were paneled with precious wood all around, covered from the ground to the windows. There were splayed windows with trellises about them (facing the threshold).


text:
 As high as the lintel of the door, even into the interior part of the temple as well as outside, on every wall on every side in both the inner and outer rooms were carved


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 the figures of cherubim and palmtrees: a palmtree between every two cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:


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 a man's face looking at a palmtree on one side, and a lion's face looking at a palmtree on the other; thus they were figured on every side throughout the whole temple.


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 The way into the nave was a square doorframe. In front of the holy place was something that looked like


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 a wooden altar, three cubits in height, two cubits long, and two cubits wide. It had corners, and its base and sides were of wood. He said to me, "This is the table which is before the LORD."


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 a double door. Each door had two movable leaves; two leaves were on one doorjamb and two on the other.


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 Carved upon them (on the doors of the nave) were cherubim and palmtrees, like those carved on the walls. Before the vestibule outside was a wooden lattice.


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 There were splayed windows (and palmtrees) on both side walls of the vestibule, and the side chambers of the temple....


text:
 Then he led me north to the outer court, bringing me to some chambers on the north that lay across the free area and which were also across from the building.


text:
 Across the twenty cubits of the inner court and the pavement of the outer court, there were three parallel rows of them on different levels.


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 In front of the chambers, to the inside, was a walk ten cubits broad and a wall of one cubit; but the entrances of the chambers were on the north.


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 The outermost chambers were the lowest, for the system of levels set them at a level lower than the closest chambers and those in between;


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 for they were in three rows and had no foundations to conform with the foundations of the courts, therefore they were on a lower terrace of the ground than the closest and the middle chambers.


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 On the far side there was a wall running parallel to the chambers along the outer court; its length before these chambers was fifty cubits,


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 for the length of the chambers belonging to the outer court was fifty cubits, but along its entire length the wall measured one hundred cubits.


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 Below these chambers there was the way in from the east, so that one could enter from the outer court


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 where the wall of the court began. To the south along the side of the free area and the building there were also chambers,


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 before which was a passage. These looked like the chambers to the north, just as long and just as wide, with the same exits and plan and entrances.


text:
 Below the chambers to the south there was an entrance at the beginning of the way which led to the back wall, by which one could enter from the east.


text:
 He said to me, "The north and south chambers which border on the free area are the sanctuary chambers; here the priests who draw near to the LORD shall eat the most sacred meals, and here they shall keep the most sacred offerings: cereal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings; for it is a holy place.


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 When the priests have once entered, they shall not leave the holy place for the outer court until they have left here the clothing in which they ministered, for it is holy. They shall put on other garments, and then approach the place destined for the people."


text:
 When he had finished measuring the inner temple area, he brought me out by way of the gate which faces east and measured all the limits of the court.


text:
 Thus he measured it in the four directions, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide. It was surrounded by a wall, to separate the sacred from the profane.


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 and there I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. I heard a sound like the roaring of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.


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 The vision was like that which I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like that which I had seen by the river Chebar. I fell prone


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 but spirit lifted me up and brought me to the inner court. And I saw that the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.


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 The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the Israelites forever. Never again shall they and their kings profane my holy name with their harlotries and with the corpses of their kings (their high places).


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 When they placed their threshold against my threshold and their doorpost next to mine, so that only a wall was between us, they profaned my holy name by their abominable deeds; therefore I consumed them in my wrath.


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 From now on they shall put far from me their harlotry and the corpses of their kings, and I will dwell in their midst forever.


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 As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel (that they may be ashamed of their sins), both its measurements and its design;


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 (and if they are ashamed of all that they have done,) make known to them the form and design of the temple, its exits and entrances, all its statutes and laws; write these down for them to see, that they may carefully observe all its laws and statutes.


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 This is the law of the temple: its whole surrounding area on the mountain top shall be most sacred.


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 These were the measurements of the altar in cubits of one cubit plus a handbreadth. Its base was one cubit high and one cubit deep, with a rim around its edges of one span. The height of the altar itself was as follows:


text:
 from its base at the bottom up to the lower edge it was two cubits high, and this ledge was one cubit deep; from the lower to the upper ledge it was four cubits high, and this ledge also was one cubit deep;


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 the hearth of the altar was four cubits high, and extending from the top of the hearth were the four horns of the altar.


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 The upper ledge was also a square: fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide. The lower ledge, likewise a square, was sixteen cubits long and sixteen cubits wide, with a half-cubit rim surrounding it. And there was a base of one cubit all around. The steps of the altar face the east.


text:
 Then he said to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the statutes for the altar when it is set up for the offering of holocausts upon it and for the sprinkling of blood against it.


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 Give a young bull as a sin offering to the priests, the Levites who are of the line of Zadok, who draw near me to minister to me, says the Lord GOD.


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 Take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all around. Thus you shall purify it and make atonement for it.


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 Then take the bull of the sin offering, which is to be burnt in a designated part of the temple, outside the sanctuary.


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 On the second day present an unblemished he-goat as a sin offering, to purify the altar as was done with the bull.


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 When you have finished the purification, bring an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock,


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 and present them before the LORD; the priests shall strew salt on them and offer them to the LORD as holocausts.


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 Daily for seven days you shall offer a he-goat as a sin offering, and a young bull and a ram from the flock, all unblemished, shall be offered


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 for seven days. Thus atonement shall be made for the altar, and it shall be purified and dedicated.


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 And when these days are over, from the eighth day on, the priests shall offer your holocausts and peace offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, says the Lord GOD.


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 He said to me: This gate is to remain closed; it is not to be opened for anyone to enter by it; since the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it, it shall remain closed.


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 Only the prince may sit down in it to eat his meal in the presence of the LORD. He must enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and leave by the same way.


text:
 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the facade of the temple, and when I looked I saw the glory of the LORD filling the LORD'S temple, and I fell prone.


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 Then he said to me: Son of man, pay strict attention, look carefully, and listen intently to all that I will tell you about the statutes and laws of the LORD'S temple; be attentive in regard to those who are to be admitted to the temple and all those who are to be excluded from the sanctuary.


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 Say to that rebellious house, the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough of all these abominations of yours, O house of Israel!


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 You have admitted foreigners, uncircumcised both in heart and flesh, to my sanctuary to profane it when you offered me food, fat, and blood; thus you have broken my covenant by all your abominations.


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 Instead of caring for the service of my temple, you have appointed such as these to serve me in my sanctuary in your stead.


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, shall ever enter my sanctuary; none of the foreigners who live among the Israelites.


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 But as for the Levites who departed from me when Israel strayed from me to pursue their idols, they shall bear the consequences of their sin.


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 They shall serve in my sanctuary as gatekeepers and temple servants; they shall slaughter the holocausts and the sacrifices for the people, and they shall stand before the people to minister for them.


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 Because they used to minister for them before their idols, and became an occasion of sin to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn an oath against them, says the Lord GOD: they shall bear the consequences of their sin.


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 They shall no longer draw near me to serve as my priests, nor shall they touch any of my sacred things, or the most sacred things. Thus they shall bear their disgrace because of all their abominable deeds.


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 But I will set them to the service of the temple, for all its work and for everything that is to be done in it.


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 As for the levitical priests, however, the Zadokites who cared for my sanctuary when the Israelites strayed from me, they shall draw near me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer me fat and blood, says the Lord GOD.


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 It is they who shall enter my sanctuary, they who shall approach my table to minister to me, and they who shall carry out my service.


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 Whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments; they shall not put on anything woolen when they minister at the gates of the inner court or within the temple.


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 They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen drawers on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causes sweat.


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 When they are to go out to the people in the outer court, they shall take off the garments in which they ministered and leave them in the chambers of the sanctuary, putting on other garments; thus they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments.


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 They shall not shave their heads nor let their hair hang loose, but they shall keep their hair carefully trimmed.


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 They shall not take for their wives either widows or divorced women, but only virgins of the race of Israel; however, they may marry women who are the widows of priests.


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 They shall teach my people to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and make known to them the difference between the clean and the unclean.


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 In capital cases they shall stand as judges, judging them according to my decrees. They shall observe my laws and statutes on all my festivals, and keep my sabbaths holy.


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 They shall not make themselves unclean by coming near any dead person, unless it be their father, mother, son, daughter, brother, or maiden sister; for these they may make themselves unclean.


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 and on the day he enters the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall present his sin offering, says the Lord GOD.


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 They shall have no inheritance, for I am their inheritance; you shall give them no property in Israel, for I am their property.


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 They shall eat the cereal offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering; whatever is under the ban in Israel shall be theirs.


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 All the choicest first fruits of every kind, and all the best of your offerings of every kind, shall belong to the priests; likewise the best of your dough you shall give to the priests to bring a blessing down upon your house.


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 The priests shall not eat anything, whether flesh or fowl, that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts.


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 When you apportion the land into inheritances, you shall set apart a sacred tract of land for the LORD, twenty-five thousand cubits long and twenty thousand wide; its whole area shall be sacred.


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 Of this land a square plot, five hundred by five hundred cubits, surrounded by a free space of fifty cubits, shall be assigned to the sanctuary.


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 Also from this sector measure off a strip, twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide, within which shall be the sanctuary, the holy of holies.


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 This shall be the sacred part of the land belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who draw near to minister to the LORD; it shall be a place for their homes and pasture land for their cattle.


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 Also there shall be a strip twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide as property for the Levites, the ministers of the temple, that they may have cities to live in.


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 As property of the City you shall designate a strip five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, parallel to the sacred tract; this shall belong to the whole house of Israel.


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 The prince shall have a section bordering on both sides of the combined sacred tract and City property, extending westward on the western side and eastward on the eastern side, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions from the western boundary to the eastern boundary


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 of the land. This shall be his property in Israel, so that the princes of Israel will no longer oppress my people, but will leave the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and do what is right and just! Stop evicting my people! says the Lord GOD.


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 The ephah and the liquid measure shall be of the same size: the liquid measure equal to a tenth of a homer, and the ephah equal to a tenth of a homer; by the homer they shall be determined.


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 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.


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 These are the offerings you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley.


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 The regulation for oil: for every measure of oil, a tenth of a measure, computed by the kor of ten liquid measures (or a homer, for ten liquid measures make a homer).


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 One sheep from the flock for every two hundred from the pasturage of Israel, for sacrifice-- holocausts and peace offerings and atonement sacrifices, says the Lord GOD.


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 It shall be the duty of the prince to provide the holocausts, cereal offerings, and libations on the feasts, new moons, and sabbaths, on all the festivals of the house of Israel. He shall offer the sin offerings, cereal offerings, holocausts, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: On the first day of the first month you shall use an unblemished young bull as a sacrifice to purify the sanctuary.


text:
 Then the priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorposts of the gates of the inner court.


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 You shall repeat this on the first day of the seventh month for those who have sinned through inadvertence or ignorance; thus you shall make atonement for the temple.


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 On the fourteenth day of the first month you shall observe the feast of the Passover; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten.


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 On that day the prince shall offer on his own behalf, and on behalf of all the people of the land, a bull as a sin offering.


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 On each of the seven days of the feast he shall offer as a holocaust to the LORD seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, and as a sin offering he shall offer one male goat each day.


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 As a cereal offering he shall offer one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram; and he shall offer one hin of oil for each ephah.


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 On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the feast day, and for seven days, he shall perform the same rites, making the same sin offerings, the same holocausts, the same cereal offerings and offerings of oil.


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 Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate toward the east of the inner court shall remain closed throughout the six working days, but on the sabbath and on the day of the new moon it shall be open.


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 The prince shall enter from outside by way of the vestibule of the gate and remain standing at the doorpost of the gate; then while the priests offer his holocausts and peace offerings, he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then leave; the gate shall not be closed until evening.


text:
 The people of the land shall worship before the LORD at the door of this gate on the sabbaths and new moons.


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 The holocausts which the prince presents to the LORD on the sabbath shall consist of six unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram,


text:
 together with a cereal offering of one ephah for the ram, whatever he pleases for the lambs, and a hin of oil for each ephah.


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 On the day of the new moon he shall provide an unblemished young bull, also six lambs and a ram without blemish,


text:
 with a cereal offering of one ephah for the bull and one for the ram, for the lambs as much as he has at hand, and for each ephah a hin of oil.


text:
 When the people of the land enter the presence of the LORD to worship on the festivals, if they enter by the north gate they shall leave by the south gate, and if they enter by the south gate they shall leave by the north gate; no one shall return by the gate through which he has entered, but he shall leave by the opposite gate.


text:
 On the feasts and festivals the cereal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, but for the lambs as much as one pleases, and a hin of oil with each ephah.


text:
 When the prince makes a freewill offering to the LORD, whether holocausts or peace offerings, the eastern gate shall be opened for him, and he shall offer his holocausts or his peace offerings as on the sabbath; then he shall leave, and the gate shall be closed after his departure.


text:
 He shall offer as a daily holocaust to the LORD an unblemished yearling lamb; this he shall offer every morning.


text:
 With it every morning he shall provide as a cereal offering one sixth of an ephah, with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This cereal offering to the LORD is mandatory with the established holocaust.


text:
 The lamb, the cereal offering, and the oil are to be offered every morning as an established holocaust.


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: If the prince makes a gift of part of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; that property is theirs by inheritance.


text:
 But if he makes a gift of part of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall belong to the latter only until the year of release, when it shall revert to the prince. Only the inheritance given to his sons is permanent.


text:
 The prince shall not seize any part of the inheritance of the people by evicting them from their property. He shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of my people will be driven from their property.


text:
 Then he brought me by the entrance which is on the side of the gate to the chambers (of the sanctuary, reserved to the priests) which face the north. There, at their west end, I saw a place,


text:
 concerning which he said to me, "Here the priests cook the guilt offerings and the sin offerings, and bake the cereal offerings, so that they do not have to take them into the outer court at the risk of transmitting holiness to the people."


text:
 Then he led me into the outer court and had me pass around the four corners of the court, and I saw that in each corner there was another court:


text:
 in the four corners of the court, minor courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide, all four of them the same size.


text:
 A wall of stones surrounded each of the four, and hearths were built beneath the stones all the way around.


text:
 He said to me, "These are the kitchens where the temple ministers cook the sacrifices of the people."


text:
 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the facade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar.


text:
 He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side.


text:
 Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep.


text:
 He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist.


text:
 Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming.


text:
 He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?" Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.


text:
 He said to me, "This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.


text:
 Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.


text:
 Fishermen shall be standing along it from En-gedi to En-eglaim, spreading their nets there. Its kinds of fish shall be like those of the Great Sea, very numerous.


text:
 Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."


text:
 Thus says the Lord GOD: These are the boundaries within which you shall apportion the land among the twelve tribes of Israel (Joseph having two portions).


text:
 All of you shall have a like portion in this land which I swore to give to your fathers, that it might fall to you as your inheritance.


text:
 This is the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great Sea in the direction of Hethlon, past Labo of Hamath, to Zedad,


text:
 Berothah, and Sibraim, along the frontiers of Hamath and Damascus, to Hazar-enon which is on the border of the Hauran.


text:
 Thus the border shall extend from the sea to Hazar-enon, with the frontier of Hamath and Damascus to the north. This is the northern boundary.


text:
 The eastern boundary: between the Hauran-- toward Damascus-- and Gilead on the one side, and the land of Israel on the other side, the Jordan shall form the boundary down to the eastern sea as far as Tamar. This is the eastern boundary.


text:
 The southern boundary: from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, thence to the Wadi of Egypt, and on to the Great Sea. This is the southern boundary.


text:
 The western boundary: the Great Sea forms the boundary up to a point parallel to Labo of Hamath. This is the western boundary.


text:
 You shall allot it as inheritances for yourselves and for the aliens resident in your midst who have bred children among you. The latter shall be to you like native Israelites; along with you they shall receive inheritances among the tribes of Israel.


text:
 In whatever tribe the alien may be resident, there you shall assign him his inheritance, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 This is the list of the tribes. Dan: at the northern extremity, adjoining Hamath, all along from the approaches to Hethlon through Labo of Hamath to Hazar-enon, on the northerly border with Damascus, with his possession reaching from the eastern to the western boundary.


text:
 On the frontier of Judah, from the eastern to the western boundary there shall be the tract which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits from north to south, and as wide as one of the tribal portions from the eastern to the western boundary. In the center of the tract shall be the sanctuary.


text:
 The tract that you set aside for the LORD shall be twenty-five thousand cubits across by twenty thousand north and south.


text:
 In this sacred tract the priests shall have twenty-five thousand cubits on the north, ten thousand on the west, ten thousand on the east, and twenty-five thousand on the south; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in its center.


text:
 The consecrated priests, the Zadokites, who fulfilled my service and did not stray along with the Israelites as the Levites did,


text:
 shall have within this tract of land their own most sacred domain, next to the territory of the Levites.


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 The Levites shall have a territory corresponding to that of the priests, twenty-five thousand cubits by ten thousand. The whole tract shall be twenty-five thousand cubits across and twenty thousand north and south.


text:
 They may not sell or exchange or alienate this, the best part of the land, for it is sacred to the LORD.


text:
 The remaining five thousand cubits along the twenty-five-thousand-cubit line are profane land, assigned to the City for dwellings and pasture; the City shall be at their center.


text:
 These are the dimensions of the City: the north side, forty-five hundred cubits; the south side, forty-five hundred cubits; the east side, forty-five hundred cubits; and the west side, forty-five hundred cubits.


text:
 The pasture lands of the City shall extend north two hundred and fifty cubits, south two hundred and fifty cubits, east two hundred and fifty cubits, and west two hundred and fifty cubits.


text:
 There shall remain an area along the sacred tract, ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west, whose produce shall provide food for the workers of the City.


text:
 The entire tract shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand cubits; as a perfect square you shall set apart the sacred tract together with the City property.


text:
 The remainder shall belong to the prince: the land on both sides of the sacred tract and the City property, extending along the twenty-five-thousand-cubit line eastward to the eastern boundary, and westward along the twenty-five-thousand-cubit line to the western boundary, a territory parallel with the tribal portions for the prince. The sacred tract and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the middle.


text:
 Thus, except for the property of the Levites and the City property, which lie in the midst of the prince's property, the territory between the portions of Judah and of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.


text:
 Along the frontier of Gad shall be the southern boundary, which shall extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and from there to the Wadi of Egypt, and on to the Great Sea.


text:
 Such is the land which you shall apportion as inheritances among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, says the Lord GOD.


text:
 These are the exits of the City, the gates of which are named after the tribes of Israel. On the north side, measuring forty-five hundred cubits,


text:
 On the east side, measuring forty-five hundred cubits, there shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.


text:
 On the south side, measuring forty-five hundred cubits, there shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.


text:
 On the west side, measuring forty-five hundred cubits, there shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.


text:
 The perimeter of the City is eighteen thousand cubits. The name of the City shall henceforth be "The LORD is here."


text:
 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came and laid siege to Jerusalem.


text:
 The Lord handed over to him Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and some of the vessels of the temple of God, which he carried off to the land of Shinar, and placed in the temple treasury of his god.


text:
 The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain, to bring in some of the Israelites of royal blood and of the nobility,


text:
 young men without any defect, handsome, intelligent and wise, quick to learn, and prudent in judgment, such as could take their place in the king's palace; they were to be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans;


text:
 after three years' training they were to enter the king's service. The king allotted them a daily portion of food and wine from the royal table.


text:
 The chief chamberlain changed their names: Daniel to Belteshazzar, Hananiah to Shadrach, Mishael to Meshach, and Azariah to Abednego.


text:
 But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself with the king's food or wine; so he begged the chief chamberlain to spare him this defilement.


text:
 he nevertheless said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king; it is he who allotted your food and drink. If he sees that you look wretched by comparison with the other young men of your age, you will endanger my life with the king."


text:
 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief chamberlain had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


text:
 Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men who eat from the royal table, and treat your servants according to what you see."


text:
 after ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.


text:
 So the steward continued to take away the food and wine they were to receive, and gave them vegetables.


text:
 To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency in all literature and science, and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.


text:
 At the end of the time the king had specified for their preparation, the chief chamberlain brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.


text:
 When the king had spoken with all of them, none was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they entered the king's service.


text:
 In any question of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom.


text:
 In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which left his spirit no rest and robbed him of his sleep.


text:
 So he ordered that the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans be summoned to interpret the dream for him. When they came and presented themselves to the king,


text:
 The Chaldeans answered the king (Aramaic): "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream and we will give its meaning."


text:
 The king answered the Chaldeans, "This is what I have decided: unless you tell me the dream and its meaning, you shall be cut to pieces and your houses destroyed.


text:
 But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, you shall receive from me gifts and presents and great honors. Now tell me the dream and its meaning."


text:
 But the king replied: "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, since you know what I have decided.


text:
 If you do not tell me the dream, there can be but one decree for you. You have framed a false and deceitful interpretation to present me with till the crisis is past. Tell me the dream, therefore, that I may be sure that you can also give its correct interpretation."


text:
 The Chaldeans answered the king: "There is not a man on earth who can do what you ask, O king; never has any king, however great and mighty, asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean.


text:
 What you demand, O king, is too difficult; there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods who do not dwell among men."


text:
 At this the king became violently angry and ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be put to death.


text:
 When the decree was issued that the wise men should be slain, Daniel and his companions were also sought out.


text:
 Then Daniel prudently took counsel with Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had set out to kill the wise men of Babylon:


text:
 "O officer of the king," he asked, "what is the reason for this harsh order from the king?" When Arioch told him,


text:
 that they might implore the mercy of the God of heaven in regard to this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 He causes the changes of the times and seasons, makes kings and unmakes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who understand.


text:
 He reveals deep and hidden things and knows what is in the darkness, for the light dwells with him.


text:
 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have shown me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the king's dream."


text:
 So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not put the wise men of Babylon to death. Bring me before the king, and I will tell him the interpretation of the dream." Arioch quickly brought Daniel to the king and said,


text:
 The king asked Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Can you tell me the dream that I had, and its meaning?"


text:
 In the king's presence Daniel made this reply: "The mystery about which the king has inquired, the wise men, enchanters, magicians, and astrologers could not explain to the king.


text:
 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what is to happen in days to come; this was the dream you saw as you lay in bed.


text:
 To you in your bed there came thoughts about what should happen in the future, and he who reveals mysteries showed you what is to be.


text:
 To me also this mystery has been revealed; not that I am wiser than any other living person, but in order that its meaning may be made known to the king, that you may understand the thoughts in your own mind.


text:
 "In your vision, O king, you saw a statue, very large and exceedingly bright, terrifying in appearance as it stood before you.


text:
 While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces.


text:
 The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.


text:
 You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory;


text:
 men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell, he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all; you are the head of gold.


text:
 Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth.


text:
 There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else.


text:
 The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter's tile and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, but yet have some of the hardness of iron. As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile,


text:
 The iron mixed with clay tile means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage, but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay.


text:
 In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.


text:
 That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without a hand being put to it, which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure."


text:
 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down and worshiped Daniel and ordered sacrifice and incense offered to him.


text:
 To Daniel the king said, "Truly your God is the God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries; that is why you were able to reveal this mystery."


text:
 He advanced Daniel to a high post, gave him many generous presents, made him ruler of the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 At Daniel's request the king made Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators of the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the king's court.


text:
 King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue made, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, which he set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.


text:
 He then ordered the satraps, prefects, and governors, the counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the officials of the provinces to be summoned to the dedication of the statue which he had set up.


text:
 The satraps, prefects, and governors, the counselors, treasurers, judges, and magistrates and all the officials of the provinces, all these came together for the dedication and stood before the statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


text:
 A herald cried out: "Nations and peoples of every language, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments,


text:
 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments, the nations and peoples of every language all fell down and worshiped the golden statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


text:
 O king, you issued a decree that everyone who heard the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments should fall down and worship the golden statue;


text:
 There are certain Jews whom you have made administrators of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego; these men, O king, have paid no attention to you; they will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up."


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and sent for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were promptly brought before the king.


text:
 King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you will not serve my god, or worship the golden statue that I set up?


text:
 Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe, and all the other musical instruments; otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace; and who is the God that can deliver you out of my hands?"


text:
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, "There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter.


text:
 If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may he save us!


text:
 But even if he will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up."


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar's face became livid with utter rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual


text:
 and had some of the strongest men in his army bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the white-hot furnace.


text:
 They were bound and cast into the white-hot furnace with their coats, hats, shoes and other garments,


text:
 for the king's order was urgent. So huge a fire was kindled in the furnace that the flames devoured the men who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into it.


text:
 "Blessed are you, and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and glorious forever is your name.


text:
 For you are just in all you have done; all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right, and all your judgments proper.


text:
 You have executed proper judgments in all that you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers. By a proper judgment you have done all this because of our sins;


text:
 Therefore all you have brought upon us, all you have done to us,you have done by a proper judgment.


text:
 You have handed us over to our enemies, lawless and hateful rebels; to an unjust king, the worst in all the world.


text:
 Now we cannot open our mouths; we, your servants, who revere you, have become a shame and a reproach.


text:
 Do not take away your mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,


text:
 To whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven, or the sand on the shore of the sea.


text:
 For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low everywhere in the world this day because of our sins.


text:
 We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no holocaust, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.


text:
 As though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks, or thousands of fat lambs, So let our sacrifice be in your presence today as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.


text:
 Let all those be routed who inflict evils on your servants; Let them be shamed and powerless, and their strength broken;


text:
 Now the king's men who had thrown them in continued to stoke the furnace with brimstone, pitch, tow, and faggots.


text:
 But the angel of the Lord went down into the furnace with Azariah and his companions, drove the fiery flames out of the furnace,


text:
 and made the inside of the furnace as though a dew-laden breeze were blowing through it. The fire in no way touched them or caused them pain or harm.


text:
 "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.


text:
 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.


text:
 Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the nether world, and saved us from the power of death; He has freed us from the raging flame and delivered us from the fire.


text:
 Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord; praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endures forever." Hearing them sing, and astonished at seeing them alive,


text:
 King Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" "Assuredly, O king," they answered.


text:
 "But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God."


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar came to the opening of the white-hot furnace and called to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: "Servants of the most high God, come out." Thereupon Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.


text:
 When the satraps, prefects, governors, and nobles of the king came together, they saw that the fire had had no power over the bodies of these men; not a hair of their heads had been singed, nor were their garments altered; there was not even a smell of fire about them.


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants that trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.


text:
 Therefore I decree for nations and peoples of every language that whoever blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut to pieces and his house destroyed. For there is no other God who can rescue like this."


text:
 King Nebuchadnezzar to the nations and peoples of every language, wherever they dwell on earth: abundant peace!


text:
 It has seemed good to me to publish the signs and wonders which the most high God has accomplished in my regard.


text:
 How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures through all generations.


text:
 So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me to give the interpretation of the dream.


text:
 When the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers had come in, I related the dream before them; but none of them could tell me its meaning.


text:
 Finally there came before me Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy God. I repeated the dream to him:


text:
 "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy God is in you and no mystery is too difficult for you; tell me the meaning of the visions that I saw in my dream.


text:
 "These were the visions I saw while in bed: I saw a tree of great height at the center of the world.


text:
 It was large and strong, with its top touching the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of the earth.


text:
 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, providing food for all. Under it the wild beasts found shade, in its branches the birds of the air nested; all men ate of it.


text:
 and cried out: " 'Cut down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit; let the beasts flee its shade, and the birds its branches.


text:
 But leave in the earth its stump and roots, fettered with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field. Let him be bathed with the dew of heaven; his lot be to eat, among beasts, the grass of the earth.


text:
 Let his mind be changed from the human; let him be given the sense of a beast, till seven years pass over him.


text:
 By decree of the sentinels is this decided, by order of the holy ones, this sentence; That all who live may know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men: He can give it to whom he will, or set over it the lowliest of men.'


text:
 "This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning. Although none of the wise men in my kingdom can tell me the meaning, you can, because the spirit of the holy God is in you."


text:
 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while, terrified by his thoughts. "Belteshazzar," the king said to him, "let not the dream or its meaning terrify you."


text:
 "My lord," Belteshazzar replied, "this dream should be for your enemies, and its meaning for your foes. The large, strong tree that you saw, with its top touching the heavens, that could be seen by the whole earth,


text:
 which had beautiful foliage and abundant fruit, providing food for all, under which the wild beasts lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air dwelt--


text:
 you are that tree, O king, large and strong! Your majesty has become so great as to touch the heavens, and your rule extends over the whole earth.


text:
 As for the king's vision of a holy sentinel that came down from heaven and proclaimed: 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave in the earth its stump and roots, fettered with iron and bronze in the grass of the field; let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be among wild beasts till seven years pass over him'--


text:
 this is its meaning, O king; this is the sentence which the Most High has passed upon my lord king:


text:
 You shall be cast out from among men and dwell with wild beasts; you shall be given grass to eat like an ox and be bathed with the dew of heaven; seven years shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.


text:
 The command that the stump and roots of the tree are to be left means that your kingdom shall be preserved for you, once you have learned it is heaven that rules.


text:
 Therefore, O king, take my advice; atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds by kindness to the poor; then your prosperity will be long."


text:
 the king said, "Babylon the great! Was it not I, with my great strength, who built it as a royal residence for my splendor and majesty?"


text:
 While these words were still on the king's lips, a voice spoke from heaven, "It has been decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom is taken from you!


text:
 You shall be cast out from among men, and shall dwell with wild beasts; you shall be given grass to eat like an ox, and seven years shall pass over you, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."


text:
 At once this was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar was cast out from among men, he ate grass like an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle, and his nails like the claws of a bird.


text:
 When this period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes to heaven; my reason was restored to me, and I blessed the Most High, I praised and glorified him who lives forever: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures through all generations.


text:
 All who live on the earth are counted as nothing; he does as he pleases with the powers of heaven as well as with those who live on the earth. There is no one who can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"


text:
 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and my splendor returned to me. My nobles and lords sought me out; I was restored to my kingdom, and became much greater than before.


text:
 Therefore, I, Nebuchadnezzar, now praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works are right and his ways just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.


text:
 Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.


text:
 When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers were drinking


text:
 Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote,


text:
 The king shouted for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers to be brought in. "Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means," he said to the wise men of Babylon, "shall be clothed in purple, wear a golden collar about his neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom."


text:
 But though all the king's wise men came in, none of them could either read the writing or tell the king what it meant.


text:
 Then King Belshazzar was greatly terrified; his face went ashen, and his lords were thrown into confusion.


text:
 When the queen heard of the discussion between the king and his lords, she entered the banquet hall and said, "O king, live forever! Be not troubled in mind, nor look so pale!


text:
 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy God; during the lifetime of your father he was seen to have brilliant knowledge and god-like wisdom. In fact, King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,


text:
 because of the extraordinary mind possessed by this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. He knew and understood how to interpret dreams, explain enigmas, and solve difficulties. Now therefore, summon Daniel to tell you what this means."


text:
 Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?


text:
 I have heard that the spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.


text:
 Now, the wise men and enchanters were brought in to me to read this writing and tell me its meaning, but they could not say what the words meant.


text:
 But I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom."


text:
 Daniel answered the king: "You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means.


text:
 Because he made him so great, the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Whomever he wished, he killed or let live; whomever he wished, he exalted or humbled.


text:
 But when his heart became proud and his spirit hardened by insolence, he was put down from his royal throne and deprived of his glory;


text:
 he was cast out from among men and was made insensate as a beast; he lived with wild asses, and ate grass like an ox; his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdom of men and appoints over it whom he will.


text:
 you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.


text:
 Then by order of Belshazzar they clothed Daniel in purple, with a gold collar about his neck, and proclaimed him third in the government of the kingdom.


text:
 Darius decided to appoint over his entire kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to safeguard his interests;


text:
 Daniel outshone all the supervisors and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king thought of giving him authority over the entire kingdom.


text:
 Therefore the supervisors and satraps tried to find grounds for accusation against Daniel as regards the administration. But they could accuse him of no wrongdoing; because he was trustworthy, no fault of neglect or misconduct was to be found in him.


text:
 Then these men said to themselves, "We shall find no grounds for accusation against this Daniel unless by way of the law of his God."


text:
 So these supervisors and satraps went thronging to the king and said to him, "King Darius, live forever!


text:
 All the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, nobles, and governors are agreed that the following prohibition ought to be put in force by royal decree: no one is to address any petition to god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions.


text:
 Now, O king, issue the prohibition over your signature, immutable and irrevocable under Mede and Persian law."


text:
 Even after Daniel heard that this law had been signed, he continued his custom of going home to kneel in prayer and give thanks to his God in the upper chamber three times a day, with the windows open toward Jerusalem.


text:
 Then they went to remind the king about the prohibition: "Did you not decree, O king, that no one is to address a petition to god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions?" The king answered them, "The decree is absolute, irrevocable under the Mede and Persian law."


text:
 To this they replied, "Daniel, the Jewish exile, has paid no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you issued; three times a day he offers his prayer."


text:
 The king was deeply grieved at this news and he made up his mind to save Daniel; he worked till sunset to rescue him.


text:
 But these men insisted. "Keep in mind, O king," they said, "that under the Mede and Persian law every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable."


text:
 So the king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions' den. To Daniel he said, "May your God, whom you serve so constantly, save you."


text:
 To forestall any tampering, the king sealed with his own ring and the rings of the lords the stone that had been brought to block the opening of the den.


text:
 Then the king returned to his palace for the night; he refused to eat and he dismissed the entertainers. Since sleep was impossible for him,


text:
 As he drew near, he cried out to Daniel sorrowfully, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has the God whom you serve so constantly been able to save you from the lions?"


text:
 My God has sent his angel and closed the lions' mouths so that they have not hurt me. For I have been found innocent before him; neither to you have I done any harm, O king!"


text:
 This gave the king great joy. At his order Daniel was removed from the den, unhurt because he trusted in his God.


text:
 The king then ordered the men who had accused Daniel, along with their children and their wives, to be cast into the lions' den. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.


text:
 Then King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language, wherever they dwell on the earth: "All peace to you!


text:
 I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared: "For he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be without end.


text:
 He is a deliverer and savior, working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, and he delivered Daniel from the lions' power."


text:
 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream as he lay in bed, and was terrified by the visions of his mind. Then he wrote down the dream; the account began:


text:
 The first was like a lion, but with eagle's wings. While I watched, the wings were plucked; it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet like a man, and given a human mind.


text:
 The second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side, and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks. It was given the order, "Up, devour much flesh."


text:
 After this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard; on its back were four wings like those of a bird, and it had four heads. To this beast dominion was given.


text:
 After this, in the visions of the night I saw the fourth beast, different from all the others, terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength; it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed, and what was left it trampled with its feet.


text:
 I was considering the ten horns it had, when suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst, and three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it. This horn had eyes like a man, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.


text:
 As I watched, Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was snow bright, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.


text:
 A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.


text:
 I watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words which the horn spoke, until the beast was slain and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.


text:
 The other beasts, which also lost their dominion, were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season.


text:
 As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him,


text:
 He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.


text:
 I, Daniel, found my spirit anguished within its sheath of flesh, and I was terrified by the visions of my mind.


text:
 I approached one of those present and asked him what all this meant in truth; in answer, he made known to me the meaning of the things:


text:
 But I wished to make certain about the fourth beast, so very terrible and different from the others, devouring and crushing with its iron teeth and bronze claws, and trampling with its feet what was left;


text:
 about the ten horns on its head, and the other one that sprang up, before which three horns fell; about the horn with the eyes and the mouth that spoke arrogantly, which appeared greater than its fellows.


text:
 until the Ancient One arrived; judgment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones possessed the kingdom.


text:
 He answered me thus: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others; It shall devour the whole earth, beat it down, and crush it.


text:
 The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, Different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings.


text:
 He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two years, and a half-year.


text:
 Then the kingship and dominion and majesty of all the kingdoms under the heavens shall be given to the holy people of the Most High, Whose kingdom shall be everlasting: all dominions shall serve and obey him."


text:
 The report concluded: I, Daniel, was greatly terrified by my thoughts, and my face blanched, but I kept the matter to myself.


text:
 After this first vision, I, Daniel, had another, in the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar.


text:
 In my vision I saw myself in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam; I was beside the river Ulai.


text:
 I looked up and saw standing by the river a ram with two great horns, the one larger and newer than the other.


text:
 I saw the ram butting toward the west, north, and south. No beast could withstand it or be rescued from its power; it did what it pleased and became very powerful.


text:
 As I was reflecting, a he-goat with a prominent horn on its forehead suddenly came from the west across the whole earth without touching the ground.


text:
 It approached the two-horned ram I had seen standing by the river, and rushed toward it with savage force.


text:
 I saw it attack the ram with furious blows when they met, and break both its horns. It threw the ram, which had not the force to withstand it, to the ground, and trampled upon it; and no one could rescue it from its power.


text:
 The he-goat became very powerful, but at the height of its power the great horn was shattered, and in its place came up four others, facing the four winds of heaven.


text:
 Out of one of them came a little horn which kept growing toward the south, the east, and the glorious country.


text:
 Its power extended to the host of heaven, so that it cast down to earth some of the host and some of the stars and trampled on them.


text:
 It boasted even against the prince of the host, from whom it removed the daily sacrifice, and whose sanctuary it cast down,


text:
 as well as the host, while sin replaced the daily sacrifice. It cast truth to the ground, and was succeeding in its undertaking.


text:
 I heard a holy one speaking, and another said to whichever one it was that spoke, "How long shall the events of this vision last concerning the daily sacrifice, the desolating sin which is placed there, the sanctuary, and the trampled host?"


text:
 He answered him, "For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be purified."


text:
 When he came near where I was standing, I fell prostrate in terror. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the end time."


text:
 "I will show you," he said, "what is to happen later in the period of wrath; for at the appointed time, there will be an end.


text:
 The four that rose in its place when it was broken are four kingdoms that will issue from his nation, but without his strength.


text:
 "After their reign, when sinners have reached their measure, There shall arise a king, impudent and skilled in intrigue.


text:
 He shall be strong and powerful, bring about fearful ruin, and succeed in his undertaking. He shall destroy powerful peoples;


text:
 his cunning shall be against the holy ones, his treacherous conduct shall succeed. He shall be proud of heart and destroy many by stealth. But when he rises against the prince of princes, he shall be broken without a hand being raised.


text:
 The vision of the evenings and the mornings is true, as spoken; Do you, however, keep this vision undisclosed, because the days are to be many."


text:
 I, Daniel, was weak and ill for some days; then I arose and took care of the king's affairs. But I was appalled at the vision, which I could not understand.


text:
 It was the first year that Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the race of the Medes, reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans;


text:
 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, tried to understand in the Scriptures the counting of the years of which the LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah: that for the ruins of Jerusalem seventy years must be fulfilled.


text:
 I prayed to the LORD, my God, and confessed, "Ah, Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments!


text:
 We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.


text:
 We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land.


text:
 Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you.


text:
 O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you.


text:
 and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God, to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.


text:
 Because all Israel transgressed your law and went astray, not heeding your voice, the sworn malediction, recorded in the law of Moses, the servant of God, was poured out over us for our sins.


text:
 You carried out the threats you spoke against us and against those who governed us, by bringing upon us in Jerusalem the greatest calamity that has ever occurred under heaven.


text:
 As it is written in the law of Moses, this calamity came full upon us. As we did not appease the LORD, our God, by turning back from our wickedness and recognizing his constancy,


text:
 so the LORD kept watch over the calamity and brought it upon us. You, O LORD, our God, are just in all that you have done, for we did not listen to your voice.


text:
 "Now, O Lord, our God, who led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and made a name for yourself even to this day, we have sinned, we are guilty.


text:
 O Lord, in keeping with all your just deeds, let your anger and your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. On account of our sins and the crimes of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become the reproach of all our neighbors.


text:
 Hear, therefore, O God, the prayer and petition of your servant; and for your own sake, O Lord, let your face shine upon your desolate sanctuary.


text:
 Give ear, O my God, and listen; open your eyes and see our ruins and the city which bears your name. When we present our petition before you, we rely not on our just deeds, but on your great mercy.


text:
 O Lord, hear! O Lord, pardon! O Lord, be attentive and act without delay, for your own sake, O my God, because this city and your people bear your name!"


text:
 I was still occupied with my prayer, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, presenting my petition to the LORD, my God, on behalf of his holy mountain--


text:
 I was still occupied with this prayer, when Gabriel, the one whom I had seen before in vision, came to me in rapid flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.


text:
 When you began your petition, an answer was given which I have come to announce, because you are beloved. Therefore, mark the answer and understand the vision.


text:
 "Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and for your holy city: Then transgression will stop and sin will end, guilt will be expiated, Everlasting justice will be introduced, vision and prophecy ratified, and a most holy will be anointed.


text:
 Know and understand this: From the utterance of the word that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt Until one who is anointed and a leader, there shall be seven weeks. During sixty-two weeks it shall be rebuilt, With streets and trenches, in time of affliction.


text:
 After the sixty-two weeks an anointed shall be cut down when he does not possess the city; And the people of a leader who will come shall destroy the sanctuary. Then the end shall come like a torrent; until the end there shall be war, the desolation that is decreed.


text:
 For one week he shall make a firm compact with the many; Half the week he shall abolish sacrifice and oblation; On the temple wing shall be the horrible abomination until the ruin that is decreed is poured out upon the horror."


text:
 In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel, who had been named Belteshazzar. The revelation was certain: a great war; he understood it from the vision.


text:
 I ate no savory food, I took no meat or wine, and I did not anoint myself at all until the end of the three weeks.


text:
 His body was like chrysolite, his face shown like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and feet looked like burnished bronze, and his voice sounded like the roar of a multitude.


text:
 I alone, Daniel, saw the vision; but great fear seized the men who were with me; they fled and hid themselves, although they did not see the vision.


text:
 So I was left alone, seeing this great vision. No strength remained in me; I turned the color of death and was powerless.


text:
 "Daniel, beloved," he said to me, "understand the words which I am speaking to you; stand up, for my mission now is to you." When he said this to me, I stood up trembling.


text:
 "Fear not, Daniel," he continued; "from the first day you made up your mind to acquire understanding and humble yourself before God, your prayer was heard. Because of it I started out,


text:
 but the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood in my way for twenty-one days, until finally Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kings of Persia,


text:
 and came to make you understand what shall happen to your people in the days to come; for there is yet a vision concerning those days."


text:
 Then something like a man's hand touched my lips; I opened my mouth and said to the one facing me, "My lord, I was seized with pangs at the vision and I was powerless.


text:
 How can my lord's servant speak with you, my lord? For now no strength or even breath is left in me."


text:
 When he spoke to me, I grew strong and said, "Speak, my lord, for you have strengthened me." "Do you know," he asked, "why I have come to you? Soon I must fight the prince of Persia again. When I leave, the prince of Greece will come;


text:
 but I shall tell you what is written in the truthful book. No one supports me against all these except Michael, your prince,


text:
 Now I shall tell you the truth. "Three kings of Persia are yet to come; and a fourth shall acquire the greatest riches of all. Strengthened by his riches, he shall rouse all the kingdom of Greece.


text:
 No sooner shall he appear than his kingdom shall be broken and divided in four directions under heaven; but not among his descendants or in keeping with his mighty rule, for his kingdom shall be torn to pieces and belong to others than they.


text:
 "The king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his princes shall grow stronger still and govern a domain greater than his.


text:
 After some years they shall become allies: the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north in the interest of peace. But her bid for power shall fail: and her line shall not be recognized, and she shall be given up, together with those who brought her, her son and her husband. But later


text:
 a descendant of her line shall succeed to his rank, and shall come against the rampart and enter the stronghold of the king of the north, and conquer them.


text:
 Even their gods, with their molten images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry away as booty into Egypt. For years he shall have nothing to do with the king of the north.


text:
 "But his sons shall prepare and assemble a great armed host, which shall advance like a flood, then withdraw. When it returns and surges around the stronghold,


text:
 the king of the south, provoked, shall go out to fight against the king of the north, whose great host shall make a stand but shall be given into his hand


text:
 and be carried off. In the pride of his heart, he shall lay low tens of thousands, but he shall not triumph.


text:
 For the king of the north shall raise another army, greater than before; after some years he shall attack with this large army and great resources.


text:
 In those times many shall resist the king of the south, and outlaws of your people shall rise up in fulfillment of vision, but they shall fail.


text:
 When the king of the north comes, he shall set up siegeworks and take the fortified city by storm. The power of the south shall not withstand him, and not even his picked troops shall have the strength to resist.


text:
 He shall attack him and do as he pleases, with no one to withstand him. He shall stop in the glorious land, dealing destruction.


text:
 He shall set himself to penetrate the entire strength of his kingdom. He shall conclude an agreement with him and give him a daughter in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but this shall not succeed in his favor.


text:
 He shall turn to the coastland and take many, but a leader shall put an end to his shameful conduct, so that he cannot renew it against him.


text:
 In his stead one shall arise who will send a tax collector through the glorious kingdom, but he shall soon be destroyed, though not in conflict or in battle.


text:
 "There shall rise in his place a despicable person, to whom the royal insignia shall not be given. By stealth and fraud he shall seize the kingdom.


text:
 Armed might shall be completely overwhelmed by him and crushed, and even the prince of the covenant.


text:
 By stealth he shall enter prosperous provinces and do that which his fathers or grandfathers never did; he shall distribute spoil, booty, and riches among them and devise plots against their strongholds; but only for a time.


text:
 He shall call on his strength and cleverness to meet the king of the south with a great army; the king of the south shall prepare for battle with a very large and strong army, but he shall not succeed because of the plots devised against him.


text:
 Even his table companions shall seek to destroy him, his army shall be overwhelmed, and many shall fall slain.


text:
 The two kings, resolved on evil, shall sit at table together and exchange lies, but they shall have no success, because the appointed end is not yet.


text:
 "He shall turn back toward his land with great riches, his mind set against the holy covenant; he shall arrange matters and return to his land.


text:
 When ships of the Kittim confront him, he shall lose heart and retreat. Then he shall direct his rage and energy against the holy covenant; those who forsake it he shall once more single out.


text:
 Armed forces shall move at his command and defile the sanctuary stronghold, abolishing the daily sacrifice and setting up the horrible abomination.


text:
 By his deceit he shall make some who were disloyal to the covenant apostatize; but those who remain loyal to their God shall take strong action.


text:
 The nation's wise men shall instruct the many; though for a time they will become victims of the sword, of flames, exile, and plunder.


text:
 Of the wise men, some shall fall, so that the rest may be tested, refined, and purified, until the end time which is still appointed to come.


text:
 "The king shall do as he pleases, exalting himself and making himself greater than any god; he shall utter dreadful blasphemies against the God of gods. He shall prosper only till divine wrath is ready, for what is determined must take place.


text:
 He shall have no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one in whom women delight; for no god shall he have regard, because he shall make himself greater than all.


text:
 Instead, he shall give glory to the god of strongholds; a god unknown to his fathers he shall glorify with gold, silver, precious stones, and other treasures.


text:
 To defend the strongholds he shall station a people of a foreign god. Whoever acknowledges him he shall provide with abundant honor; he shall make them rule over the many and distribute the land as a reward.


text:
 "At the appointed time the king of the south shall come to grips with him, but the king of the north shall overwhelm him with chariots and horsemen and a great fleet, passing through the countries like a flood.


text:
 He shall enter the glorious land and many shall fall, except Edom, Moab, and the chief part of Ammon, which shall escape from his power.


text:
 He shall control the riches of gold and silver and all the treasures of Egypt; Libya and Ethiopia shall be in his train.


text:
 When news from the east and the north terrifies him, he shall set out with great fury to slay and to doom many.


text:
 He shall pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the sea and the glorious holy mountain, but he shall come to his end with none to help him.


text:
 "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; It shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book.


text:
 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.


text:
 But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, And those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.


text:
 "As for you, Daniel, keep secret the message and seal the book until the end time; many shall fall away and evil shall increase."


text:
 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was upstream, "How long shall it be to the end of these appalling things?"


text:
 The man clothed in linen, who was upstream, lifted his right and left hands to heaven; and I heard him swear by him who lives forever that it should be for a year, two years, a half-year; and that, when the power of the destroyer of the holy people was brought to an end, all these things should end.


text:
 Many shall be refined, purified, and tested, but the wicked shall prove wicked; none of them shall have understanding, but the wise shall have it.


text:
 From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the horrible abomination is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.


text:
 Blessed is the man who has patience and perseveres until the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.


text:
 Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all.


text:
 That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."


text:
 They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments.


text:
 One day they said to each other, "Let us be off for home, it is time for lunch." So they went out and parted;


text:
 but both turned back, and when they met again, they asked each other the reason. They admitted their lust, and then they agreed to look for an occasion when they could meet her alone.


text:
 One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.


text:
 They did as she said; they shut the garden doors and left by the side gate to fetch what she had ordered, unaware that the elders were hidden inside.


text:
 "Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us.


text:
 If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."


text:
 "I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned. "If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.


text:
 When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.


text:
 At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.


text:
 When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered:


text:
 was veiled; but those wicked men ordered her to uncover her face so as to sate themselves with her beauty.


text:
 The elders made this accusation: "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.


text:
 We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off.


text:
 but she refused to tell us. We testify to this." The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.


text:
 But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be:


text:
 you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me."


text:
 He stood in their midst and continued, "Are you such fools, O Israelites! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence?


text:
 Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age."


text:
 After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term:


text:
 passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, "The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'


text:
 "Under a mastic tree," he answered. "Your fine lie has cost you your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two."


text:
 Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah," Daniel said to him, "beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.


text:
 This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.


text:
 "Under an oak," he said. "Your fine lie has cost you also your head," said Daniel; "for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both."


text:
 They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:


text:
 Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, as did Joakim her husband and all her relatives, because she was found innocent of any shameful deed.


text:
 The Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it six barrels of fine flour, forty sheep, and six measures of wine.


text:
 When the king asked him, "Why do you not adore Bel?" Daniel replied, "Because I worship not idols made with hands, but only the living God who made heaven and earth and has dominion over all mankind."


text:
 Then the king continued, "You do not think Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?"


text:
 Daniel began to laugh. "Do not be deceived, O king," he said; "it is only clay inside and bronze outside; it has never taken any food or drink."


text:
 Enraged, the king called his priests and said to them, "Unless you tell me who it is that consumes these provisions, you shall die.


text:
 But if you can show that Bel consumes them, Daniel shall die for blaspheming Bel." Daniel said to the king, "Let it be as you say!"


text:
 There were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. When the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel,


text:
 the priests of Bel said, "See, we are going to leave. Do you, O king, set out the food and prepare the wine; then shut the door and seal it with your ring.


text:
 If you do not find that Bel has eaten it all when you return in the morning, we are to die; otherwise Daniel shall die for his lies against us."


text:
 They were not perturbed, because under the table they had made a secret entrance through which they always came in to consume the food.


text:
 After they departed the king set the food before Bel, while Daniel ordered his servants to bring some ashes, which they scattered through the whole temple; the king alone was present. Then they went outside, sealed the closed door with the king's ring, and departed.


text:
 The priests entered that night as usual, with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything.


text:
 As soon as he had opened the door, the king looked at the table and cried aloud, "Great you are, O Bel; there is no trickery in you."


text:
 But Daniel laughed and kept the king from entering. "Look at the floor," he said; "whose footprints are these?"


text:
 The angry king arrested the priests, their wives, and their children. They showed him the secret door by which they used to enter to consume what was on the table.


text:
 Give me permission, O king, and I will kill this dragon without sword or club." "I give you permission," the king said.


text:
 Then Daniel took some pitch, fat, and hair; these he boiled together and made into cakes. He put them into the mouth of the dragon, and when the dragon ate them, he burst asunder. "This," he said, "is what you worshiped."


text:
 When the Babylonians heard this, they were angry and turned against the king. "The king has become a Jew," they said; "he has destroyed Bel, killed the dragon, and put the priests to death."


text:
 In the den were seven lions, and two carcasses and two sheep had been given to them daily. But now they were given nothing, so that they would devour Daniel.


text:
 In Judea there was a prophet, Habakkuk; he mixed some bread in a bowl with the stew he had boiled, and was going to bring it to the reapers in the field,


text:
 when an angel of the Lord told him, "Take the lunch you have to Daniel in the lions' den at Babylon."


text:
 The angel of the Lord seized him by the crown of his head and carried him by the hair; with the speed of the wind, he set him down in Babylon above the den.


text:
 On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. As he came to the den and looked in, there was Daniel, sitting there!


text:
 The king cried aloud, "You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!"


text:
 Daniel he took out, but those who had tried to destroy him he threw into the den, and they were devoured in a moment before his eyes.


text:
 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.


text:
 In the beginning of the LORD'S speaking to Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: Go, take a harlot wife and harlot's children, for the land gives itself to harlotry, turning away from the LORD.


text:
 Then the LORD said to him: Give him the name Jezreel, for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed at Jezreel And bring to an end the kingdom of the house of Israel;


text:
 When she conceived again and bore a daughter, the LORD said to him: Give her the name Lo-ruhama; I no longer feel pity for the house of Israel: rather, I abhor them utterly.


text:
 Yet for the house of Judah I feel pity; I will save them by the LORD, their God; But I will not save them by war, by sword or bow, by horses or horsemen.


text:
 Then the LORD said: Give him the name Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.


text:
 The number of the Israelites shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor counted. Whereas they were called, "Lo-ammi," They shall be called, "Children of the living God."


text:
 Then the people of Judah and of Israel shall be gathered together; They shall appoint for themselves one head and come up from other lands, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.


text:
 Protest against your mother, protest! for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove her harlotry from before her, her adultery from between her breasts,


text:
 Or I will strip her naked, leaving her as on the day of her birth; I will make her like the desert, reduce her to an arid land, and slay her with thirst.


text:
 Yes, their mother has played the harlot; she that conceived them has acted shamefully. "I will go after my lovers," she said, "who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink."


text:
 Therefore, I will hedge in her way with thorns and erect a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.


text:
 If she runs after her lovers, she shall not overtake them; if she looks for them she shall not find them. Then she shall say, "I will go back to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now."


text:
 Since she has not known that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, And her abundance of silver, and of gold, which they used for Baal,


text:
 Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; I will snatch away my wool and my flax, with which she covers her nakedness.


text:
 So now I will lay bare her shame before the eyes of her lovers, and no one can deliver her out of my hand.


text:
 I will bring an end to all her joy, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her solemnities.


text:
 I will lay waste her vines and fig trees, of which she said, "These are the hire my lovers have given me"; I will turn them into rank growth and wild beasts shall devour them.


text:
 I will punish her for the days of the Baals, for whom she burnt incense While she decked herself out with her rings and her jewels, and, in going after her lovers, forgot me, says the LORD.


text:
 From there I will give her the vineyards she had, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt.


text:
 I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, and with the things that crawl on the ground. Bow and sword and war I will destroy from the land, and I will let them take their rest in security.


text:
 I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy;


text:
 On that day I will respond, says the LORD; I will respond to the heavens, and they shall respond to the earth;


text:
 I will sow him for myself in the land, and I will have pity on Lo-ruhama. I will say to Lo-ammi, "You are my people," and he shall say, "My God!"


text:
 Again the LORD said to me: Give your love to a woman beloved of a paramour, an adultress; Even as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and are fond of raisin cakes.


text:
 Then I said to her: "Many days you shall wait for me; you shall not play the harlot Or belong to any man; I in turn will wait for you."


text:
 For the people of Israel shall remain many days without king or prince, Without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or household idols.


text:
 Then the people of Israel shall turn back and seek the LORD, their God, and David, their king; They shall come trembling to the LORD and to his bounty, in the last days.


text:
 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel, for the LORD has a grievance against the inhabitants of the land: There is no fidelity, no mercy, no knowledge of God in the land.


text:
 False swearing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery! in their lawlessness, bloodshed follows bloodshed.


text:
 Therefore the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of the sea perish.


text:
 You shall stumble in the day, and the prophets shall stumble with you at night; I will destroy your mother.


text:
 My people perish for want of knowledge! Since you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from my priesthood; Since you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your sons.


text:
 The priests shall fare no better than the people: I will punish them for their ways, and repay them for their deeds.


text:
 They shall eat but not be satisfied, they shall play the harlot but not increase, Because they have abandoned the LORD


text:
 They consult their piece of wood, and their wand makes pronouncements for them, For the spirit of harlotry has led them astray; they commit harlotry, forsaking their God.


text:
 On the mountaintops they offer sacrifice and on the hills they burn incense, Beneath oak and poplar and terebinth, because of their pleasant shade. That is why your daughters play the harlot, and your daughters-in-law are adulteresses.


text:
 Am I then to punish your daughters for their harlotry, your daughters-in-law for their adultery? You yourselves consort with harlots, and with prostitutes you offer sacrifice! So must a people without understanding come to ruin.


text:
 Though you play the harlot, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty! Come not to Gilgal, nor up to Beth-aven, to swear, "As the Lord lives!"


text:
 For Israel is as stubborn as a heifer; will the LORD now give them broad pastures as though they were lambs?


text:
 When their carousing is over, they give themselves to harlotry; in their arrogance they love shame.


text:
 Hear this, O priests, Pay attention, O house of Israel, O household of the king, give ear! It is you who are called to judgment. For you have become a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.


text:
 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; Now Ephraim has played the harlot, Israel is defiled.


text:
 Their deeds do not allow them to return to their God; For the spirit of harlotry is in them, and they do not recognize the LORD.


text:
 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him; Ephraim stumbles in his guilt, and Judah stumbles with them.


text:
 With their flocks and their herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they shall not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.


text:
 They have been untrue to the LORD, for they have begotten illegitimate children; Now shall the new moon devour them together with their fields.


text:
 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah! Sound the alarm in Beth-aven: "Look behind you, O Benjamin!"


text:
 Ephraim shall become a waste on the day of chastisement: Against the tribes of Israel I announce what is sure to be.


text:
 The princes of Judah have become like those that move a boundary line; Upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.


text:
 When Ephraim saw his infirmity, and Judah his sore, Ephraim went to Assyria, and Judah sent to the great king. But he cannot heal you nor take away your sore.


text:
 For I am like a lion to Ephraim, like a young lion to the house of Judah; It is I who rend the prey and depart, I carry it away and no one can save it from me.


text:
 In their affliction, they shall look for me: "Come, let us return to the LORD, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.


text:
 Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth."


text:
 What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away.


text:
 As brigands ambush a man, a band of priests slay on the way to Shechem, committing monstrous crime.


text:
 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there harlotry is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.


text:
 When I would bring about the restoration of my people, when I would heal Israel, The guilt of Ephraim stands out, the wickedness of Samaria; They practice falsehood, thieves break in, bandits plunder abroad.


text:
 Yet they do not remind themselves that I remember all their wickedness. Even now their crimes surround them, present to my sight.


text:
 They are all kindled to wrath like a blazing oven, Whose fire the baker desists from stirring once the dough is kneaded until it has risen.


text:
 On the day of our king, the princes are overcome with the heat of wine. He extends his hand among dissemblers;


text:
 the plotters approach with hearts like ovens. All the night their anger sleeps; in the morning it flares like a blazing fire.


text:
 They are all heated like ovens, and consume their rulers. All their kings have fallen; none of them calls upon me.


text:
 Strangers have sapped his strength, but he takes no notice of it; Of gray hairs, too, there is a sprinkling, but he takes no notice of it.


text:
 The arrogance of Israel bears witness against him; yet they do not return to the LORD, their God, nor seek him, for all that.


text:
 Even as they go I will spread my net around them, like birds in the air I will bring them down. In an instant I will send them captive from their land.


text:
 Woe to them, they have strayed from me! Ruin to them, they have sinned against me! Though I wished to redeem them, they spoke lies against me.


text:
 They have not cried to me from their hearts when they wailed upon their beds; For wheat and wine they lacerated themselves, while they rebelled against me.


text:
 They have again become useless, like a treacherous bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongues; thus they shall be mocked in the land of Egypt.


text:
 A trumpet to your lips, You who watch over the house of the LORD! Since they have violated my covenant, and sinned against my law,


text:
 They made kings, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my approval. With their silver and gold they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction.


text:
 Cast away your calf, O Samaria! my wrath is kindled against them; How long will they be unable to attain innocence in Israel?


text:
 When they sow the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind; The stalk of grain that forms no ear can yield no flour; Even if it could, strangers would swallow it.


text:
 Even though they bargain with the nations, I will now gather an army; King and princes shall shortly succumb under the burden.


text:
 Though they offer sacrifice, immolate flesh and eat it, the LORD is not pleased with them. He shall still remember their guilt and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.


text:
 Israel has forgotten his maker and built palaces. Judah, too, has fortified many cities, but I will send fire upon his cities, to devour their castles.


text:
 Rejoice not, O Israel, exult not like the nations! For you have been unfaithful to your God, loving a harlot's hire upon every threshing floor.


text:
 They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.


text:
 They shall not pour libations of wine to the LORD, or proffer their sacrifices before him. Theirs will be like mourners' bread, that makes unclean all who eat of it; Such food as they have shall be for themselves; it cannot enter the house of the LORD.


text:
 When they go from the ruins, Egypt shall gather them in, Memphis shall bury them. Weeds shall overgrow their silver treasures, and thorns invade their tents.


text:
 They have come, the days of punishment! they have come, the days of recompense! Let Israel know it! "The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!" Because your iniquity is great, great, too, is your hostility.


text:
 A prophet is Ephraim's watchman with God, yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, hostility in the house of his God.


text:
 They have sunk to the depths of corruption, as in the days of Gibeah; He shall remember their iniquity and punish their sins.


text:
 Like grapes in the desert, I found Israel; Like the first fruits of the fig tree in its prime, I considered your fathers. When they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the Shame, they became as abhorrent as the thing they loved.


text:
 The glory of Ephraim flies away like a bird: no birth, no carrying in the womb, no conception. Were they to bear children, I would slay the darlings of their womb.


text:
 Even though they bring up their children, I will make them childless, till not one is left. Woe to them when I turn away from them!


text:
 Ephraim, as I saw, was like Tyre, planted in a beauteous spot; But Ephraim shall bring out his children to the slayer.


text:
 All their wickedness is in Gilgal; yes, there they incurred my hatred. Because of their wicked deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no longer; all their princes are rebels.


text:
 My God will disown them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.


text:
 Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth. The more abundant his fruit, the more altars he built; The more productive his land, the more sacred pillars he set up.


text:
 Their heart is false, now they pay for their guilt; God shall break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars.


text:
 If they would say, "We have no king"-- Since they do not fear the LORD, what can the king do for them?


text:
 Nothing but make promises, swear false oaths, and make alliances, While justice grows wild like wormwood in a plowed field!


text:
 The inhabitants of Samaria fear for the calf of Beth-aven; The people mourn for it and its priests wail over it, because the glory has departed from it.


text:
 It too shall be carried to Assyria, as an offering to the great king. Ephraim shall be taken into captivity, Israel be shamed by his schemes.


text:
 The high places of Aven shall be destroyed, the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars. Then they shall cry out to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall upon us!"


text:
 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel. There they took their stand; war was not to reach them in Gibeah.


text:
 Against the wanton people I came and I chastised them; I gathered troops against them when I chastised them for their two crimes.


text:
 Ephraim was a trained heifer, willing to thresh; I myself laid a yoke upon her fair neck; Ephraim was to be harnessed, Judah was to plow, Jacob was to break his furrows:


text:
 "Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; Break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain down justice upon you."


text:
 But you have cultivated wickedness, reaped perversity, and eaten the fruit of falsehood. Because you have trusted in your chariots, and in your many warriors,


text:
 Turmoil shall break out among your tribes and all your fortresses shall be ravaged As Salman ravaged Beth-arbel in time of war, smashing mothers and their children.


text:
 So shall it be done to you, Bethel, because of your utter wickedness: At dawn the king of Israel shall perish utterly.


text:
 The more I called them, the farther they went from me, Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.


text:
 I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.


text:
 The sword shall begin with his cities and end by consuming his solitudes. Because they refused to repent, their own counsels shall devour them.


text:
 His people are in suspense about returning to him; and God, though in unison they cry out to him, shall not raise them up.


text:
 How could I give you up, O Ephraim, or deliver you up, O Israel? How could I treat you as Admah, or make you like Zeboiim? My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred.


text:
 I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.


text:
 They shall follow the LORD, who roars like a lion; When he roars, his sons shall come frightened from the west,


text:
 Out of Egypt they shall come trembling, like sparrows, from the land of Assyria, like doves; And I will resettle them in their homes, says the LORD.


text:
 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel, with deceit; Judah is still rebellious against God, against the Holy One, who is faithful.


text:
 Ephraim chases the wind, ever pursuing the gale. His lies and falsehoods are many: he comes to terms with Assyria, and carries oil to Egypt.


text:
 The LORD has a grievance against Israel: he shall punish Jacob for his conduct, for his deeds he shall repay him.


text:
 He contended with the angel and triumphed, entreating him with tears. At Bethel he met God and there he spoke with him:


text:
 You shall return by the help of your God, if you remain loyal and do right and always hope in your God.


text:
 Though Ephraim says, "How rich I have become; I have made a fortune!" All his gain shall not suffice him for the guilt of his sin.


text:
 I am the LORD, your God, since the land of Egypt; I will again have you live in tents, as in that appointed time.


text:
 In Gilead is falsehood, they have come to nought, in Gilgal they sacrifice to bullocks; Their altars are like heaps of stones in the furrows of the field.


text:
 Ephraim has exasperated his lord; therefore he shall cast his blood-guilt upon him and repay him for his outrage.


text:
 Now they continue to sin, making for themselves molten images, Silver idols according to their fancy, all of them the work of artisans. "To these," they say, "offer sacrifice." Men kiss calves!


text:
 Therefore, they shall be like a morning cloud or like the dew that early passes away, Like chaff storm-driven from the threshing floor or like smoke out of the window.


text:
 I am the LORD, your God, since the land of Egypt; You know no God besides me, and there is no savior but me.


text:
 I will attack them like a bear robbed of its young, and tear their hearts from their breasts; I will devour them on the spot like a lion, as though a wild beast were to rend them.


text:
 Where now is your king, that he may rescue you in all your cities? And your rulers, of whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"?


text:
 The birth pangs shall come for him, but he shall be an unwise child; For when it is time he shall not present himself where children break forth.


text:
 Shall I deliver them from the power of the nether world? shall I redeem them from death? Where are your plagues, O death! where is your sting, O nether world! My eyes are closed to compassion.


text:
 Though he be fruitful among his fellows, an east wind shall come, a wind from the LORD, rising from the desert, That shall dry up his spring, and leave his fountain dry. It shall loot his land of every precious thing.


text:
 Samaria shall expiate her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, their little ones shall be dashed to pieces, their expectant mothers shall be ripped open.


text:
 Take with you words, and return to the LORD; Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.


text:
 Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."


text:
 I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,


text:
 and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.


text:
 Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blossom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.


text:
 Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. "I am like a verdant cypress tree"-- Because of me you bear fruit!


text:
 Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.


text:
 Hear this, you elders! Pay attention, all you who dwell in the land! Has the like of this happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?


text:
 Tell it to your children, and your children to their children, and their children to the next generation.


text:
 What the cutter left, the locust swarm has eaten; What the locust swarm left, the grasshopper has eaten; And what the grasshopper left, the devourer has eaten.


text:
 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because the juice of the grape will be withheld from your mouths.


text:
 For a people has invaded my land, mighty and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and his molars those of a lioness.


text:
 He has laid waste my vine, and blighted my fig tree; He has stripped it, sheared off its bark; its branches are made white.


text:
 Abolished are offering and libation from the house of the LORD; In mourning are the priests, the ministers of the LORD.


text:
 The field is ravaged, the earth mourns, Because the grain is ravaged, the must has failed, the oil languishes.


text:
 Be appalled, you husbandmen! wail, you vinedressers! Over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.


text:
 The vine has dried up, the fig tree is withered; The pomegranate, the date palm also, and the apple, all the trees of the field are dried up; Yes, joy has withered away from among mankind.


text:
 Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! The house of your God is deprived of offering and libation.


text:
 Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, Into the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD!


text:
 From before our very eyes has not the food been cut off; And from the house of our God, joy and gladness?


text:
 The seed lies shriveled under its clods; the stores are destroyed, The barns are broken down, for the grain has failed.


text:
 How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered! Because they have no pasturage, even the flocks of sheep have perished.


text:
 To you, O LORD, I cry! for fire has devoured the pastures of the plain, and flame has enkindled all the trees of the field.


text:
 Even the beasts of the field cry out to you; For the streams of water are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the plain.


text:
 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming;


text:
 Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a people numerous and mighty! Their like has not been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of distant generations.


text:
 Before them a fire devours, and after them a flame enkindles; Like the garden of Eden is the land before them, and after them a desert waste; from them there is no escape.


text:
 As with the rumble of chariots they leap on the mountaintops; As with the crackling of a fiery flame devouring stubble; Like a mighty people arrayed for battle.


text:
 Like warriors they run, like soldiers they scale the wall; They advance, each in his own lane, without swerving from their paths.


text:
 No one crowds another, each advances in his own track; Though they fall into the ditches, they are not checked.


text:
 They assault the city, they run upon the wall, they climb into the houses; In at the windows they come like thieves.


text:
 Before them the earth trembles, the heavens shake; The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness.


text:
 The LORD raises his voice at the head of his army; For immense indeed is his camp, yes, mighty, and it does his bidding. For great is the day of the LORD, and exceedingly terrible; who can bear it?


text:
 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;


text:
 Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.


text:
 Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God.


text:
 Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; Let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber.


text:
 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"


text:
 The LORD answered and said to his people: See, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them; No more will I make you a reproach among the nations.


text:
 No, the northerner I will remove far from you, and drive him out into a land arid and waste, With his van toward the eastern sea, and his rear toward the western sea; And his foulness shall go up, and his stench shall go up.


text:
 Fear not, beasts of the field! for the pastures of the plain are green; The tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vine give their yield.


text:
 And do you, O children of Zion, exult and rejoice in the LORD, your God! He has given you the teacher of justice: he has made the rain come down for you, the early and the late rain as before.


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 And I will repay you for the years which the locust has eaten, The grasshopper, the devourer, and the cutter, my great army which I sent among you.


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 You shall eat and be filled, and shall praise the name of the LORD, your God, Because he has dealt wondrously with you; my people shall nevermore be put to shame.


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 And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel; I am the LORD, your God, and there is no other; my people shall nevermore be put to shame.


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 Then afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;


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 The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, At the coming of the Day of the LORD, the great and terrible day.


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 Then everyone shall be rescued who calls on the name of the LORD; For on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant, as the LORD has said, And in Jerusalem survivors whom the LORD shall call.


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 I will assemble all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, And I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of my people and my inheritance, Israel; Because they have scattered them among the nations, and divided my land.


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 Over my people they have cast lots; they gave a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for the wine they drank.


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 Moreover, what are you to me, Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Would you take vengeance upon me by some action? But if you do take action against me, swiftly, speedily, I will return your deed upon your own head.


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 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their own country!


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 See, I will rouse them from the place into which you have sold them, and I will return your deed upon your own head.


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 I will sell your sons and your daughters to the people of Judah, who shall sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far off. Indeed, the LORD has spoken.


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 Declare this among the nations: proclaim a war, rouse the warriors to arms! Let all the soldiers report and march!


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 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak man say, "I am a warrior!"


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 Let the nations bestir themselves and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit in judgment upon all the neighboring nations.


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 Apply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; Come and tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for great is their malice.


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 Crowd upon crowd in the valley of decision; For near is the day of the LORD in the valley of decision.


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 The LORD roars from Zion, and from Jerusalem raises his voice; The heavens and the earth quake, but the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the men of Israel.


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 Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain; Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass through her no more.


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 And then, on that day, the mountains shall drip new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; And the channels of Judah shall flow with water: A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD, to water the Valley of Shittim.


text:
 Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a desert waste, Because of violence done to the people of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land.


text:
 The words of Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, which he received in vision concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake:


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 The LORD will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem raise his voice: The pastures of the shepherds will languish, and the summit of Carmel wither.


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron,


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 I will break the bar of Damascus; I will root out those who live in the Valley of Aven, And the sceptered ruler of Beth-eden; the people of Aram shall be exiled to Kir, says the LORD.


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they took captive whole groups to hand over to Edom,


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 I will root out those who live in Ashdod, and the sceptered ruler of Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the last of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord God.


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Tyre, and for four I will not revoke my word; Because they delivered whole groups captive to Edom, and did not remember the pact of brotherhood,


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because he pursued his brother with the sword, choking up all pity; Because he persisted in his anger and kept his wrath to the end,


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they ripped open expectant mothers in Gilead, while extending their territory,


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 I will kindle a fire upon the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour her castles Amid clamor on the day of battle and stormwind in a time of tempest.


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom's king,


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 I will send fire upon Moab, to devour the castles of Kerioth; Moab shall meet death amid uproar and shouts and trumpet blasts.


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they spurned the law of the LORD, and did not keep his statutes; Because the lies which their fathers followed have led them astray,


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 Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals.


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 They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way. Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name.


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 Upon garments taken in pledge they recline beside any altar; And the wine of those who have been fined they drink in the house of their god.


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 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as tall as the cedars, and as strong as the oak trees. I destroyed their fruit above, and their roots beneath.


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 It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and who led you through the desert for forty years, to occupy the land of the Amorites:


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 I who raised up prophets among your sons, and nazirites among your young men. Is this not so, O men of Israel? says the LORD.


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 Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength; The warrior shall not save his life,


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 nor the bowman stand his ground; The swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life.


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 Hear this word, O men of Israel, that the LORD pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:


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 You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes.


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 Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from its den unless it has seized something?


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 Is a bird brought to earth by a snare when there is no lure for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground without catching anything?


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 If the trumpet sounds in a city, will the people not be frightened? If evil befalls a city, has not the LORD caused it?


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 Proclaim this in the castles of Ashdod, in the castles of the land of Egypt: "Gather about the mountain of Samaria, and see the great disorders within her, the oppression in her midst."


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 For they know not how to do what is right, says the LORD, Storing up in their castles what they have extorted and robbed.


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 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: An enemy shall surround the land, and strip you of your strength, and pillage your castles,


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 Thus says the LORD: As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a pair of legs or the tip of an ear of his sheep, So the Israelites who dwell in Samaria shall escape with the corner of a couch or a piece of a cot.


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 On the day when I punish Israel for his crimes, I will visit also the altars of Bethel: The horns of the altar shall be broken off and fall to the ground.


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 Then will I strike the winter house and the summer house; The ivory apartments shall be ruined, and their many rooms shall be no more, says the LORD.


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 Hear this word, women of the mountain of Samaria, you cows of Bashan, You who oppress the weak and abuse the needy; Who say to your lords, "Bring drink for us!"


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 The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness: Truly the days are coming upon you When they shall drag you away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks;


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 You shall go out through the breached walls each by the most direct way, And you shall be cast into the mire, says the LORD.


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 Come to Bethel and sin, to Gilgal, and sin the more; Each morning bring your sacrifices, every third day, your tithes;


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 Burn leavened food as a thanksgiving sacrifice, proclaim publicly your freewill offerings, For so you love to do, O men of Israel, says the Lord GOD.


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 Though I have made your teeth clean of food in all your cities, and have made bread scarce in all your dwellings, Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD.


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 Though I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was still three months away; I sent rain upon one city but not upon another; One field was watered by rain, but another without rain dried up;


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 Though two or three cities staggered to one city for water that did not quench their thirst; Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD.


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 I struck you with blight and searing wind; your many gardens and vineyards, your fig trees and olive trees the locust devoured; Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD.


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 I sent upon you a pestilence like that of Egypt, and with the sword I slew your young men; Your horses I let be captured, to your nostrils I brought the stench of your camps; Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD.


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 I brought upon you such upheaval as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: you were like a brand plucked from the fire; Yet you returned not to me, says the LORD.


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 So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel! and since I will deal thus with you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel:


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 Him who formed the mountains, and created the wind, and declares to man his thoughts; Who made the dawn and the darkness, and strides upon the heights of the earth: The LORD, the God of hosts by name.


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 She is fallen, to rise no more, the virgin Israel; She lies abandoned upon her land, with no one to raise her up.


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 For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that marched out with a thousand shall be left without a hundred, Another that marched out with a hundred shall be left with ten, of the house of Israel.


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 but do not seek Bethel; Do not come to Gilgal, and do not cross to Beer-sheba. For Gilgal shall be led into exile, and Bethel shall become nought.


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 Seek the LORD, that you may live, lest he come upon the house of Joseph like a fire That shall consume, with none to quench it for the house of Israel:


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 He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn, and darkens day into night; Who summons the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the surface of the earth;


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 Therefore, because you have trampled upon the weak and exacted of them levies of grain, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, you shall not live in them! Though you have planted choice vineyards, you shall not drink their wine!


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 Yes, I know how many are your crimes, how grievous your sins: Oppressing the just, accepting bribes, repelling the needy at the gate!


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 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts, be with you as you claim!


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 Hate evil and love good, and let justice prevail at the gate; Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.


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 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In every square there shall be lamentation, and in every street they shall cry, Alas! Alas! They shall summon the farmers to wail and professional mourners to lament,


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 Woe to those who yearn for the day of the LORD! What will this day of the LORD mean for you? Darkness and not light!


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 As if a man went to flee from a lion, and a bear should meet him; Or as if on entering his house he were to rest his hand against the wall, and a snake should bite him.


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 Away with your noisy songs! I will not listen to the melodies of your harps. But if you would offer me holocausts,


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 You will carry away Sakkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your star god, the images that you have made for yourselves;


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 Woe to the complacent in Zion, to the overconfident on the mount of Samaria, Leaders of a nation favored from the first, to whom the people of Israel have recourse!


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 Pass over to Calneh and see, go from there to Hamath the great, and down to Gath of the Philistines! Are you better than these kingdoms, or is your territory wider than theirs?


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 Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, They eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall!


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 They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!


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 Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.


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 The Lord GOD has sworn by his very self, say I, the LORD, the God of hosts: I abhor the pride of Jacob, I hate his castles, and I give over the city with everything in it;


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 Only a few shall be left to carry the dead out of the houses; If one says to a man inside a house, "Is anyone with you?" and he answers, "No one," Then he shall say, "Silence!" for no one must mention the name of the LORD.


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 Indeed, the LORD has given the command to shatter the great house to bits, and reduce the small house to rubble.


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 Can horses run across a cliff? or can one plow the sea with oxen? Yet you have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of justice into wormwood.


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 Beware, I am raising up against you, O house of Israel, say I, the LORD, the God of hosts, A nation that shall oppress you from Labo of Hamath even to the Wadi Arabah.


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 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was forming a locust swarm when the late growth began to come up (the late growth after the king's mowing).


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 While they were eating all the grass in the land, I said: Forgive, O Lord GOD! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!


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 Then the Lord GOD showed me this: he called for a judgment by fire. It had devoured the great abyss, and was consuming the land,


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 The LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" And when I answered, "A plummet," the Lord said: See, I will lay the plummet in the midst of my people Israel; I will forgive them no longer.


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 The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste, and the sanctuaries of Israel made desolate; I will attack the house of Jeroboam with the sword.


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 Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: "Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words.


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 For this is what Amos says: Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land."


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 To Amos, Amaziah said: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying,


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 Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.


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 Now hear the word of the LORD!" You say: prophesy not against Israel, preach not against the house of Isaac.


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 Now thus says the LORD: Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city, and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by measuring line, and you yourself shall die in an unclean land; Israel shall be exiled far from its land.


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 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. I answered, "A basket of ripe fruit." Then the LORD said to me: The time is ripe to have done with my people Israel; I will forgive them no longer.


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 The temple songs shall become wailings on that day, says the Lord GOD. Many shall be the corpses, strewn everywhere.-- Silence!


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 "When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!


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 We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"


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 Shall not the land tremble because of this, and all who dwell in it mourn, While it rises up and tosses like the Nile, and settles back like the river of Egypt?


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 On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.


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 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son, and bring their day to a bitter end.


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 Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD.


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 Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.


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 Those who swear by the shameful idol of Samaria, "By the life of your god, O Dan!" "By the life of your love, O Beersheba!" those shall fall, never to rise again.


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 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: Strike the bases, so that the doorjambs totter till you break them off on the heads of them all! Those who are left I will slay with the sword; not one shall flee, no survivor shall escape.


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 Though they break through to the nether world, even from there my hand shall bring them out; Though they climb to the heavens, I will bring them down;


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 Though they hide on the summit of Carmel, there too I will hunt them out and take them away; Though they hide from my gaze in the bottom of the sea, I will command the serpent there to bite them;


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 Though they are led into captivity by their enemies, there will I command the sword to slay them. I will fix my gaze upon them for evil, and not for good,


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 I, the Lord GOD of hosts. I melt the earth with my touch, so that all who dwell on it mourn, While it all rises up like the Nile, and settles back like the river of Egypt;


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 I have built heaven, my upper chamber, and established my vault over the earth; I summon the waters of the sea and pour them upon the surface of the earth, I, the LORD by name.


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 Are you not like the Ethiopians to me, O men of Israel, says the LORD? Did I not bring the Israelites from the land of Egypt As I brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?


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 The eyes of the Lord GOD are on this sinful kingdom; I will destroy it from off the face of the earth. But I will not destroy the house of Jacob completely, says the LORD.


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 For see, I have given the command to sift the house of Israel among all the nations, As one sifts with a sieve, letting no pebble fall to the ground.


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 By the sword shall all sinners among my people die, those who say, "Evil will not reach or overtake us."


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 On that day I will raise up the fallen hut of David; I will wall up its breaches, raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,


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 That they may conquer what is left of Edom and all the nations that shall bear my name, say I, the LORD, who will do this.


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 Yes, days are coming, says the LORD, When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the vintager, him who sows the seed; The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains, and all the hills shall run with it.


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 I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel; they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities, Plant vineyards and drink the wine, set out gardens and eat the fruits.


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 I will plant them upon their own ground; never again shall they be plucked From the land I have given them, say I, the LORD, your God.


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 The vision of Obadiah. (Thus says the Lord GOD:) Of Edom we have heard a message from the LORD, and a herald has been sent among the nations: "Up! let us go to war against him!"


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 The pride of your heart has deceived you: you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose abode is in the heights, Who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to earth?"


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 Though you go as high as the eagle, and your nest be set 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 could you be thus destroyed: would they not steal merely till they had enough? If vintagers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings?


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 To the border they drive you-- all your allies; They deceive you, they overpower you-- those at peace with you; Those who eat your bread lay snares beneath you: There is no understanding in him!


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 Shall I not, says the LORD, on that day make the wise men disappear from Edom, and understanding from the mount of Esau?


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 Because of violence to your brother Jacob, disgrace shall cover you and you shall be destroyed forever.


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 On the day when you stood by, on the day when aliens carried off his possessions, And strangers entered his gates and cast lots over Jerusalem, you too were one of them.


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 Gaze not upon the day of your brother, the day of his disaster; Exult not over the children of Judah on the day of their ruin; Speak not haughtily on the day of distress!


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 Enter not the gate of my people on the day of their calamity; Gaze not, you at least, upon his misfortune on the day of his calamity; Lay not hands upon his possessions on the day of his calamity!


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 For near is the day of the LORD for all the nations! As you have done, so shall it be done to you, your deed shall come back upon your own head;


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 As you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually. Yes, they shall drink and swallow, and shall become as though they had not been.


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 But on Mount Zion there shall be a portion saved; the mountain shall be holy, And the house of Jacob shall take possession of those that dispossessed them.


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 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; The house of Esau shall be stubble, and they shall set them ablaze and devour them; Then none shall survive of the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken.


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 They shall occupy the Negeb, the mount of Esau, and the foothills of the Philistines; And they shall occupy the lands of Ephraim and the lands of Samaria, and Benjamin shall occupy Gilead.


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 The captives of the host of the children of Israel shall occupy the Canaanite land as far as Zarephath, And the captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall occupy the cities of the Negeb.


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 And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to rule the mount of Esau, and the kingship shall be the LORD'S.


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 "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me."


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 But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.


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 The LORD, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea, and in the furious tempest that arose the ship was on the point of breaking up.


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 Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god. To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay there fast asleep.


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 The captain came to him and said, "What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish."


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 Then they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune." So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah.


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 "Tell us," they said, "what is your business? Where do you come from? What is your country, and to what people do you belong?"


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 "I am a Hebrew," Jonah answered them; "I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."


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 Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, "How could you do such a thing!"-- They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them.--


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 "What shall we do with you," they asked, "that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea was growing more and more turbulent.


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 Jonah said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you."


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 Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more turbulent.


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 Then they cried to the LORD: "We beseech you, O LORD, let us not perish for taking this man's life; do not charge us with shedding innocent blood, for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit."


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 But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


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 Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me; From the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice.


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 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me; All your breakers and your billows passed over me.


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 The waters swirled about me, threatening my life; the abyss enveloped me; seaweed clung about my head.


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 Down I went to the roots of the mountains; the bars of the nether world were closing behind me forever, But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD, my God.


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 But I, with resounding praise, will sacrifice to you; What I have vowed I will pay: deliverance is from the LORD.


text:
 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it.


text:
 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"


text:
 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.


text:
 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.


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 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: "Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.


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 Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand.


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 Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish."


text:
 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.


text:
 "I beseech you, LORD," he prayed, "is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish.


text:
 Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city.


text:
 And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant, that grew up over Jonah's head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant.


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 And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah's head till he became faint. Then he asked for death, saying, "I would be better off dead than alive."


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 But God said to Jonah, "Have you reason to be angry over the plant?" "I have reason to be angry," Jonah answered, "angry enough to die."


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 Then the LORD said, "You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished.


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 And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?"


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 The word of the LORD which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah: that is, the vision he received concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


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 Hear, O peoples, all of you, give heed, O earth, and all that fills you! Let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple!


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 For see, the LORD comes forth from his place, he descends and treads upon the heights of the earth.


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 The mountains melt under him and the valleys split open, Like wax before the fire, like water poured down a slope.


text:
 For the crime of Jacob all this comes to pass, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?


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 I will make Samaria a stone heap in the field, a place to plant for vineyards; I will throw down into the valley her stones, and lay bare her foundations.


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 All her idols shall be broken to pieces, all her wages shall be burned in the fire, and all her statues I will destroy. As the wages of a harlot they were gathered, and to the wages of a harlot shall they return.


text:
 For this reason I lament and wail, I go barefoot and naked; I utter lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.


text:
 There is no remedy for the blow she has been struck; rather, it has come even to Judah, It reaches to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.


text:
 Pass by, you who dwell in Shaphir! The inhabitants of Zaanan come not forth from their city. The lamentation of Beth-ezel finds in you its grounds.


text:
 How can the inhabitants of Maroth hope for good? For evil has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.


text:
 Harness steeds to the chariots, O inhabitants of Lachish; Lachish, the beginning of sin for daughter Zion, Because there were in you the crimes of Israel.


text:
 Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; Beth-achzib is a deception to the kings of Israel.


text:
 Yet must I bring to you the conqueror, O inhabitants of Mareshah; Even to Adullam shall go the glory of Israel.


text:
 Make yourself bald, pluck out your hair, for the children whom you cherish; Let your baldness be as the eagle's, because they are exiled from you.


text:
 Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power.


text:
 They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance.


text:
 Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your necks; Nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be a time of evil.


text:
 On that day a satire shall be sung over you, and there shall be a plaintive chant: "Our ruin is complete, our fields are portioned out among our captors, The fields of my people are measured out, and no one can get them back!"


text:
 How can it be said, O house of Jacob, "Is the LORD short of patience, or are such his deeds?" Do not my words promise good to him who walks uprightly?


text:
 But of late my people has risen up as an enemy: you have stripped off the mantle covering the tunic Of those who go their way in confidence, as though it were spoils of war.


text:
 The women of my people you drive out from their pleasant houses; From their children you take away forever the honor I gave them.


text:
 If one, acting on impulse, should make the futile claim: "I pour you wine and strong drink as my prophecy," then he would be the prophet of this people.


text:
 I will gather you, O Jacob, each and every one, I will assemble all the remnant of Israel; I will group them like a flock in the fold, like a herd in the midst of its corral; they shall not be thrown into panic by men.


text:
 With a leader to break the path they shall burst open the gate and go out through it; Their king shall go through before them, and the LORD at their head.


text:
 And I said: Hear, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not your duty to know what is right,


text:
 you who hate what is good, and love evil? You who tear their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones!


text:
 They eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from them, and break their bones. They chop them in pieces like flesh in a kettle, and like meat in a caldron.


text:
 When they cry to the LORD, he shall not answer them; Rather shall he hide his face from them at that time, because of the evil they have done.


text:
 Thus says the LORD regarding the prophets who lead my people astray; Who, when their teeth have something to bite, announce peace, But when one fails to put something in their mouth, proclaim war against him.


text:
 Therefore you shall have night, not vision, darkness, not divination; The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them.


text:
 Then shall the seers be put to shame, and the diviners confounded; They shall cover their lips, all of them, because there is no answer from God.


text:
 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, with authority and with might; To declare to Jacob his crimes and to Israel his sins.


text:
 Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel! You who abhor what is just, and pervert all that is right;


text:
 Her leaders render judgment for a bribe, her priests give decisions for a salary, her prophets divine for money, While they rely on the LORD, saying, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No evil can come upon us!"


text:
 Therefore, because of you, Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem reduced to rubble, And the mount of the temple to a forest ridge.


text:
 In days to come the mount of the LORD'S house Shall be established higher than the mountains; it shall rise high above the hills, And peoples shall stream to it:


text:
 Many nations shall come, and say, "Come, let us climb the mount of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, that we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


text:
 He shall judge between many peoples and impose terms on strong and distant nations; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.


text:
 Every man shall sit under his own vine or under his own fig tree, undisturbed; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.


text:
 For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD, our God, forever and ever.


text:
 On that day, says the LORD, I will gather the lame, And I will assemble the outcasts, and those whom I have afflicted.


text:
 I will make of the lame a remnant, and of those driven far off a strong nation; And the LORD shall be king over them on Mount Zion, from now on forever.


text:
 And you, O Magdal-eder, hillock of daughter Zion! Unto you shall it come: the former dominion shall be restored, the kingdom of daughter Jerusalem.


text:
 Now why do you cry out so? Are you without a king? Or has your counselor perished, That you are seized with pains like a woman in travail?


text:
 Writhe in pain, grow faint, O daughter Zion, like a woman in travail; For now shall you go forth from the city and dwell in the fields; To Babylon shall you go, there shall you be rescued. There shall the LORD redeem you from the hand of your enemies.


text:
 How many nations are gathered against you! They say, "Let her be profaned, let our eyes see Zion's downfall!"


text:
 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, nor understand his counsel, When he has gathered them like sheaves on the threshing floor.


text:
 Arise and thresh, O daughter Zion; your horn I will make iron And your hoofs bronze, that you may crush many peoples; You shall devote their spoils to the LORD, and their riches to the Lord of the whole earth.


text:
 Now fence yourself in, Bat-gader! "They have laid siege against us!" With the rod they strike on the cheek the ruler of Israel.


text:
 But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times.


text:
 (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.)


text:
 He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth;


text:
 he shall be peace. If Assyria invades our country and treads upon our land, We shall raise against it seven shepherds, eight men of royal rank;


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 And they shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; And we shall be delivered from Assyria, if it invades our land and treads upon our borders.


text:
 The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, Like dew coming from the LORD, like raindrops on the grass, Which wait for no man, nor tarry for the sons of men.


text:
 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, Like a lion among beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep; When it passes through, it tramples and tears, and there is none to deliver.


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 I will abolish the means of divination from your use, and there shall no longer be soothsayers among you.


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 I will abolish your carved images and the sacred pillars from your midst; And you shall no longer adore the works of your hands.


text:
 Hear, then, what the LORD says: Arise, present your plea before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice!


text:
 Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD, pay attention, O foundations of the earth! For the LORD has a plea against his people, and he enters into trial with Israel.


text:
 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I released you; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


text:
 My people, remember what Moab's King Balak planned, and how Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him... from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the just deeds of the LORD.


text:
 With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow before God most high? Shall I come before him with holocausts, with calves a year old?


text:
 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my crime, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


text:
 You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.


text:
 Hark! the LORD cries to the city. (It is wisdom to fear your name!) Hear, O tribe and city council,


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 You whose rich men are full of violence, whose inhabitants speak falsehood with deceitful tongues in their heads!


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 You shall eat, without being satisfied, food that will leave you empty; What you acquire, you cannot save; what you do save, I will deliver up to the sword.


text:
 You shall sow, yet not reap, tread out the olive, yet pour no oil, and the grapes, yet drink no wine.


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 You have kept the decrees of Omri, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and you have walked in their counsels; Therefore I will deliver you up to ruin, and your citizens to derision; and you shall bear the reproach of the nations.


text:
 Alas! I am as when the fruit is gathered, as when the vines have been gleaned; There is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.


text:
 The faithful are gone from the earth, among men the upright are no more! They all lie in wait to shed blood, each one ensnares the other.


text:
 Their hands succeed at evil; the prince makes demands, The judge is had for a price, The great man speaks as he pleases,


text:
 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day announced by your watchmen! your punishment has come; now is the time of your confusion.


text:
 Put no trust in a friend, have no confidence in a companion; Against her who lies in your bosom guard the portals of your mouth.


text:
 For the son dishonors his father, the daughter rises up against her mother, The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies are those of his household.


text:
 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy! though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD is my light.


text:
 The wrath of the LORD I will endure because I have sinned against him, Until he takes up my cause, and establishes my right. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see his justice.


text:
 When my enemy sees this, shame shall cover her: She who said to me, "Where is the LORD, thy God?" My eyes shall see her downfall; now shall she be trampled underfoot, like the mire in the streets.


text:
 It is the day; and they shall come to you from Assyria and from Egypt, From Tyre even to the River, from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;


text:
 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, That dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old;


text:
 The nations shall behold and be put to shame, in spite of all their strength; They shall put their hands over their mouths; their ears shall become deaf.


text:
 They shall lick the dust like the serpent, like reptiles on the ground; They shall come quaking from their fastnesses, trembling in fear of you (the LORD, our God).


text:
 Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency,


text:
 And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins;


text:
 You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.


text:
 A jealous and avenging God is the LORD, an avenger is the LORD, and angry; The LORD brings vengeance on his adversaries, and lays up wrath for his enemies;


text:
 The LORD is slow to anger, yet great in power, and the LORD never leaves the guilty unpunished. In hurricane and tempest is his path, and clouds are the dust at his feet;


text:
 He rebukes the sea and leaves it dry, and all the rivers he dries up. Withered are Bashan and Carmel, and the bloom of Lebanon fades;


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 The mountains quake before him, and the hills dissolve; The earth is laid waste before him, the world and all who dwell in it.


text:
 Before his wrath, who can stand firm, and who can face his blazing anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are rent asunder before him.


text:
 The LORD is good, a refuge on the day of distress; He takes care of those who have recourse to him,


text:
 What are you imputing to the LORD? It is he who will make an end! The enemy shall not rise a second time;


text:
 For, says the LORD, be they ever so many and so vigorous, still they shall be mown down and disappear. Though I have humbled you, I will humble you no more.


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 The LORD has commanded regarding you: no descendant shall come to bear your name; From your temple I will abolish the carved and the molten image; I will make your grave a mockery.


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 See, upon the mountains there advances the bearer of good news, announcing peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.


text:
 The hammer comes up against you; guard the rampart, Keep watch on the road, gird your loins, marshall all your strength!


text:
 The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob, the pride of Israel, Though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined the tendrils.


text:
 The shields of his warriors are crimsoned, the soldiers colored in scarlet; Fiery steel are the chariots on the day of his mustering. The horses are frenzied;


text:
 the chariots dash madly through the streets And wheel in the squares, looking like firebrands, flashing like lightning bolts.


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 His picked troops are called, ranks break at their charge; To the wall they rush, the mantelet is set up.


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 Its mistress is led forth captive, and her handmaids, under guard, Moaning like doves, beating their breasts.


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 "Plunder the silver, plunder the gold!" There is no end to the treasure, to their wealth in precious things of every kind!


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 Emptiness, desolation, waste; melting hearts and trembling knees, Writhing in every frame, every face blanched!


text:
 Where is the lions' cave, the young lions' den, Where the lion went in and out, and the cub, with no one to disturb them?


text:
 The lion snatched enough for his cubs, and strangled for his lionesses; He filled his dens with prey, and his caves with plunder.


text:
 I come against you, says the LORD of hosts; I will consume in smoke your chariots, and the sword shall devour your young lions; Your preying on the land I will bring to an end, the cry of your lionesses shall be heard no more.


text:
 Cavalry charging, The flame of the sword, the flash of the spear, the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon!


text:
 For the many debaucheries of the harlot, fair and charming, a mistress of witchcraft, Who enslaved nations with her harlotries, and peoples by her witchcraft:


text:
 I am come against you, and I will strip your skirt from you; I will show your nakedness to the nations, to the kingdoms your shame!


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 Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying, "Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her? Where can one find any to console her?"


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 Are you better than No-amon that was set among the streams, Surrounded by waters, with the flood for her rampart and water her wall?


text:
 Ethiopia was her strength, and Egypt, and others without end; Put and the Libyans were her auxiliaries.


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 Yet even she went captive into exile, even her little ones were dashed to pieces at the corner of every street; For her nobles they cast lots, and all her great men were put into chains.


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 All your fortresses are but fig trees, bearing early figs That fall, when shaken, into the hungry mouth.


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 See, the troops are women in your midst; to your foes the gates of your land are open wide, fire has consumed their bars.


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 Draw water for the siege, strengthen your fortresses; Go down into the mud and tread the clay, take hold of the brick mold!


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 There the fire shall consume you, the sword shall cut you down. Multiply like the grasshoppers, multiply like the locusts!


text:
 your garrisons as many as grasshoppers, And your scribes as locust swarms gathered on the rubble fences on a cold day! Yet when the sun warms them, the grasshoppers will spread their wings and fly, and vanish, no one knows where.


text:
 Alas! how your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria, your nobles have gone to rest; Your people are scattered upon the mountains, with none to gather them.


text:
 There is no healing for your hurt, your wound is mortal. All who hear this news of you clap their hands over you; For who has not been overwhelmed, steadily, by your malice?


text:
 How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene.


text:
 Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord.


text:
 This is why the law is benumbed, and judgment is never rendered: Because the wicked circumvent the just; this is why judgment comes forth perverted.


text:
 Look over the nations and see, and be utterly amazed! For a work is being done in your days that you would not have believed, were it told.


text:
 For see, I am raising up Chaldea, that bitter and unruly people, That marches the breadth of the land to take dwellings not his own.


text:
 Swifter than leopards are his horses, and keener than wolves at evening. His horses prance, his horsemen come from afar: They fly like the eagle hastening to devour;


text:
 each comes for the rapine, Their combined onset is that of a stormwind that heaps up captives like sand.


text:
 He scoffs at kings, and princes are his laughingstock; He laughs at any fortress, heaps up a ramp, and conquers it.


text:
 Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God, immortal? O LORD you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you have readied him for punishment!


text:
 Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself?


text:
 He brings them all up with his hook, he hauls them away with his net, He gathers them in his seine; and so he rejoices and exults.


text:
 Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his seine; For thanks to them his portion is generous, and his repast sumptuous.


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 I will stand at my guard post, and station myself upon the rampart, And keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint.


text:
 Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision Clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.


text:
 For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.


text:
 The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. Wealth, too, is treacherous: the proud, unstable man--


text:
 He who opens wide his throat like the nether world, and is insatiable as death, Who gathers to himself all the nations, and rallies to himself all the peoples--


text:
 Shall not all these take up a taunt against him, satire and epigrams about him, to say: Woe to him who stores up what is not his: how long can it last! he loads himself down with debts.


text:
 Shall not your creditors rise suddenly? Shall not they who make you tremble awake? You shall become their spoil!


text:
 Because you despoiled many peoples all the rest of the nations shall despoil you; Because of men's blood shed, and violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.


text:
 Woe to him who pursues evil gain for his household, setting his nest on high to escape the reach of misfortune!


text:
 Is not this from the LORD of hosts: peoples toil for the flames, and nations grow weary for nought!


text:
 Woe to you who give your neighbors a flood of your wrath to drink, and make them drunk, till their nakedness is seen!


text:
 You are filled with shame instead of glory; drink, you too, and stagger! On you shall revert the cup from the LORD'S right hand, and utter shame on your glory.


text:
 For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the destruction of the beasts shall terrify you; Because of men's blood shed, and violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.


text:
 Of what avail is the carved image, that its maker should carve it? Or the molten image and lying oracle, that its very maker should trust in it, and make dumb idols?


text:
 Woe to him who says to wood, "Awake!" to dumb stone, "Arise!" Can such a thing give oracles? See, it is overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no life breath in it.


text:
 O LORD, I have heard your renown, and feared, O LORD, your work. In the course of the years revive it, in the course of the years make it known; in your wrath remember compassion!


text:
 God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. Covered are the heavens with his glory, and with his praise the earth is filled.


text:
 His splendor spreads like the light; rays shine forth from beside him, where his power is concealed.


text:
 He pauses to survey the earth; his look makes the nations tremble. The eternal mountains are shattered, the age-old hills bow low along his ancient ways.


text:
 Is your anger against the streams, O LORD? Is your wrath against the streams, your rage against the sea, That you drive the steeds of your victorious chariot?


text:
 at sight of you the mountains tremble. A torrent of rain descends; the ocean gives forth its roar. The sun forgets to rise,


text:
 the moon remains in its shelter, At the light of your flying arrows, at the gleam of your flashing spear.


text:
 You come forth to save your people, to save your anointed one. You crush the heads of the wicked, you lay bare their bases at the neck.


text:
 You pierce with your shafts the heads of their princes whose boast would be of devouring the wretched in their lair.


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 I hear, and my body trembles; at the sound, my lips quiver. Decay invades my bones, my legs tremble beneath me. I await the day of distress that will come upon the people who attack us.


text:
 For though the fig tree blossom not nor fruit be on the vines, Though the yield of the olive fail and the terraces produce no nourishment, Though the flocks disappear from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,


text:
 GOD, my Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet swift as those of hinds and enables me to go upon the heights. For the leader; with 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 Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah.


text:
 I will sweep away man and beast, I will sweep away the birds of the sky, and the fishes of the sea. I will overthrow the wicked; I will destroy mankind from the face of the earth, says the LORD.


text:
 I will stretch out my hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; I will destroy from this place the last vestige of Baal, the very names of his priests.


text:
 And those who adore the host of heaven on the roofs, with those who adore the LORD but swear by Milcom;


text:
 Silence in the presence of the Lord GOD! for near is the day of the LORD, Yes, the LORD has prepared a slaughter feast, he has consecrated his guests.


text:
 On the day of the LORD'S slaughter feast I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all that dress in foreign apparel.


text:
 I will punish, on that day, all who leap over the threshold, Who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit.


text:
 On that day, says the LORD, A cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, a wail from the New Quarter, loud crashing from the hills.


text:
 Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar! for all the merchants will be destroyed, all who weigh out silver, done away with.


text:
 At that time I will explore Jerusalem with lamps; I will punish the men who thicken on their lees, Who say in their hearts, "Neither good nor evil can the LORD do."


text:
 Their wealth shall be given to pillage and their houses to devastation; They will build houses, but shall not dwell in them, plant vineyards, but not drink their wine,


text:
 Near is the great day of the LORD, near and very swiftly coming, Hark, the day of the LORD! bitter, then, the warrior's cry.


text:
 A day of wrath is that day a day of anguish and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, A day of thick black clouds,


text:
 I will hem men in till they walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; And their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their brains like dung.


text:
 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to save them on the day of the LORD'S wrath, When in the fire of his jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. For he shall make an end, yes, a sudden end, of all who live on the earth.


text:
 Before you are driven away, like chaff that passes on; Before there comes upon you the blazing anger of the LORD: Before there comes upon you the day of the LORD'S anger.


text:
 Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD'S anger.


text:
 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a waste, Ashdod they shall drive out at midday, and Ekron shall be uprooted.


text:
 Woe to you who dwell by the seacoast, to the Cretan folk! The word of the LORD is against you, I will humble you, land of the Philistines, and leave you to perish without an inhabitant!


text:
 The coast shall belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; by the sea they shall pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon at evening they shall couch their flocks, For the LORD their God shall visit them, and bring about their restoration.


text:
 I have heard the revilings uttered by Moab, and the insults of the Ammonites, When they reviled my people and made boasts against their territory.


text:
 Therefore, as I live, says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom, the land of Ammon like Gomorrah: A field of nettles and a salt pit and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, the survivors of my nation dispossess them.


text:
 Such shall be the requital of their pride, because they reviled and boasted against the people of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 The LORD shall inspire them with fear when he makes all the gods of earth to waste away; Then, each from its own place, all the coastlands of the nations shall adore him.


text:
 He will stretch out his hand against the north, to destroy Assyria; He will make Nineveh a waste, dry as the desert.


text:
 In her midst shall settle in droves all the wild life of the hollows; The screech owl and the desert owl shall roost in her columns; Their call shall resound from the window, the raven's croak from the doorway.


text:
 Is this the exultant city that dwelt secure; That told herself, "There is no other than I!" How has she become a waste, a lair for wild beasts? Whoever passes by her hisses, and shakes his fist!


text:
 She hears no voice, accepts no correction; In the LORD she has not trusted, to her God she has not drawn near.


text:
 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are wolves of the night that have had no bones to gnaw by morning.


text:
 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests profane what is holy, and do violence to the law.


text:
 The LORD within her is just, who does no wrong; Morning after morning he renders judgment unfailingly, at dawn.


text:
 I have destroyed nations, their battlements are laid waste; I have made their streets deserted, with no one passing through; Their cities are devastated, with no man dwelling in them.


text:
 I said, "Surely now you will fear me, you will accept correction"; She should not fail to see all I have visited upon her. Yet all the more eagerly have they done all their corrupt deeds.


text:
 Therefore, wait for me, says the LORD, against the day when I arise as accuser; For it is my decision to gather together the nations, to assemble the kingdoms, In order to pour out upon them my wrath, all my blazing anger; For in the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be consumed.


text:
 For then I will change and purify the lips of the peoples, That they all may call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord;


text:
 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia and as far as the recesses of the North, they shall bring me offerings.


text:
 On that day You need not be ashamed of all your deeds, your rebellious actions against me; For then will I remove from your midst the proud braggarts, And you shall no longer exalt yourself on my holy mountain.


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 But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD;


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 the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; Nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.


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 Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!


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 The LORD has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear.


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 The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you,


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 as one sings at festivals. I will remove disaster from among you, so that none may recount your disgrace.


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 Yes, at that time I will deal with all who oppress you; I will save the lame, and assemble the outcasts; I will give them praise and renown in all the earth, when I bring about their restoration.


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 At that time I will bring you home, and at that time I will gather you; For I will give you renown and praise, among all the peoples of the earth, When I bring about your restoration before your very eyes, says the LORD.


text:
 On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak:


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: This people says: "Not now has the time come to rebuild the house of the LORD."


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 You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; And he who earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it.


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 Go up into the hill country; bring timber, and build the house That I may take pleasure in it and receive my glory, says the LORD.


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 You expected much, but it came to little; and what you brought home, I blew away. For what cause? says the LORD of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while each of you hurries to his own house.


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 And I called for a drought upon the land and upon the mountains; Upon the grain, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and upon all that the ground brings forth; Upon men and upon beasts, and upon all that is produced by hand.


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 Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and all the remnant of the people listened to the voice of the LORD, their God, and to the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD, their God, had sent him, and the people feared because of the LORD.


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 And the LORD'S messenger, Haggai, proclaimed to the people as the message of the LORD: I am with you, says the LORD.


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 Then the LORD stirred up the spirit of the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and the spirit of the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, so that they came and set to work on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,


text:
 on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:


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 Tell this to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people:


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 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?


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 But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD, and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak, And take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD, and work! For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts.


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 This is the pact that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, And my spirit continues in your midst; do not fear!


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 For thus says the LORD of hosts: One moment yet, a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.


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 I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of all the nations will come in, And I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts.


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 Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former, says the LORD of hosts; And in this place I will give you peace, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai:


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 If a man carries sanctified flesh in the fold of his garment and the fold touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any other food, do they become sanctified? "No," the priests answered.


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 Then Haggai said: If a person unclean from contact with a corpse touches any of these, do they become unclean? The priests answered, "They become unclean."


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 Then Haggai continued: So is this people, and so is this nation in my sight, says the LORD: And so are all the works of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.


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 But now, consider from this day forward. Before there was a stone laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD,


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 how did you fare? When one went to a heap of grain for twenty measures, it would yield but ten; When another went to the vat to draw fifty measures, there would be but twenty.


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 I struck you in all the works of your hands with blight, searing wind, and hail, yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.


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 (Consider from this day forward: from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. From the day on which the temple of the LORD was founded, consider!)


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 Indeed, the seed has not sprouted, nor have the vine, the fig, the pomegranate and the olive tree yet borne. From this day, I will bless!


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 I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms, destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the riders with their horses shall go down by one another's sword.


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 On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, says the LORD, And I will set you as a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the LORD of hosts.


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 In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:


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 and say to them: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.


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 Be not like your fathers whom the former prophets warned: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Turn from your evil ways and from your wicked deeds. But they would not listen or pay attention to me, says the LORD.


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 But my words and my decrees, which I entrusted to my servants the prophets, did not these overtake your fathers? Then they repented and admitted: "The LORD of hosts has treated us according to our ways and deeds, just as he had determined he would."


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 In the second year of Darius, on the twenty-fourth day of Shebat, the eleventh month, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, in the following way:


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 I had a vision during the night. There appeared the driver of a red horse, standing among myrtle trees in a shady place, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.


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 Then I asked, "What are these, my lord?"; and the angel who spoke with me answered me, "I will show you what these are."


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 The man who was standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, "These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth."


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 And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, "We have patrolled the earth; see, the whole earth is tranquil and at rest!"


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 Then the angel of the Lord spoke out and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will you be without mercy for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that have felt your anger these seventy years?"


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 And the angel who spoke with me said to me, Proclaim: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am deeply moved for the sake of Jerusalem and Zion,


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 and I am exceedingly angry with the complacent nations; whereas I was but a little angry, they added to the harm.


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 Therefore, says the LORD: I will turn to Jerusalem in mercy; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and a measuring line shall be stretched over Jerusalem.


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 Proclaim further: Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion, and again choose Jerusalem.


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 Then I asked the angel who spoke with me what these were. He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah and Israeland Jerusalem."


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 And he said, "Here are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man raised his head any more; but these have come to terrify them: to cast down the horns of the nations that raised their horns to scatter the land of Judah."


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 "Where are you going?" I asked. "To measure Jerusalem," he answered; "to see how great is its width and how great its length."


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 and said to him, "Run, tell this to that young man: People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country, because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.


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 But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst."


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 Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the LORD; for I scatter you to the four winds of heaven, says the LORD.


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 For thus said the LORD of hosts (after he had already sent me) concerning the nations that have plundered you: Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye.


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 See, I wave my hand over them; they become plunder for their slaves. Thus you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me.


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 Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.


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 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, while Satan stood at his right hand to accuse him.


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 And the angel of the LORD said to Satan, "May the LORD rebuke you, Satan; may the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand snatched from the fire?"


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 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy garments, and clothe him in festal garments."


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 He also said, "Put a clean miter on his head." And they put a clean miter on his head and clothed him with the garments. Then the angel of the LORD, standing, said, "See, I have taken away your guilt."


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 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you walk in my ways and heed my charge, you shall judge my house and keep my courts, and I will give you access among these standing here.


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 Listen, O Joshua, high priest! You and your associates who sit before you are men of good omen. Yes, I will bring my servant the Shoot.


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 Look at the stone that I have placed before Joshua, one stone with seven facets. I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will take away the guilt of the land in one day.


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 "What do you see?" he asked me. "I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl at the top," I replied; "on it are seven lamps with their tubes,


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 And the angel who spoke with me replied, "Do you not know what these things are?" "No, my lord," I answered.


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 Then he said to me, "This is the LORD'S message to Zerubbabel: Not by an army, nor by might, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.


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 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are but a plain. He shall bring out the capstone amid exclamations of 'Hail, Hail' to it."


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 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands shall finish it; then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.


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 For even they who were scornful on that day of small beginnings shall rejoice to see the select stone in the hands of Zerubbabel. These seven facets are the eyes of the LORD that range over the whole earth.


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 And again I asked, "What are the two olive tufts which freely pour out fresh oil through the two golden channels?"


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 "What do you see?" he asked me. I answered, "I see a scroll flying; it is twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide."


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 Then he said to me: "This is the curse which is to go forth over the whole earth; in accordance with it shall every thief be swept away, and in accordance with it shall every perjurer be expelled from here.


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 I will send it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall come into the house of the thief, or into the house of him who perjures himself with my name; it shall lodge within his house, consuming it, timber and stones."


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 Then the angel who spoke with me came forward and said to me, "Raise your eyes and see what this is that comes forth."


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 "What is it?" I asked. And he answered, "This is a bushel container coming. This is their guilt in all the land."


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 "This is Wickedness," he said; and he thrust her inside the bushel, pushing the leaden cover into the opening.


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 Then I raised my eyes and saw two women coming forth with a wind ruffling their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork. As they lifted up the bushel into the air,


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 He replied, "To build a temple for it in the land of Shinar; when the temple is ready, they will deposit it there in its place."


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 Again I raised my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains; and the mountains were of bronze.


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 The angel said to me in reply, "These are the four winds of the heavens, which are coming forth after being reviewed by the LORD of all the earth."


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 The chariot with the black horses was turning toward the land of the north, the red and the white horses went after them, and the spotted ones went toward the land of the south.


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 As these strong horses emerged, eager to set about patrolling the earth, he said, "Go, patrol the earth!" Then, as they patrolled the earth,


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 he called out to me and said, "See, they that go forth to the land of the north will make my spirit rest in the land of the north."


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 Take from the returned captives Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah; and go the same day to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah (these had come from Babylon).


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 Silver and gold you shall take, and make a crown; place it on the head of (Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest) Zerubbabel.


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 And say to him: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Shoot, and where he is he shall sprout, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.


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 Yes, he shall build the temple of the LORD, and taking up the royal insignia, he shall sit as ruler upon his throne. The priest shall be put at his right hand, and between the two of them there shall be friendly understanding.


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 The crown itself shall be a memorial offering in the temple of the LORD in favor of Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and the son of Zephaniah.


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 And they who are from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And if you heed carefully the voice of the LORD your God....


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 In the fourth year of Darius the king (the word of the LORD came to Zechariah), on the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month,


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 and to ask the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, "Must I mourn and abstain in the fifth month as I have been doing these many years?"


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 Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month these seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?


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 And when you were eating and drinking, was it not for yourselves that you ate, and for yourselves that you drank?


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 Were not these the words which the LORD spoke through the former prophets, when Jerusalem and the surrounding cities were inhabited and at peace, when the Negeb and the foothills were inhabited?


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts:) Render true judgment, and show kindness and compassion toward each other.


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 Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the alien or the poor; do not plot evil against one another in your hearts.


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 But they refused to listen; they stubbornly turned their backs and stopped their ears so as not to hear.


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 And they made their hearts diamondhard so as not to hear the teaching and the message that the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets.


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 Then the LORD of hosts in his great anger said that, as they had not listened when he called, so he would not listen when they called,


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 but would scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they did not know. Thus the land was left desolate after them with no one traveling to and fro; they made the pleasant land into a desert.


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 Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell within Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women, each with staff in hand because of old age, shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even if this should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also, says the LORD of hosts?


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun.


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 I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words spoken by the prophets on the day when the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid for the building of the temple.


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 For before those days there were no wages for men, or hire for beasts; those who came and went had no security from the enemy, for I set every man against his neighbor.


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 for it is the seedtime of peace: the vine shall yield its fruit, the land shall bear its crops, and the heavens shall give their dew; all these things I will have the remnant of the people possess.


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 Just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you that you may be a blessing; do not fear, but let your hands be strong.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: As I determined to harm you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, says the LORD of hosts, and I did not relent,


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 These then are the things you should do: Speak the truth to one another; let there be honesty and peace in the judgments at your gates,


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 and let none of you plot evil against another in his heart, nor love a false oath. For all these things I hate, says the LORD.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast days of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months shall become occasions of joy and gladness, cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; only love faithfulness and peace.


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 and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another, and say, "Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD"; and, "I too will go to seek the LORD."


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 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to implore the favor of the LORD.


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 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."


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 An oracle: The word of the LORD is upon the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place, For the cities of Aram are the LORD'S, as are all the tribes of Israel,


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 Tyre built herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the mire of the streets.


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 Lo, the LORD will strip her of her possessions, and smite her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.


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 Ashkelon shall see it and be afraid; Gaza also: she shall be in great anguish; Ekron, too, for her hope shall come to nought. The king shall disappear from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited,


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 and take from his mouth his bloody meat, and his abominations from between his teeth: He also shall become a remnant for our God, and shall be like a family in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.


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 I will encamp by my house as a guard that none may pass to and fro; No oppressor shall pass over them again, for now I have regard for their affliction.


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 Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.


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 He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior's bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.


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 As for you, for the blood of your covenant with me, I will bring forth your prisoners from the dungeon.


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 In the return to the fortress of the waiting prisoners, This very day, I will return you double for your exile.


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 For I will bend Judah as my bow, I will arm myself with Ephraim; I will arouse your sons, O Zion, (against your sons, O Yavan,) and I will use you as a warrior's sword.


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 The LORD shall appear over them, and his arrow shall shoot forth as lightning; The LORD God shall sound the trumpet, and come in a storm from the south.


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 The LORD of hosts shall be a shield over them, they shall overcome sling stones and trample them underfoot; They shall drink blood like wine, till they are filled with it like libation bowls, like the corners of the altar.


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 And the LORD, their God, shall save them on that day, his people, like a flock. For they are the jewels in a crown raised aloft over his land.


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 For what wealth is theirs, and what beauty! grain that makes the youths flourish, and new wine, the maidens!


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 Ask of the LORD rain in the spring season! It is the LORD who makes storm clouds. And sends men the pouring rain; for everyone, grassy fields.


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 For the teraphim speak nonsense, the diviners have false visions: Deceitful dreams they tell, empty comfort they offer. This is why they wander like sheep, wretched: they have no shepherd.


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 My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; For the LORD of hosts will visit his flock, the house of Judah, and make them his stately war horse.


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 They shall all be warriors, trampling the mire of the streets in battle; They shall wage war because the LORD is with them, and shall put the horsemen to rout.


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 I will strengthen the house of Judah, the house of Joseph I will save; I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them, they shall be as though I had never cast them off, for I am the LORD, their God, and I will hear them.


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 Then Ephraim shall be valiant men, and their hearts shall be cheered as by wine. Their children shall see it and be glad, their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.


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 I will whistle for them to come together, and when I redeem them they will be as numerous as before.


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 I sowed them among the nations, yet in distant lands they remember me; they shall rear their children and return.


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 I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into Gilead and into Lebanon, but these shall not suffice them;


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 I will cross over to Egypt and smite the waves of the sea and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up. The pride of Assyria shall be cast down, and the scepter of Egypt taken away.


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 Wail, you cypress trees, for the cedars are fallen, the mighty have been despoiled. Wail, you oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest is cut down!


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 Hark! the wailing of the shepherds, their glory has been ruined. Hark! the roaring of the young lions, the jungle of the Jordan is laid waste.


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 For they who buy them slay them with impunity; while those who sell them say, "Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich!" Even their own shepherds do not feel for them.


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 (Nor shall I spare the inhabitants of the earth any more, says the LORD. Yes, I will deliver each of them into the power of his neighbor, or into the power of his king; they shall crush the earth, and I will not deliver it out of their power.)


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 So I became the shepherd of the flock to be slaughtered for the sheep merchants. I took two staffs, one of which I called "Favor," and the other, "Bonds," and I fed the flock.


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 In a single month I did away with the three shepherds. I wearied of them, and they behaved badly toward me.


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 "I will not feed you," I said. "What is to die, let it die; what is to perish, let it perish, and let those that are left devour one another's flesh."


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 Then I took my staff "Favor" and snapped it asunder, breaking off the covenant which I had made with all peoples;


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 that day it was broken off. The sheep merchants who were watching me understood that this was the word of the LORD.


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 I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, let it go." And they counted out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.


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 But the LORD said to me, "Throw it in the treasury, the handsome price at which they valued me." So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the treasury in the house of the LORD.


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 Then I snapped asunder my other staff, "Bonds," breaking off the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.


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 For I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will take no note of those that perish, nor seek the strays, nor heal the injured, nor feed what survives-- he will eat the flesh of the fat ones and tear off their hoofs!


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 Woe to my foolish shepherd who forsakes the flock! May the sword fall upon his arm and upon his right eye; Let his arm wither away entirely, and his right eye be blind forever!


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 An oracle: the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus says the LORD, who spreads out the heavens, lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:


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 See, I will make Jerusalem a bowl to stupefy all peoples round about. (Judah will be besieged, even Jerusalem.)


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 On that day I will make Jerusalem a weighty stone for all peoples. All who attempt to lift it shall injure themselves badly, and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered against her.


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 On that day, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with fright, and its rider with madness. I will strike blind all the horses of the peoples, but upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes,


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 and the princes of Judah shall say to themselves, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem have their strength in the LORD of hosts, their God."


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 On that day I will make the princes of Judah like a brazier of fire in the woodland, and like a burning torch among sheaves, and they shall devour right and left all the surrounding peoples; but Jerusalem shall still abide on its own site.


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 The LORD shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not be exalted over Judah.


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 On that day, the LORD will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the weakling among them shall be like David on that day, and the house of David godlike, like an angel of the LORD before them.


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 I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a first-born.


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 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.


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 And the land shall mourn, each family apart: the family of the house of David, and their wives; the family of the house of Nathan, and their wives;


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 On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.


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 On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be mentioned no more; I will also take away the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land.


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 If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the LORD." When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through.


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 On that day, every prophet shall be ashamed to prophesy his vision, neither shall he assume the hairy mantle to mislead,


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 but he shall say, "I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil, for I have owned land since my youth."


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 And if anyone asks him, "What are these wounds on your chest?" he shall answer, "With these I was wounded in the house of my dear ones."


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 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate, says the LORD of hosts. Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be dispersed, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.


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 In all the land, says the LORD, two thirds of them shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left.


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 I will bring the one third through fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested. They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them. I will say, "They are my people," and they shall say, "The LORD is my God."


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 And I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle: the city shall be taken, houses plundered, women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be removed from the city.


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 That day his feet shall rest upon the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east. The Mount of Olives shall be cleft in two from east to west by a very deep valley, and half of the mountain shall move to the north and half of it to the south.


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 And the valley of the LORD'S mountain shall be filled up when the valley of those two mountains reaches its edge; it shall be filled up as it was filled up by the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, shall come, and all his holy ones with him.


text:
 There shall be one continuous day, known to the LORD, not day and night, for in the evening time there shall be light.


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 On that day, living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea, and it shall be so in summer and in winter.


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 The LORD shall become king over the whole earth; on that day the LORD shall be the only one, and his name the only one.


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 And from Geba to Rimmon in the Negeb, all the land shall turn into a plain; but Jerusalem shall remain exalted in its place. From the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate; and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses,


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 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD shall strike all the nations that have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths.


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 On that day there shall be among them a great tumult from the LORD: every man shall seize the hand of his neighbor, and the hand of each shall be raised against that of his neighbor.


text:
 Judah also shall fight against Jerusalem. The riches of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together, gold, silver, and garments, in great abundance.


text:
 Similar to this plague shall be the plague upon the horses, mules, camels, asses, and upon all the beasts that are in those camps.


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 All who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall come up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of Booths.


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 If any of the families of the earth does not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, no rain shall fall upon them.


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 And if the family of Egypt does not come up, or enter, upon them shall fall the plague which the LORD will inflict upon all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the feast of Booths.


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 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the feast of Booths.


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 On that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, "Holy to the LORD." The pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the libation bowls before the altar.


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 And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who come to sacrifice shall take them and cook in them. On that day there shall no longer be any merchant in the house of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, but hated Esau; I made his mountains a waste, his heritage a desert for jackals.


text:
 If Edom says, "We have been crushed but we will rebuild the ruins," Thus says the LORD of hosts: They indeed may build, but I will tear down, And they shall be called the land of guilt, the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.


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 A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me?-- So says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise his name. But you ask, "How have we despised your name?"


text:
 By offering polluted food on my altar! Then you ask, "How have we polluted it?" By saying the table of the LORD may be slighted!


text:
 When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is this not evil? When you offer the lame or the sick, is it not evil? Present it to your governor; see if he will accept it, or welcome you, says the LORD of hosts.


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 So now if you implore God for mercy on us, when you have done the like Will he welcome any of you? says the LORD of hosts.


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 Oh, that one among you would shut the temple gates to keep you from kindling fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts; neither will I accept any sacrifice from your hands,


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 For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; And everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering; For great is my name among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.


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 But you behave profanely toward me by thinking the LORD'S table and its offering may be polluted, and its food slighted.


text:
 You also say, "What a burden!" and you scorn it, says the LORD of hosts; You bring in what you seize, or the lame, or the sick; yes, you bring it as a sacrifice. Shall I accept it from your hands? says the LORD.


text:
 Cursed is the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, but under his vow sacrifices to the LORD a gelding; For a great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.


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 And if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. Yes, I have already cursed it, because you do not lay it to heart.


text:
 Lo, I will deprive you of the shoulder and I will strew dung in your faces, The dung of your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.


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 Then you will know that I sent you this commandment because I have a covenant with Levi, says the LORD of hosts.


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 My covenant with him was one of life and peace; fear I put in him, and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.


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 True doctrine was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found upon his lips; He walked with me in integrity and in uprightness, and turned many away from evil.


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 For the lips of the priest are to keep knowledge, and instruction is to be sought from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.


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 But you have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; You have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts.


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 I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, Since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions.


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 Have we not all the one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with each other, violating the covenant of our fathers?


text:
 Judah has broken faith; an abominable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the temple which the LORD loves, and has married an idolatrous woman.


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 May the LORD cut off from the man who does this both witness and advocate out of the tents of Jacob, and anyone to offer sacrifice to the LORD of hosts!


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 This also you do: the altar of the LORD you cover with tears, weeping and groaning, Because he no longer regards your sacrifice nor accepts it favorably from your hand;


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 And you say, "Why is it?"-- Because the LORD is witness between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have broken faith though she is your companion, your betrothed wife.


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 Did he not make one being, with flesh and spirit: and what does that one require but godly offspring? You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith with the wife of your youth.


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 For I hate divorce, says the LORD, the God of Israel, And covering one's garment with injustice, says the LORD of hosts; You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith.


text:
 You have wearied the LORD with your words, yet you say, "How have we wearied him?" By your saying, "Every evildoer is good in the sight of the LORD, And he is pleased with him"; or else, "Where is the just God?"


text:
 Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.


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 But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.


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 He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.


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 Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old, as in years gone by.


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 I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud the hired man of his wages, Against those who defraud widows and orphans; those who turn aside the stranger, and those who do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
 Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Yet you say, "How must we return?"


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 Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!


text:
 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the LORD of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure?


text:
 For your sake I will forbid the locust to destroy your crops; And the vine in the field will not be barren, says the LORD of hosts.


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 You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts?


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 Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity."


text:
 Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name.


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 And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.


text:
 Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him.


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 For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.


text:
 But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays; And you will gambol like calves out of the stall


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 and tread down the wicked; They will become ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day I take action, says the LORD of hosts.


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 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I enjoined him on Horeb, The statutes and ordinances for all Israel.


text:
 Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,


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 To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day.


text:
 Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.


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 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,


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 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse,


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 Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.


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 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah.


text:
 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,


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 Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.


text:
 Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.


text:
 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.


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 Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.


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 She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."


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 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."


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 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.


text:
 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,


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 saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."


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 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.


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 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"


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 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."


text:
 After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.


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 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.


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 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.


text:
 When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."


text:
 He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my son."


text:
 When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.


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 "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more."


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 and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."


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 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee.


text:
 He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazorean."


text:
 It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: "A voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'"


text:
 John wore clothing made of camel's hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.


text:
 When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


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 And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.


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 Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.


text:
 I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.


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 His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."


text:
 Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.


text:
 After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him.


text:
 The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread."


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 He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from 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 will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"


text:
 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,


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 and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."


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 At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"


text:
 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,


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 the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen."


text:
 As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.


text:
 He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them,


text:
 He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.


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 His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.


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 And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.


text:
 When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.


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 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


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 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.


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 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


text:
 "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.


text:
 Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.


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 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.


text:
 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.


text:
 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.


text:
 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.


text:
 I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.


text:
 "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.'


text:
 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.


text:
 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you,


text:
 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.


text:
 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.


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 But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.


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 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.


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 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.


text:
 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


text:
 "Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.'


text:
 But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.


text:
 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.


text:
 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?


