# verses

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And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let the name of my holiness be profaned anymore, and the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the holy one in Israel.


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Look! it is coming, and it will happen,” declares the Lord Yahweh. “It is the day about which I have spoken.


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“ʻ“And the inhabitants of the towns of Israel will go out, and they will set ablaze, and they will kindle a fire with a weapon and a small shield and a shield, with a bow and with arrows, and with hand clubs and with spears, and so they will light a fire with them, a fire lasting seven years.


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And they will not carry trees from the field, and they will not chop wood from the forests, for with the weapons they will light a fire; and they will plunder those plundering them, and they will plunder those plundering them,” ’ declares the Lord Yahweh.


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“ ‘ “ And then on that day I will give to Gog a grave there in Israel, The Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea, and it will block the travelers and Gog and all of his hordes they will bury there, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-Gog.


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All of the people of the land will bury them, and it will be an honor for them on the day when I appear,” ’ declares the Lord Yahweh.


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ʻ“And they will set apart men to continually go through the land burying the travelers, the ones left over on the surface of the land to cleanse it; for the whole of seven months they will explore it.


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And the ones going through, they will go through within the land, and if anyone sees the bones of a person, then he will build beside it a sign to remain until the buriers have buried him in the Valley of Hamon-Gog.


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“And you, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Say to all kinds of birds and animals of the field, “Be gathered, come be gathered from everywhere to my sacrifice that I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, and you will eat flesh, and you will drink blood.


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Flesh of warriors you will eat, and the blood of leaders of the land you will drink; rams, young rams and goats, bulls, and the fattened animals of Bashan—all of them!


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And you will eat fat until you are satiated, and you will drink blood until you are drunk from my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you,


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and you will be satisfied at my table with horse and horsemen and warriors and every man of war,” ’ declares the Lord Yahweh.


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“And I will display my glory among the nations, and all of the nations will see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid upon them.


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and the nations will know that because of their guilt the house of Israel went into exile, because they acted unfaithfully against me, and I hid my face from them, and I gave them into the hand of their foes, and they fell by the sword, all of them.


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According to their uncleanness and according to their transgression I dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.


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Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all of the house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.


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And they will forget their disgrace and all of their infidelity that they displayed against me when they dwelt on their soil in safety with nobody making them afraid.


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When I restore them from the nations and I gather them from the countries of their enemies, then I will show myself holy through them before the eyes of many nations.


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And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, because of when I deported them into the nations, and I reassembled them to their soil, and I will not let any of them remain there any longer.


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And I will not hide my face again from them when I pour out my Spirit over the house of Israel,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was destroyed, in this day exactly, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there


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in visions from God. He brought me to the land of Israel and put me on a very high mountain, and on it was something like a structure of a city to the south.


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And he brought me there, and look, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, and a cord of linen was in his hand and a reed for measurement; he was standing in the gate.


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And the man spoke to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and listen with your ears and apply your heart to all that I am showing you, for you were brought here in order to show you this; tell all that you are seeing to the house of Israel.”


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And there was a wall on the outside of the temple all the way around it, and in the hand of the man the reed for measurement was six long cubits, according to the cubit and a handbreadth, and he measured the width of the outer wall as one reed, and the height as one reed.


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And then he went toward the gate whose face was to the east. And he went up by its steps, and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide.


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And the alcove was one reed long and one reed wide, and between the alcoves was five cubits, and the threshold of the gate along the side of the portico of the gate on the inside was one reed.


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And he measured the portico of the gate as eight cubits, and its pilaster was two cubits thick, and he measured the portico of the gate on the inside.


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And the alcoves of the gate toward the way eastward were three on each side; the same measurements applied to all three of them; and the same measurement applied to the pilaster on each side.


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And he measured the width of the doorway of the gate as ten cubits and the length of the gateway was thirteen cubits.


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And a wall was before the alcoves; one cubit on either side was the wall from here. And the alcove was six cubits on each side.


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And he measured the gate from the top slab of the alcove to its opposite top slab as twenty-five cubits in width, from one entrance to the other one opposite it.


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And he made the pilasters sixty cubits, and to the pilaster of the courtyard all the way around the gate.


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And from the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the portico of the inner gate was fifty cubits.


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And there were narrow windows for the alcoves and for their pilasters to the inside of the gate all the way around it. And likewise with respect to the porticos and windows were all the way around to the inside, and on a pilaster there were images of palm trees.


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And he brought me to the outer courtyard, and there were chambers and a pavement made for the courtyard all around it, and thirty chambers were facing to the pavement.


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And the pavement flanked the side of the gates and all along the gates; this describes the lower pavement.


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And he measured the width from the front of the lower gate to the front of the outside of the inner courtyard as a hundred cubits to the east and to the north.


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And as for the gate that had its face toward the north of the outer courtyard, he measured its length and its width.


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And its alcoves were three on each side, and its pilasters and its porticos had the same measurement as the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and its width was twenty-five cubits.


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And its windows and its porticos and its palm tree images were like the measurement of the gate that was facing toward the east; and it had seven steps that go up it, and there were porticos before them.


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And a gate led to the inner courtyard, opposite the gate to the north and to the east, and he measured from gate to gate as a hundred cubits.


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And then he took me toward the south, and look, a gate toward the south, and he measured its pilasters and its porticos; they had measurements just like the others.


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And there were for it windows and for its porticos all the way around it like these windows; fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.


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And seven steps were going up to it and its porticos before them. And it had palm tree images all along its pilasters.


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And there was to the way of the south a gate for the inner courtyard, and he measured from gate to the gate on the way of the south, a hundred cubits.


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And he brought me to the inner courtyard through the gate of the south, and he measured the south gate, and it had measurements like the others.


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And its alcoves and its pilasters and its porticos were just like these measurements. And it had windows for it and for its porticos all the way around, fifty cubits along its length, and twenty-five cubits wide.


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And there were porticos all the way around its length, twenty-five cubits; and its width was five cubits.


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And its porticos were to the outer courtyard, and palm tree images were on its pilasters, and eight steps were for its stairs.


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And he brought me to the inner courtyard by way of the east gate, and he measured the gate as just like the other measurements.


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And its alcoves and its pilasters and its porticos were also like these measurements, and windows were for it and for its porticos all around; its length was fifty cubits, and it was twenty-five cubits wide.


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And its porticos were toward the outer courtyard, and palm tree images were on its pilasters one each side, and eight steps served as it stairs.


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And he brought me to the gate of the north, and he measured it; and he measured the same measurements as these others,


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its alcoves, its pilasters and porticos, and its windows all the way around, and a length of fifty cubits and twenty-five cubits wide.


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And its pilasters faced the outer courtyard, and it had palm tree images on its pilasters on each side; and eight steps served as its stairs.


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And a chamber with its doorway was in the pilasters at the gates, and there they rinsed off the burnt offering.


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And in the portico of the gate were two tables on each side to slaughter the burnt offering on them and the sin offering and the guilt offering.


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And on the outer side as one goes up to the doorway of the gate to the north were two tables, and on the other side, which is toward the portico of the gate, were two tables.


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On each side of the gate were four tables, eight tables in all, and on them they slaughtered sacrifices.


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And four tables were for the burnt offering, and made of dressed stones, one cubit and a half long and one cubit and a half wide and one cubit high was their measurements, and they placed the objects with which they slaughtered the burnt offering on them and the sacrifice.


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And there were double-pronged hooks, one handbreadth in width, put in place in the house all around, and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.


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And on the outside of the inner gate, there were chambers for singers in the inner courtyard, which was to the side of the north gate, and their faces were to the south with respect to one, and on the side of the east gate one facing to the north.


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And he said to me, “This chamber with its face toward the south is for the priests who are taking care of the responsibility of the temple.


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And the chamber with its face to the north is for the priests who are taking care of the responsibility of the altar. They are the descendants of Zadok, the ones who approach from among the descendants of Levi to Yahweh to serve him.”


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And he measured the courtyard as to its length, a hundred cubits, and a hundred cubits wide, squared, and the altar is in front of the temple.


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And he brought me to the portico of the temple, and he measured the pilaster of the portico, five cubits on each side, and the width of the gate was three cubits on each side.


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The length of the portico was twenty cubits and its width eleven cubits, and with ten steps they went up to it, and the pilasters had pillars, one on each side.


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And he brought me to the temple sanctuary, and he measured the pilasters, six cubits wide on each side; this was the width of the tent.


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And the width of the doorway was ten cubits, and the sidewall of the doorway was five cubits on each side, and he measured its length as forty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits.


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And he went into the inner room, and he measured the pilaster of the doorway as two cubits and the doorway as six cubits and the width of the doorway seven cubits.


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And he measured its length as twenty cubits and its width as twenty cubits to the front of the temple, and he said to me, “This is the most holy place.


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And he measured the wall of the temple as six cubits, and the width of the side room as four cubits all along the outside wall for the temple all around the wall.


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And the side rooms were side by side in three stories and a total of thirty rooms, and there were offsets in the wall, which was for the temple for the side rooms, all the way around to be supports, and so they were not supports extending into the wall of the temple.


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And each level widened, and it went around upward to the side rooms for the structure that surrounds the temple upward all the way around, therefore the width increased to the temple upward, and thus the lower level goes up to the upper level by means of the middle story.


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And I saw for the temple a platform all the way around the foundations of the side rooms; it was the length of a full reed, six cubits long.


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The width of the outside wall, which was for the side room to the outside, was five cubits, and a space that was set between the side rooms, which was for the temple


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and between the chambers was the width of twenty cubits all around the temple, all the way around it.


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And the doorway of the side room faced the open area; one doorway faced the north, and one doorway was to the south, and the width of the place of the open area was five cubits all around.


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And the building that faced the courtyard was toward the west, and its width was seventy cubits, and the wall of the building was five cubits wide all the way around, and its length was ninety cubits.


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And he measured the temple, and its length was a hundred cubits, and the courtyard and the building and its walls, their length was a hundred cubits.


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And he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear and its galleries, a hundred cubits on each side, and also the temple, the court, and the porticos of the courtyard,


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the thresholds and the framed windows and the galleries around the three of them. Before the threshold was a covering of wood all around, and from the ground up to the windows, and all around the windows, they were covered.


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Above the doorway and up to the inner temple and on the outside, and on all of the wall all the way around in the inner and in the outer areas were patterns,


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and it was made of cherubim and palm tree images; a palm tree image between cherub and cherub, and the cherub had two faces.


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And the face of a human was toward the palm tree image on the one side, and the face of a fierce strong lion faced the palm tree image on the other side; this work was executed for the entire temple all the way around.


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From the ground up to above the doorway, the cherubim and the palm tree images were made, and also the outer wall of the temple.


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As far as the temple is concerned its doorframe was squared, and before the sanctuary was the appearance as it were the appearance of


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a wooden altar that was three cubits high, and its length was two cubits, and its corners for it and its length and its walls were of wood. And he spoke to me, “This is the table that is before Yahweh.”


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And two leaves of a door were for each of the doors, two hinged leaves of a door: two were for the first door, and two leaves of a door were for the other door.


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And cherubim were made on them, that is, on the doors of the temple and palm tree images like the ones prepared for the walls; and an overhang of wood was on the surface of the porticos on the outside.


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And narrow windows and palm tree images were on either side, and on the side walls of the portico, and the side rooms of the temple and their overhang.


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And he brought me out to the outer courtyard to the north, and he brought me to the chamber which was opposite the courtyard and which is opposite the building to the north.


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As to the face of the length of the building with the doorway to the north, it was a hundred cubits, and its width was fifty cubits.


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Opposite the twenty cubits of the inner courtyard, and opposite the pavement that was to the outer courtyard was a gallery facing a gallery in the three stories.


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And in front of the chambers was a passageway ten cubits in width toward the inside, a walkway of one cubit, and their doorways were to the north.


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And the upper chambers narrowed, for the galleries took away space from them more than they took from the lower levels and more than they took from the middle level in the building.


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For they were three stories and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courtyards; therefore they were smaller than the lower stories and than the middle stories from the ground up.


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And there was a wall that was to the outside alongside the chambers on the walkway to the outer courtyard in front of the chambers; its length was fifty cubits.


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For the length of the chambers which were to the outer courtyard was fifty cubits, and look! The chambers on the front of the temple were a hundred cubits.


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And from under these chambers was the entrance from the east for them when one enters from the outer courtyard.


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All along the width of the wall of the courtyard eastward in front of the courtyard to the front of the building were chambers.


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And a walkway was before them like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north, just like them in their length, and so was their width and all their exits, and they were built like their arrangements and like their doorways,


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and like the doorways of the chambers which were on the way of the south was a doorway at the head of the way before the stone wall, projecting on the way of the east at their coming.


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And he said to me, “The chambers of the north and the chambers of the south which are before the courtyard, they are the holy chambers in which the priests, who are near to Yahweh, will eat the most holy objects. There they shall put the most holy objects, and the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for the place is holy.


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When the priests enter, then they shall not go out from the sanctuary to the outer courtyard; and there they must put their garments in which they serve because they are holy. They must put on other garments and then they may approach the area that is for the people.


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And he completed the measurements of the inner temple, and he brought me to the walkway of the gate that faces toward the east and he measured it all the way around.


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He measured the east side with the reed for measuring, five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement, he measured it all around.


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He measured the north side as five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement all around.


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Then he measured the south side as five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement.


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He went around the west side and he measured five hundred cubits, with respect to reeds with the reed for measurement.


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Toward the four sides he measured it; there was a wall for it all the way around. Its length was five hundred cubits and its width was five hundred cubits, in order to make a separation between what is holy and what is common.


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And, look! The glory of the God of Israel, it came from the way of the east, and its sound was like the sound of many waters and the land radiated due to his glory!


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And the appearance of the vision which I saw was as the vision which I saw at his coming to destroy the city, and these visions were also as the vision which I saw by the Kebar River, and I fell on my face.


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And the Spirit lifted me and it brought me to the inner courtyard and, look! The glory of Yahweh filled the temple!


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And he said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet where I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites to eternity, and they, the house of Israel, they and their kings, will not again defile my holy name with their fornication and with their offerings for the dead of their kings on their high places.


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When they placed their threshold with my threshold, their doorframe beside my doorframe and the wall was between me and between them, then they defiled my holy name, with their detestable things that they did, and so I consumed them in my anger.


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Now let them send their fornication far away and the offerings for the dead of their kings away from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.


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You, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple and let them be ashamed of their iniquities and let them measure the pattern.


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And if they are ashamed of all that they did, then the plan of the temple and its arrangement and its exits and its entrances and all of its plans and all of its statutes. And all of its plans and all of its laws make known to them and write them before their eyes, so that they may remember all of its plans and all of its statutes, so that they do them!


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This is the law of the temple: On the top of the mountain, all of its territory, all the way around it, will be most holy. Look, this is the law of the temple.


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And these are the measurements of the altar in the cubits (a cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): now its gutter is a cubit in depth by a cubit in width and its rim along its edge all around is one span, and this is also the height of the altar.


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And from the gutter at the ground up to the lower ledge is two cubits, and its width is one cubit, and from the small ledge up to the large ledge is four cubits, and its width is one cubit.


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And the altar hearth was four cubits, and from the altar hearth and upwards were the four horns of the altar.


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And the altar hearth was twelve cubits in length and twelve cubits in width; it was squared on its four sides.


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And the ledge was fourteen cubits in length with fourteen cubits its width to all four of its sides, and a rim was all around it of one-half cubit. And the gutter for it was a cubit all around, and its steps were facing east.”


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And he said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘These are the statutes of the altar on the day when it is made, to sacrifice a burnt offering on it and to sprinkle blood on it.


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And you must give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, the ones coming near me,” declares the Lord Yahweh, “to serve me, a bull, a calf as a sin offering.


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You must take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, and the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim all around; thus you must purify it and make atonement for it.


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And you must take the bull, the sin offering, and you must burn it in the designated place of the temple outside of the holy place.


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And on the second day you must offer a he-goat without defect as a sin offering, and they must purify the altar like they purified with the bull.


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When you are finished from purifying, you must offer a bull, a calf, without defect, and a ram from the flock without defect.


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And you must bring them near before Yahweh, and the priests must throw salt on them, and they must offer them as a burnt offering to Yahweh.


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For seven days you must provide a goat of sin offering for the day and a bull, a calf, and a ram from the flock without defect; you must provide them.


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And they will finish the days, and then on the eighth day and beyond that the priests will offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your fellowship offerings, and then I will be pleased with you,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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And he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that is facing east, and it was shut.


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And Yahweh said to me, “This gate will be shut. It shall not be opened, and no one will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered it, and it will be shut.


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The prince, he may sit in it to eat food before Yahweh; he will come from the way of the portico of the gate and by means of its way he will also go out.”


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Then he brought me by the way of the gate of the north to the front of the temple, and I looked, and look! The glory of Yahweh filled the temple of Yahweh, and I fell on my face.


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And Yahweh said, “Son of man, set your heart and look with your eyes and with your ears hear everything I am saying to you concerning all the statutes of the temple of Yahweh and concerning all its laws, and you must listen with your heart concerning the entrance of the temple with all of the exits of the sanctuary.


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And you must say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Enough for you, house of Israel, of all of your detestable things!


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At your bringing foreigners who are uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh to be in my sanctuary to profane it, my temple, as you offered my food, fat, and blood, so you broke my covenant by all of your detestable things.


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And you did not observe the responsibility of my sanctuary, but you appointed them as the keepers of my responsibility in my sanctuary for you.”


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Every foreigner uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh shall not come into my sanctuary— not any of the foreigners who are in the midst of the Israelites.


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But the Levites who removed themselves from me at the going astray of Israel, who went astray from me and went after their idols, as a result they will bear their guilt.


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Then they will be in my sanctuary, those serving in my sanctuary, as sentries at the gates of the temple and as those serving the temple; they will slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they will stand before them to serve them,


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because they used to serve them before their idols and they were for the house of Israel like a stumbling block of iniquity. Therefore I swore concerning them,” declares the Lord Yahweh, “ that they will bear their iniquity.


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And they shall not approach me to serve as a priest for me and to come near to all of my holy objects, to the most holy objects, and they will bear their disgrace and the results of their detestable things they have done.


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And I will appoint them as the keepers of the responsibility of the temple, for all of its work and everything which will be done in it.


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But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand before me to offer to me fat and blood,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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“They shall come to my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table to serve me, and they will observe my requirement.


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And then when they come to the gates of the inner courtyards, they shall put on their inner linen garments and not wear wool garments when they serve in the gates of the inner courtyard and inside the temple.


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Linen turbans shall be on their head and linen undergarments shall be on their waists; they shall not gird themselves with material causing perspiration.


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When they go out to the outer courtyard to the people, they must take off their garment in which they were serving, and they must place them in the holy chambers, and they must put on other garments, so that they will not make the people holy with their garments.


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And their head they shall not shave, or long hair they shall not let grow; short they shall clip their heads.


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And a widow or divorced woman they shall not take for themselves as wives, but only a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or the widow who is a widow for a priest they may take.


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And they will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is unholy, and the difference between unclean and clean they must show them.


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And at a legal dispute they themselves shall stand to judge; employing my judgments they shall judge it, and with respect to my laws and my statutes. All my festivals they shall keep and my Sabbaths they shall consecrate.


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And near a dead person he shall not come to be defiled, but only for a father and for a mother and for a son and for a daughter, for a brother and for a sister who was not married may they defile themselves.


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and then on the day of his coming into the sanctuary to the inner courtyard to serve in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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And thus it will be to them as regards inheritance, that I am their inheritance, and so you shall not give to them property in Israel; I am their property.


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The grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, they themselves may eat them, and also all the consecrated possessions in Israel will be theirs.


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And also what is first of all of the firstfruits of everything, and of all of the contribution of everything from all of your contributions, to the priest it belongs, and what is first of your dough you shall give to the priest, so that a blessing may rest on your house.


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And when you allocate the land as an inheritance, you shall provide a contribution for Yahweh as a holy portion from the land, its length being twenty-five thousand cubits and its width ten thousand cubits; it is holy in all its territory, all around.


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And there shall be from this area five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits, squared all around, for the sanctuary; and fifty cubits ﻿ of open space shall be for it all around it.


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And from this measured area you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand cubits and a width of ten thousand cubits, and in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place.


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It is a holy portion from the land; it will be for the priests, the servants of the sanctuary who approach to serve Yahweh, and it will be for them a place for houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.


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And an area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand cubits in width will be for the Levites, the servants of the temple. It will serve as property for them as cities to dwell in.


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And as property of the city, you must set apart alongside the contribution of the sanctuary a portion five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and it shall be for the entire house of Israel.


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And a portion will be for the prince on both sides of the holy district, and both sides of the property of the city, and alongside the property of the city on the west, and alongside the property on the east. And also its length corresponds to one of the tribal portions to the west running to the eastern border.


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This shall be to him with respect to the land as property in Israel; and so my princes shall not again oppress my people, but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Enough of this for you, the princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction and do justice and righteousness; revoke your acts of dispossession from upon my people!” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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The ephah and the bath shall be one unit of measurement; the tenth part of the homer is the bath, and the tenth of the homer is the ephah; so the homer shall be its unit of measurement.


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And the shekel shall weigh twenty gerahs, twenty shekels and five and twenty shekels and ten and five shekels, that shall make the mina for you.


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This is the contribution offering which you shall present: a sixth of the ephah from a homer of wheat, and a sixth of the ephah from a homer of barley.


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And the quota of the olive oil, the bath of the olive oil, is the tenth part of a bath from a kor, which is ten baths, or a homer—for ten baths are equal to a homer.


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And one sheep from the flock from among two hundred from the pastures of Israel will be taken as a grain offering and as a burnt offering and as a fellowship offering to make atonement for them,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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“But on the prince shall be the responsibility for the burnt offerings, and the grain offering, and the libation at the feasts, and at the New Moon festivals, and at the Sabbaths at all of the assemblies of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, and the grain offering, and the burnt offering, and the fellowship offering to make atonement for the house of Israel.


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘On the first month on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull, a calf without defect, and you shall purify the sanctuary.


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And the priest shall take from the blood of the sin offering, and he shall put it on the doorframe of the temple and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the doorframe of the gate of the inner courtyard.


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And so you shall do on the seventh day in the month for anyone doing wrong inadvertently or due to ignorance, and so you must make atonement for the temple.


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In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast lasting for seven days, when you shall eat unleavened breads.


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And the prince shall provide on that day for himself and for all of the people of the land a bull as a sin offering.


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And during the seven days of the religious feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to Yahweh seven bulls and seven rams without defect for each of the seven days, and as a sin offering a he-goat for each day.


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And as a grain offering, an ephah for the bull and an ephah for the ram he must provide, and a hin of olive oil for each ephah.


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In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the feast, he shall provide just as he has for these seven days, as he did for the sin offering, as he did for the burnt offering, and as he did for the grain offering, and as he did for the olive oil.’ ”


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “The gate of the inner courtyard facing east must be shut on the six of the days for work, but on the day of the Sabbath it must be opened and on the day of the new moon it must be opened.


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And the prince shall come by way of the portico of the gate from the outside, and he shall stand at the doorframe of the gate and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings, and he shall bow down at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be closed until the evening.


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And the people of the land will bow down at the doorway of that gate on the Sabbaths and on the new moons before Yahweh.


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And the burnt offering which the prince will offer to Yahweh on the Sabbath day must be six male lambs without defect and a ram without defect.


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And the grain offering he will give shall be an ephah for each ram, and for the male lambs the grain offering shall be as much as he wants to give and a hin of olive oil for each ephah.


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And on the day of the new moon he will offer a bull, a calf without defect and six male lambs and a ram; they must be without defect.


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And an ephah for each bull and an ephah for the ram he must provide as a grain offering, and also for the male lambs as much as he can afford and a hin of olive oil for each ephah.


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And when the prince comes, on the way of the portico of the gate he shall come and by this way he shall go out.


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And when the people of the land come before Yahweh at the festivals, the one coming by way of the gate of the north to bow down must go out by the way of the gate of the south, and the one coming by way of the gate of the south must go out by the way of the gate of the north, so he must not return by the way of the gate by which he came, but before it he shall go out opposite it.


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And the prince will be in the midst of them; he will come in when they come in, and when they go out he will go out.


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And at the festivals and at the appointed times, the grain offering will be an ephah with a bull and an ephah with the ram and with the male lambs, as much as he wants to give, and a hin of olive oil for each ephah.


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And when the prince makes a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to Yahweh, the gate facing east will be open for him. And he must offer his burnt offering and his fellowship offering just as he does on the day of the Sabbath, and then he must go out and the gate will shut after he goes out.


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And a male lamb, a yearling without defect, he must provide as a burnt offering daily for Yahweh; every morning he must provide it.


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And a grain offering he must provide in addition to it every morning, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of olive oil to moisten the finely milled flour as a grain offering to Yahweh as a perpetual statute.


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So they must provide the male lamb and the grain offering and the olive oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.”


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “If the prince gives a gift to any one from among his sons, it is his inheritance and it will belong to his sons; it is their possession as an inheritance.


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And if he give a gift from his inheritance to one from among his servants, then it will belong to him until the year of release, and then it will return to the prince. His inheritance with respect to his sons will be only for them.


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But the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people to rob them, separating them from their property; from his own property he shall bestow an inheritance on his sons, so that my people will not be driven away, any one, from his property.”


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Then he brought me through the entrance which was on the side of the gate to the holy chambers to the priests; the chambers were facing northwards and, look, there was a place at the extreme end westwards.


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And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering in order not to bring them out to the outer courtyard to make the people holy.


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And he brought me to the outer courtyard and led me past the four corners of the courtyard; and look, there was a courtyard in each corner of the courtyard.


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In the four corners of the courtyard were small courtyards forty cubits in length and thirty cubits in width, each with the same measurements for the four of them with corners.


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And a row was all around inside them, and cooking-places were made under the rows of stones all around.


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And he said to me, “These are the houses for cooking, where the ones serving the temple shall cook the sacrifices of the people.”


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And he brought me back to the doorway of the temple and, look! There was water coming out from under the threshold of the temple eastward, because the face of the temple was eastwards; and the water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, from south of the altar.


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And he brought me out by the way of the north gate and he led me around by the way leading to the outside of the outer gate by way of the gate facing east, and look, there was water trickling from the south side.


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As the man went eastward a measuring line was in his hand, and he measured a thousand cubits. And he led me through on into the water; it was ankle deep.


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And he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me over into the waters and it was knee deep. And he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me over into the waters and it was waist deep.


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And he measured a thousand cubits, and it became a stream that I was not able to cross, because the water rose, waters a person could swim in, and became a stream that could not be crossed.


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And he asked me, “Son of man, did you see this?” And he made me go, and he brought me back along the bank of the stream.


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And he said to me, “These waters are going out to the eastern region, and they go down to the Jordan Valley, and they come to the sea and flow into the sea where they issue out, and the waters in the sea will be healed.


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And then every living creature with which it teems, to every place the waters come it will live; and very many fish will live because these waters came there, and so the water will be healed and everything will be alive everywhere that the stream will come.


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And then fishers from En Gedi and on up to En Eglaim will stand beside it, a sea-girt drying yard for nets; their fish for the dragnets will be of every kind, like the fish of the great sea, and very many.


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And along the stream will go up on its banks from both sides every tree producing food; its leaf will not wither and it will not cease producing its fruit. Every month it will bear early fruit, for its waters are going out from the sanctuary, and its fruit will be as food, and its leaf for healing.”


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Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “This is the boundary by which you shall distribute the land for the twelve tribes of Israel: Two shares shall be for Joseph.


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And you must take possession of it, each one a share like his brother, of this land which I swore to give it to your fathers, and so this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.


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And this is the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the great sea by the way of Hethlon until you come to Zedad,


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Hamath to Berothath to Sibraim, which is between the boundary of Damascus and the boundary of Hamath, on to Hazer Hatticon, which is on the boundary of Hauran.


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And so the boundary will be from the sea to Hazar Enan at the boundary of Damascus northwards and the boundary of Hamath to the north, and this is the boundary on the side of the north.


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And the eastern boundary will be between Hauran and Damascus, and from between Gilead and the land of Israel along the Jordan River from the boundary on the eastern sea to Tamar. And this is the border on the east.


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And on the south side the border will run from Tamar up to the waters of Meribot Kadesh and along the wadi to the Great Sea. And this is the boundary to the south.


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And on the west side the Great Sea shall be the boundary up to opposite Lebo-Hamath. This is the western boundary.


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And then you shall allocate it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens dwelling as aliens in the midst of you who have children in the midst of you, and so they shall be to you just like full citizens among the Israelites. With you they shall be allotted with an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel.


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And then in the tribe in which an alien who is with you dwells, there you shall give his inheritance,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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And these are the names of the tribes: At the end of the north, along the way to Hethlon from Lebo-hamath to Hazar Enan on the boundary of Damascus beside Hamath northward, there will be one portion for Dan from the eastern border to the west.


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And next to the territory of Dan, from the eastern border up to the western border, one portion for Asher.


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And next to the territory of Asher, from the eastern border and up to the western border, one portion for Naphtali.


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And next to the territory of Naphtali, from the eastern border up to the western border, one portion for Manasseh.


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And next to the territory of Manasseh, from the eastern border up to the western border, one portion for Ephraim.


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And next to the territory of Ephraim, from the eastern border and up to the western border, one portion for Reuben.


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And next to the territory of Reuben, from the eastern border up to the western border, one portion for Judah.


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And next to the territory of Judah, from the eastern border up to the western border, shall be located the contribution that you set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and its length just like one of the portions from the eastern border up to the western border, and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.


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The contribution that you shall set apart for Yahweh, its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and its width ten thousand cubits.


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And to these shall be the holy district: to the priests northwards twenty-five thousand cubits, and westwards its width ten thousand cubits, and eastwards its width ten thousand cubits, and southwards its length twenty-five thousand cubits, and the sanctuary of Yahweh shall be in the midst of it.


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To the priests, the ones being consecrated from the descendants of Zadok, who took care of my service and who did not go astray when the Israelites went astray, just as the Levites went astray.


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And it will be for them a special gift from the contribution of the land as a most holy object next to the territory of the Levites.


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And the Levites alongside the territory of the priests shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and in width ten thousand cubits, its full length, twenty-five thousand cubits and its full width, ten thousand cubits.


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And they shall not sell any part from it, and shall not exchange, and shall not transfer the best of the land, for it is holy to Yahweh.


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And the remaining part of five thousand cubits in the width by twenty-five thousand cubits, is unholy; it is for the city as dwelling and as pastureland; and the city will be located in the middle of it.


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And these shall be its measurements: on its side to the north, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on its side to the south, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on the eastern side, four thousand five hundred cubits; and on the western side, four thousand five hundred cubits.


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And a pastureland shall be for the city northwards, two hundred and fifty cubits, southwards two hundred and fifty cubits, and eastwards two hundred and fifty cubits, and westwards two hundred and fifty cubits.


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And the rest in its length alongside the holy district, ten thousand cubits eastwards and ten thousand westwards; and it shall be alongside the holy district and its yield shall be as food for the workers of the city.


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All of the contribution, twenty-five thousand by twenty five thousand cubits square, you shall set apart as the holy district along with the property of the city.


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And the rest shall be to the prince, on both sides of the holy district and of the property of the city extending from twenty-five thousand cubits of the contribution up to the boundary of the east, and westwards extending twenty-five thousand cubits to the boundary of the sea alongside the tribal portions. They shall be for the prince, and it shall be the holy district, and the sanctuary of the temple will be in its middle.


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And also the property of the Levites and the property of the city will be in the midst of the property which is for the prince; between the territory of Judah and between the territory of Benjamin the land will be for the prince.


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And for the remainder of the tribes: From the side on the east up to the side on the west, Benjamin one portion;


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and next to the territory of Benjamin, from the side on the east up to the side of the sea, Simeon one portion;


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and next to the territory of Simeon, from the side of the east up to the side of the sea, Issachar one portion;


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and next to the territory of Issachar, from the side of the east up to the side of the sea, Zebulun one portion;


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and next to the territory of Zebulun, from the side of the east up to the side of the sea, Gad one portion;


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and next to the territory of Gad, to the side of the south, southward; and the territory will be from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, toward the wadi, on to the Great Sea.


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This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions,” declares the Lord Yahweh.


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And these shall be the exits of the city: From the north side, four thousand and five hundred cubits by measurement.


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


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


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And on the south side, four thousand five hundred cubits by measurement, and so three gates, the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.


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And on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits, and their gates three, the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.


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All around the city is eighteen thousand cubits, and the name of the city from that day is “Yahweh Is There”!


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


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And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and some of of the utensils of the temple of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to the treasury of his gods.


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And the king ordered Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the lords,


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youths who have no physical defect, and who are handsome, and who are prudent in all wisdom and endowed with knowledge, and who understand insight, and who have the ability in them to serve in the palace of the king. And the king ordered him to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans.


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And the king assigned to them his daily portion from the fine food of the king, and from the wine that he drank, and instructed that they were to be educated for three years. And at the end of their training, they were to be stationed before the king.


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And the commander of the court officials gave them names, and he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; and Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.


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Now Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the fine food of the king, and with the wine that he drank, and so he requested from the commander of the court officials permission so that he would not defile himself.


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and the commander of the court officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord, the king, who has determined your food and your drink, for why should he see your face having a worse appearance than the young men who are your age? Then you will endanger my head with the king.”


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Then Daniel asked the guard whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


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“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us some of the vegetables, and let us eat and let us drink water.


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Then let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared before you, and then deal with your servants according to what you see.”


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And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and they were healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of the king.


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So the guard continued to withhold their fine food and the wine of their drink, and he gave them vegetables.


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And as for these four young men, God gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visions and dreams.


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And at the end of the time the king had set to bring them, the commander of the court officials brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.


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And the king spoke with them, and among all of them no one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; then they stood before the king.


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And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better than all of the magicians and conjurers that were in his entire kingdom.


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Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.


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So the king said to call the magicians and the conjurers and the sorcerers and the astrologers to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood before the king.


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And the astrologers said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation.”


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The king answered and said to the astrologers, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation, then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins.


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But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation.”


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They answered once more and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known.”


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The king answered and said, “ Certainly I know that you are trying to gain time because you have seen that this matter is firmly decreed by me,


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for if you do not make the dream known to me, your verdict is fixed, and you have conspired to say a lying and deceitful word to me until the circumstances will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation.”


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The astrologers answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; in fact, no great and powerful king has ever asked a thing like this of any magician or conjurer or astrologer.


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And the thing that the king is asking is too difficult and there is no one who can reveal it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with mortals.”


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Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed.


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And the decree was issued, and the wise men were on the verge of being executed, and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed.


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Then Daniel responded prudently and discretely to Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard of the king, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.


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He asked and said to Arioch, the royal official of the king, “ Why is the decree from the king so severe?” Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel.


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And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and he would tell the king the explanation.


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Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions,


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and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.


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Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.


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Daniel said: “Let his name, the name of God, be blessed throughout the ages, for the wisdom and the power are his.


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And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men who know understanding.


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


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To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king.”


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Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: “You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation to the king.”


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Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: “I have found a man among the exiles of Judah who can relate the explanation to the king.


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The king then asked and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?”


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Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers, magicians, or diviners are able to make known to the king.


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But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what it is that will be at the end of days. This is your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.


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“ As for you, king, your thoughts on your bed turned to what it was that would be in the future, and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be.


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And as for me, it is not because of wisdom that is in me more than any other living person that this mystery is revealed to me, but in order that the explanation may be made known to the king and you will understand the thoughts of your mind.


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“You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue was huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing there before you, and its appearance was frightening.


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The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,


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You were looking on until a stone was chiseled out —that not by hands—and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces.


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Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all at once broke into pieces and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth.


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You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory,


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and also human beings wherever they dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of heaven —he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold.


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And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third kingdom of bronze that will rule over the whole earth.


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And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, and just as iron crushes and smashes everything, and as iron shatters all of these other metals, so it will crush and it will shatter these nations.


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And just as you saw the feet and the toes, partly potter’s clay and partly iron, it will be a divided kingdom; and some hardness of the iron will be in it, just as you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay.


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


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And in that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, so they will mix in marriage and they will not cling to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.


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And in the day of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand forever.


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Inasmuch as you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out but not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, thereby the great God made known to the king what will be in the future, and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy.”


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Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded them to offer a grain offering and incense offering to him.


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The king answered Daniel and said, “ Truly your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery.”


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


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And Daniel made a request from the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the court of the king.


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Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold. Its height was sixty cubits and its width was six cubits; he set it up in the valley of Dura in the province of Babylon.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent directions to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


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Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province were assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, and were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


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Then the herald proclaimed aloud, “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations and people of all languages,


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that at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp, the drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.


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And whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown immediately into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.”


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Therefore, at that time, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations and people of all languages were falling down and were worshiping the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.


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You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold.


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And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.


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However there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—these men, O king, pay you no heed and were not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar said in rage and anger to bring in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then they brought in these men before the king.


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Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “ Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you are not serving my god, and you are not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up?


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Now if you are ready so that when you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the harp and the drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, that will be good. But if you do not worship it, immediately you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god who will rescue you from my hands?”


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Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, “We have no need on this matter to present a defense to you.


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If it is so, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us.


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And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with anger and the image of his face was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, so he ordered and said to heat up the one furnace seven times what was usual to heat it up.


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And he commanded the strongest men of the guards who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.


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Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their other clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.


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Therefore because the word of the king was severe and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed these men who lifted up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.


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But these men, the three of them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and they were bound.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and he rose up in haste and he asked, saying to his advisers, “ Did we not throw three men, bound, into the midst of the fire? They answered, saying to the king, “Certainly, O king!”


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He answered, saying, “Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the appearance of the fourth man resembles the son of a god.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire, and he called out, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here!”


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And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king were assembling, and they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them.


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Nebuchadnezzar responded, saying, “Blessed be their God, the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him, and the command of the king they disobeyed, and they gave their bodies so that they did not serve and did not worship any god except their God.


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And from me is set forth a decree that any people, nation, or language that may utter criticism against their God— the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—will be broken into pieces and their house will be made like ruins. For there is not another God who is able to rescue like this God.”


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Nebuchadnezzar the king to all of the nations, the peoples and languages that live in the whole earth: “May your prosperity increase!


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How great are his signs and wonders, how strong is his kingdom, an everlasting kingdom; and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.


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And I saw a dream and a revelation on my bed and it frightened me, and the visions of my head terrified me.


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And a decree was sent out, ordering that all the wise men of Babylon were to be brought in before me so that they may make known to me the explanation of the dream.


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Then the magicians, the conjurers, the astrologers and the diviners came in and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its explanation.


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Then at last Daniel came before me whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom was the spirit of the holy gods, and I related the dream to him.


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“ ‘ O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I myself know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Now tell me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its explanation.


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Now these were the visions of my head as I was lying on my bed: I was gazing and, look, a tree was in the midst of the earth, and its height was exalted.


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The tree grew and it became strong, and its height reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.


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Its foliage was beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was provision for all. Under it the animals of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.


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“ ‘I was looking in the vision of my head as I lay on my bed, and look, a watcher, and a holy one, came down from heaven.


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He cried aloud and so he said: “Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.


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But the stump of its roots leave in the earth, along with a band of iron and bronze; leave it in the grass of the field. And in the dew of heaven let it be watered, and with the animals let his lot be in the grass of the earth.


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Let his mind be changed from that of a human, and let the mind of an animal be given to him, and let seven times pass over him.


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The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the command of the holy ones, in order that the living will know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and to whomever he wills he gives it, and he even sets the humblest of men over it.”


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“ ‘This is the dream that I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, for all of the wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because the spirit of holy gods is in you.’


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“Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was distressed for some time, and his thoughts disturbed him. The king answered and he said, ‘Belteshazzar, let the dream and its explanation not disturb you.’ Belteshazzar answered and said, ‘My lord, may the dream and its explanation be for those who hate you and for your enemies.


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The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heaven and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,


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and its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and so there was provision for all in it, and the animals of the field lived under it and in its branches nest the birds of heaven,


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—it is you, O king, who have grown great and you have grown strong, and so your greatness has increased and it has reached to heaven and your sovereignty to the end of the earth.


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And inasmuch that the king saw the watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven and he said, “Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and let his lot be with the animals of the field until seven times have passed over him.”


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This is the explanation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king:


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you will be driven away from human society and you will dwell with the animals of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen yourself, and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and to whom he wills he gives it.


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And in that they said to leave alone the stump of the tree’s root, so your kingdom will be restored for you when you acknowledge that heaven is sovereign.


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Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you and your sin remove with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on the oppressed, in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity.’ ”


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And the king answered and said, “Is this not the great Babylon which I have built as a royal palace by the strength of my own power, and for the glory of my own majesty?”


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While the words were still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, saying, ‘To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you,


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and you will be driven away from human society and your dwelling will be with the animals of the field and they will cause you to graze the grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.’


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Immediately the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from human society and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird’s claws.


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“But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and then my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and the one who lives forever I praised and I honored. “For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.


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And all the dwellers of the earth are regarded as nothing, and he does according to his desire in the host of heaven and among the dwellers of earth, and there is not one who can hold back his hand, or ask him, ‘What are you doing?’


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“ At that time my reason returned to me, and also the glory of my kingdom and my majesty and splendor returned to me, and my advisers and my lords searched me out, and I was established over my kingdom and abundant greatness was added to me.


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Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are truth, and his ways are justice and that he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”


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Belshazzar the king made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and in the presence of the thousand lords he was drinking wine.


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When he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring the vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his predecessor had taken from the temple that was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines may drink from them.


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Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them.


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Immediately human fingers appeared and they wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king, and the king was watching the palm of the hand that was writing.


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Then his face changed and his thoughts terrified him, and his hip joints gave way and his knees knocked together.


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The king cried aloud to bring in the conjurers, the astrologers and the diviners; the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man that can read this writing and can tell me its explanation will be clothed in purple and will have a necklace of gold hung around his neck and he will rule as third in authority in the kingdom.”


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Then all the wise men of the king came in, but they were not able to read the writing or to make known its explanation.


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Then the king, Belshazzar, became greatly terrified, and his facial features changed upon him, and his lords were perplexed.


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Because of the words of the king and his lords, the queen came into the banqueting hall and the queen spoke up and said, “O king, live forever, and let not your thoughts terrify you and do not let your facial expressions grow pale.


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There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. And in the days of your predecessor, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your predecessor appointed him as chief of the magicians, the conjurers, the astrologers, and the diviners. Your predecessor the king did this


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because there was found in him an excellent spirit and understanding and insight for interpreting dreams and explaining riddles and solving riddles; that is, in Daniel whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now, let Daniel be called and he will tell the explanation.”


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Then Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “You are Daniel who are one of the exiles of Judah whom my predecessor, the king, brought from Judah.


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And I have heard that a spirit of the gods is in you and enlightenment and insight and excellent wisdom was found in you.


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And now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me so that they could read this writing in order to make its explanation known to me, but they were not able to disclose the explanation of the matter.


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But I have heard concerning you that you are able to produce interpretations and to solve riddles; now if you are able to read the writing and to make known its explanation to me, you will be clothed in purple and a necklace of gold will be placed around your neck and you will rule as third in command in the kingdom.”


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


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O king, the Most High God gave the kingdom and the greatness and the glory and the majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your predecessor.


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And because of the greatness that he gave to him, all the peoples, the nations and languages trembled and feared before him; whomever he wanted he killed, and whomever he wanted he let live, and whomever he wanted he honored, and whomever he wanted he humbled.


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But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit became hard so as to act proudly, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and the glory was taken away from him.


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And he was driven away from human society and his mind was made like the animals and his dwelling was with the wild asses; and he was given grass like oxen to eat, and with the dew of heaven his body was bathed, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and whoever he wants he sets over it.


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And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God who holds your life in his hand and all of your ways come from him, you have not honored.


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“This is the explanation of the matter: ‘Mene’—God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end to it.


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Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple and placed a necklace of gold around his neck, and they made a proclamation concerning him that he would be the third ruler in authority in the kingdom.


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It pleased Darius, and he set up one hundred and twenty satraps over the kingdom, that they were throughout the whole kingdom,


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and over them were three administrators, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss.


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Then Daniel began distinguishing himself above the administrators and the satraps because an exceptional spirit was in him, and so the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.


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Then the other administrators and satraps began to seek to find a pretext against Daniel in connection with the kingdom, but they were not able to find any pretext and corruption because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him.


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Then these men said, “We will not find any pretext against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”


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So the administrators and the satraps conspired with respect to the king and so they said to him, “Darius, O king, live forever !


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All of the administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel and have agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that whoever will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you for up to thirty days will be thrown into the lion pit.


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Now, O king, establish the edict and you must sign the document so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked.”


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Now when Daniel realized that the document was signed, he went to his house ( now he had windows in his upper room that were open toward Jerusalem), and three times daily he knelt on his knees and prayed and gave praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously.


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Then they approached and spoke with the king concerning the edict of the king, “ Did you not sign an edict that any person who would seek anything from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into the lion pit?” The king answered and said, “The matter as you have just stated is certain according to the law of the Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked.”


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Then they responded and said before the king, “Daniel, who is from the exiles of Judah, is not paying any attention to you, O king, or to the decree that you have signed, and three times daily he says his prayer.”


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Then the king, when he heard that report, he was extremely distressed over it; and concerning Daniel he was determined to rescue him. And until the setting of the sun he was making every effort to deliver him.


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Then these men came as a group to the king and said, “Recall, O king, that with respect to the law of the Medes and Persians that any decree or edict that the king establishes cannot be changed.”


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Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought in and they threw him into the lion pit. The king said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve faithfully, may he rescue you!”


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And a stone was brought and it was put on the entrance of the pit, and the king sealed it with his signet ring and with the signet rings of his lords, so that nothing would be changed concerning Daniel.


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Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him.


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And when he came near to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with a distressed voice, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?”


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My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not hurt me, because before him I was found blameless, and also before you, O king, I have not done any wrong.”


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Then the king was exceedingly glad over it and commanded that Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and there was not any wound found on him, because he had trusted in his God.


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The king then commanded, and these men were brought who had accused Daniel, and they threw them and their children and their wives into the lion pit, and they had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had overpowered them and they had crushed all of their bones.


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Then Darius the king wrote to all the people, the nations, and the languages living in the whole earth, “May your prosperity become great!


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I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom people will be trembling and fearing before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and endures forever and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed and his dominion has no end.


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He is rescuing, delivering, and working signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth, for he has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”


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In the first year of Belshazzar the king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote down the dream and the summary of the words as follows:


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Daniel explained and said, “I was looking in my vision in the night, and look, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.


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The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I was watching until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and it was raised on its feet like a human, and a human heart was given to it.


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And look, another beast, a second one, looking like a bear. And it was raised up on one side and three tusks were in its mouth between its teeth, and so it was told, “Arise, eat much flesh!”


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After this I was watching and look, another beast like a leopard; it had four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.


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After this in the visions of the night I was looking and there was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightful and exceedingly strong, and it had great iron teeth, and it was devouring and crushing, and it stamped the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the other beasts that preceded it and it had ten horns.


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I was considering the horns, and look, another little horn came up among them, and three of the earlier horns were rooted out from before it, and there were eyes like the eyes of a human in this horn and also a mouth that was speaking boastfully.


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“ I continued watching until thrones were placed and an Ancient of Days sat; his clothing was like white snow and the hair of his head was like pure wool and his throne was a flame of fire and its wheels were burning fire.


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A stream of fire issued forth and flowed from his presence; thousands upon thousands served him and ten thousand upon ten thousand stood before him. The judge sat, and the books were opened.


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“ I continued watching then because of the noise of the boastful words of the horn who was speaking; I continued watching until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed, and it was given over to burning with fire.


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And as for the remainder of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but a prolongation of their life was given to them for a season and a time.


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“ I continued watching in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented before him.


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And to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all the peoples, the nations, and languages would serve him; his dominion is a dominion without end that will not cease, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.


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So I approached one of the attendants and I asked him about the truth concerning all this; and he told me that he would make known to me the explanation of the matter.


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But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will take possession of the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’


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“Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from all the others —exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed and stamped the remainder with its feet—


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and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and before which three horns fell, and this horn had eyes and a mouth speaking boastfully, and its appearance was larger than its companions.


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until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones of the Most High; and the time arrived and the holy ones took possession of the kingdom.


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“And he said, ‘The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it.


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And as for the ten horns coming from it, from this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings.


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And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time.


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Then the court will sit, and his dominion will be removed, to be eradicated and to be destroyed totally.


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And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the nation of the holy ones of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey him.’


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This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel —my thoughts terrified me greatly and my face changed over me, but I kept the matter in my heart.”


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In the third year of the kingdom of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me previously.


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And I saw in the vision, and when I saw, I was in Susa, the citadel that was in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I myself was at the stream of Ulai.


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And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram standing before the stream, and it had two horns, and the horns were long, but the one was longer than the second, and the longer one came up after the other one.


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I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and none of the beasts stood before it, and there was no rescuing from its power, and it did what it wanted and it became strong.


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And I was considering this, and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and it was not touching the ground; and the he-goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes.


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Then it came toward the ram that had the two horns that I saw standing before the stream, and it ran at it with the rage of its power.


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And I saw it approaching the ram and it was furious at it, and it struck the ram, and it broke its two horns, and there was not strength in the ram to stand before him, and he threw it down to the ground and trampled it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from its power.


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And the he-goat grew exceedingly great, and at the height of its power the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns came up in place of it toward the four winds of heaven.


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And from one of them came forth a horn, a little one, and it grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.


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And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them.


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Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown.


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And on account of transgression, the host was given over to the horn in addition to the regular burnt offering. And it cast down truth to the ground, and it acted, and it had success.


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And I heard a certain holy one speaking, and a certain other holy one said to the specific one who was speaking, “ For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, and the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and the host to trampling?”


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And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be restored.”


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And then when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and I was seeking understanding, there was one standing before me with the appearance of a man.


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And I heard the voice of a human at the Ulai, and he called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”


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And he came beside where I was standing, and when he came I became terrified and I fell prostrate on my face. And he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”


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And when he spoke with me I fell into a trance with my face to the ground, and he touched me and made me stand on by feet.


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And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what will happen in the period of wrath, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.


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“And the hairy he-goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes—he is the first king.


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And the horn that was broken, and then there arose four horns in place of it— these are four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, but not with his power.


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And at the end of their kingdom, when the transgressions are completed, a king will arise, fierce in countenance and skilled in riddles.


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And his power will grow, but not by his own power, and he will cause fearful destruction, and he will succeed and he will act, and he will destroy the mighty and the people of the holy ones.


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And by his planning he will make a success of deceit by his hand, and in his mind he will boast, and in their ease he will destroy many, and even against the prince of princes he will rise up, and he will be broken, but not by human hands.


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And the vision of the evening and the morning that has been described, it is true; and you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days to come.”


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And I, Daniel, was overcome, and I became ill for some days, and I performed the business of the king, and I was dismayed over the vision and I did not understand it.


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In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, from the offspring of the Medes, who became king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—


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in the first year of his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was that were to be fulfilled according to the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem—seventy years.


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Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and pleas for mercy, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes.


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And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments,


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we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and have been turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances.


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We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land.


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“ Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord, and on us is open shame, just as it is this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of their infidelity which they displayed against you.


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Yahweh, on us is open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.


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and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law which he placed before us by the hand of his servants the prophets.


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“And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside so as not to listen to your voice, and so the curse and the oath which was written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.


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And so he has carried out his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring upon us a great calamity which was not done under all of heaven as it was done in Jerusalem.


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Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and we have not implored the face of Yahweh our God so as to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.


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So Yahweh has kept watch over the calamity, and now he has brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God is righteous concerning all his works that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.


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“And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you have made for yourself a name until this day—we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.


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Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain, because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors.


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“And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shine your face upon your desolate sanctuary for your sake, O Lord.


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Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called by your name, for we are not presenting our pleas for mercy before you because of our righteousness, but rather because of your great compassion.


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Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay for your sake, my God; because your city and your people are called by your name.”


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Now I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before Yahweh my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God.


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And I was still speaking in prayer, and the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, in my weariness touched me at the time of the evening offering.


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And he instructed me and he spoke with me and he said, “Daniel I have now come out to teach you understanding.


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At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and now I have come to declare it, for you are highly esteemed, and so consider the word and understand the vision.


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“Seventy weeks is decreed for your people and for your holy city, to put an end to the transgression and to seal up sin and to make atonement for guilt and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal vision and prophet and to anoint the most holy place.


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And you must know and you must understand that from the time of the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem until an anointed one — a leader— will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and will be built with streets and a moat, but in a time of oppression.


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“And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and he shall have nothing, and the people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will be with the flood and on to the end there shall be war; these desolations are determined.


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And he will make a strong covenant with the many for one week, but in half of the week he will let cease sacrifice and offering and in its place a desolating abomination comes even until the determined complete destruction is poured out on the desolator.”


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In the third year of Cyrus the king of the Persians, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was called by his name Belteshazzar, and the word was reliable and it concerned a great tribulation, and he understood the word and he received understanding.


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I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment until the end of three whole weeks.


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And then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I myself was on the bank of the great river; that is, the Tigris.


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And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and there was a man, and he was dressed in linen, and his waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz.


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Now his body was like turquoise, and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude.


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And I saw, I, Daniel alone, the vision; and the people who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled in order to hide themselves.


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And I myself, Daniel, alone saw this great vision, and as a result no strength was left in me and my complexion grew deathly pale, and I did not retain any strength.


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And I heard the sound of his words, and when I heard the sound of his words I myself began falling into a trance on my face, with my face to the ground.


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And he said to me, “Daniel, a man beloved, pay attention to the words that I am speaking to you and stand upright where you are, for I have now been sent to you.” And while he was speaking with me this word, I stood up trembling.


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And he said to me, “You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I myself have come because of your words.


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But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood before me for twenty-one days. And look, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians.


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And I have come to instruct you about what will happen to your people in the future, for there is a further vision here for the future.


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And while he was speaking with me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and I was speechless.


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Then look, there was one in the form of a human; he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I have not retained my strength.


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So how am I, a servant of my lord to speak with you, my lord, and I just now have no strength in me?”


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And he said, “You must not fear, O beloved man. Peace be to you; be strong and be courageous!” And when he spoke with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”


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Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself am going, and look, the prince of Javan will come.


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However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth, and there is not one who contends with me against these beings except Michael, your prince.”


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And now I will reveal the truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance and great wealth, even more than all of them, and when he becomes strong through his wealth, then he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Javan.


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But as he rises in power, his kingdom will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion by which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and be given to others besides them.


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“Then the king of the south will grow strong and also one of his officials, and he will grow stronger than him and he will rule a dominion greater than his dominion.


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And at the end of some years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but she will not retain her position of power, and his offspring will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times.


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And a branch from her roots will rise up in his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail.


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And also their gods with their idols and with the precious vessels, silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and for years he will leave the king of the north alone.


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“But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and he will advance with great force, and he will overflow like a flood and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress.


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And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.


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When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.


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And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and at the end of some years he will surely come with a great army and with great supplies.


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“And in these times many will rise up against the king of the south, and the violent ones of your people will lift themselves to fulfill the vision, but they will fall.


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And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and his choice troops will not stand, for there is no strength left to resist.


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And the one coming to him will act according to his pleasure, and there is no one who will stand before him, and he will stand in the beautiful land and complete destruction will be in his power.


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And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement; and he will act, and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it, but the ploy will not succeed and she will not support him.


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And he will turn his face to the coastlands, and he will capture many, but a commander will end his insults to him so that instead his insults will turn back upon him.


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And he will turn back his face toward the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found.


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“Then in his place will arise one sending an official throughout the glory of his kingdom, and in a few days he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle.


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And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom they have not conferred the majesty of the kingdom, and he will come in without warning and he will seize the kingdom by deceit.


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And before him mighty military forces will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also the leader of the covenant.


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And after an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people backing him.


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In a time of ease and in the rich parts of the province, he will come and he will do what his predecessors did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but only for a time.


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And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and with a much greater and stronger army; but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him.


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And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain.


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And two of the kings will bend their hearts to evil. And at the same table they will speak lies, but what is discussed will not succeed, for still an end is coming at the appointed time.


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Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and he will return to his land.


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“At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be as it was before.


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And the ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged against the holy covenant, and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.


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And military forces from him will occupy and will profane the sanctuary stronghold, and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.


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“And those who violate the covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God will stand firm and will take action.


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And those who have insight will instruct the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.


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And even some of those who have insight ﻿ will fall in order for them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.


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“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things against the God of gods, yet he will succeed until the period of anger is finished, for what is determined will be done.


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He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all gods.


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But instead he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor him with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts.


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And he will deal with the fortified strongholds with the help of a foreign god; and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule over the many, and he will distribute land for a price.


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“And at the time of the end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships, and he will advance against the countries and he will sweep through like a flood.


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And he will come into the beautiful land and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part of the Ammonites.


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And he will rule over the treasures of gold and the silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Cushites will follow in his footsteps.


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But reports will terrify him from the east and from the north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and to exterminate many.


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And then he will pitch the tents of his palace between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, and he will come to his end, and there is no one helping him.”


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“Now at that time, Michael, the great prince, will arise, the protector over the sons of your people, and it will be a time of distress that has not been since your people have been a nation until that time. And at that time your people will escape, everyone who is found written in the scroll.


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And many from those sleeping in the dusty ground will awake, some to everlasting life and some to disgrace and everlasting contempt.


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But the ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and the ones providing justice for the many will be like the stars forever and ever.


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But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and seal the scroll until the time of the end; many will run back and forth and knowledge will increase.”


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Then I looked, I myself, Daniel, and look, there were two others standing: one on this bank of the stream and one on the other.


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Then he said to the man who was clothed in linen who was above the water of the stream, “ How long until the end of the wonders?”


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And I heard the man who was clothed in linen who was above the water of the stream, and he raised his right hand and his left hand to heaven and he swore by the one who lives forever that an appointed time, appointed times, and half an appointed time would pass when the shattering of the power of the holy people would be completed; then all these things will be accomplished.


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Now I myself heard, but I did not understand, and I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”


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Many will be purified and will be cleansed and will be refined, but the wicked will act wickedly and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.


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And from the time the regular burnt offering is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set up there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.


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Happy is the one who is persevering, and attains to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.


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But you, go on to the end and rest, and you will arise for your allotted inheritance at the end of the days.”


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The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.


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At the beginning when Yahweh spoke through Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife and children of whoredom, because the land commits great whoredom forsaking Yahweh.”


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And Yahweh said to him, “ Name him Jezreel; because in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.


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And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he said to him, “ Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.


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But I will have pity on the house of Judah and I will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.


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The number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured or counted; and in the place where it is said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “Children of the living God.”


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Then the children of Judah and Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one head; and they will take possession of the land, for great is the day of Jezreel.


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Plead with your mother, plead— because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her whoring from before her, and her adultery from between her breasts.


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Lest I strip her naked and expose her like the day when she was born; I will make her like the desert and turn her into parched land; I will kill her with thirst.


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Because their mother was unfaithful; she who conceived them has acted shamefully, for she said: “I will go after my lovers, the ones who give me my bread, my water, my wool, and my flax, my oil, and my drink.”


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Therefore, Look! I am going to hedge her path with thorns, and I will build a stone wall, a stone wall against her, and she will not find her paths.


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Then she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; she will seek them and not find them; and she will say, “I will go and return to my first husband because it was better for me then than now.”


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But she did not know that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and who gave her silver in abundance, and gold which they made into a Baal.


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Therefore I will take again my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness.


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And now I will uncover her nakedness before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from my hand.


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And I will put an end to all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals;


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and I will lay waste to her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, “They are my payment for prostitution, which my lovers gave to me.” I will make them a forest, and the wild animals of the field will devour them.


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I will punish her for the days of the Baals, to whom she burns incense, and she decked herself with her ornamental ring and jewelry, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me —a declaration of Yahweh.


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Therefore, Look! I am going to allure her and bring her into the desert, and I will speak tenderly to her.


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From there I will give her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope. And there she will respond, as in the days of her youth, just as in the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt.


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And on that day — a declaration of Yahweh— you will call me, “My husband;” you will no longer call me, “My Baal.”


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I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by their name.


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I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the animals of the field, with the birds of the heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; the bow, the sword, and the war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.


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And I will take you as my wife forever; I will take you as a wife for myself in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.


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On that day I will answer, declares Yahweh, I will answer the heavens, and they will answer the earth.


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I will sow her for myself in the land; I will have pity on Lo-ruhama; I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are my people,” and he himself will say, “ you are my God.”


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And Yahweh said to me again, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of Yahweh for the children of Israel, but they are turning to other gods and love raisin cakes.”


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And I said to her, “ You must remain as mine for many days, and you will not play the whore; you will not belong to a man, and I will belong to you.”


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The children of Israel will remain for many days without a king and prince, without sacrifice and stone pillar, ephod and teraphim.


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Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king. They will come in fear to Yahweh and to his goodness at the end of days.


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Hear the word of Yahweh, O children of Israel, for Yahweh has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or loyalty, there is no knowledge of God in the land.


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Swearing and lying, murdering and stealing, and adultery break out, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.


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Therefore the land mourns, and all those living in it languish with the animals of the field, and the birds of the heaven, and even the fish of the sea are being swept away.


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You will stumble by day, and the priest also will stumble with you at night. And I will destroy your mother;


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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from acting as a priest for me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.


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And it will be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways, and I will requite them for their deeds.


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They will eat and not be satisfied; they will play the whore and not multiply, because they have forsaken Yahweh to devote themselves to


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My people, consult their wooden idols, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led them astray, and they played the whore from under their God.


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On the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and on the hills they make offerings, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and all your daughters-in-law commit adultery.


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I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; because they go aside with whores, and they sacrifice with temple prostitutes, a people that does not understand comes to ruin.


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Even though you, O Israel, are playing the whore, do not let Judah become guilty; do not enter Gilgal, or go up to Beth-aven; and do not swear, “ As Yahweh lives !”


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Indeed, like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; Now Yahweh will feed them, like a lamb in broad pasture.


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When their drinking has ended, they surely indulge in sexual orgies. They love lewdness more than their glory.


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Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! Because the judgment applies to you; because you have been a snare for Mizpah, and a net spread out on Tabor;


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I myself know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; because now you have played the whore, O Ephraim— Israel is defiled.


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Their deeds do not permit them to return them to God. Because a spirit of whoredom is in their midst, they do not know Yahweh.


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The pride of Israel testifies against him, and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their guilt, and Judah stumbles with them.


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With their flocks and herds they will go to seek Yahweh, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.


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They have dealt faithlessly with Yahweh because they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.


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Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm in Beth-aven; look behind you, Benjamin.


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Ephraim will be a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I will reveal what is true.


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The princes of Judah have become like those who remove a landmark; on them I will pour out my wrath like water.


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And when Ephraim saw his illness, and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria, he sent to the great king. But he was unable to cure you and heal your wound.


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Because I will be like a lion to Ephraim and like a fierce strong lion to the house of Judah. I myself will tear and I will go; I will carry off, and there is no one who delivers.


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I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face; in their distress they will search me.


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Come, let us return to Yahweh; because it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck us down and will bind us up.


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He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his presence.


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Let us know, let us press on to know Yahweh; his rising is sure like the dawn. He will come like the showers to us, like the spring rain that waters the earth.


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What will I do with you, O Ephraim? What will I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early in the morning.


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Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like the light.


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Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.


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Like bandits lying in wait, so is a band of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem; indeed, they commit a monstrous crime.


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In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible; Ephraim’s unfaithfulness is there. Israel is defiled.


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when I would heal Israel, and the corruption of Ephraim is revealed, and the wicked deeds of Samaria; because they deal in falsehood, the thief breaks in, and the bandit raids the outside.


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But they did not consider that I remember all their wickedness. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.


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All of them commit adultery, like a burning oven whose baker has stopped from stirring the fire, and from kneading the dough until it is leavened.


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On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; he stretched out his hand with mockers.


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Because they are kindled like an oven, their heart burns within them; all night their anger smolders, in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.


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All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen; there is none who calls to me amongst them.


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Foreigners devour his strength, and he does not know it; mold is also sprinkled upon him, and he does not know it.


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The pride of Israel testifies against him — they do not return to Yahweh their God; they do not seek him for all of this.


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Just as they go, I will cast my net over them; I will bring them down like the birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to a report to their assembly.


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Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I myself would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.


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They do not cry out to me from their heart, but they wail on their beds; because of grain and new wine they lacerate themselves; they depart from me.


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They turn, not to the Most High, like a slack bow; their officials will fall by the sword because of the anger of their tongue. This is their scorn in the land of Egypt.


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Put to your lips the trumpet like a vulture over the house of Yahweh, because they have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law.


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They appointed kings, but not through me; they made officials, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for themselves for their own destruction.


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Your calf is rejected, O Samaria; my anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?


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Because it is from Israel, an artisan made it, it is not a god; for the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.


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Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. The standing grain does not have heads; it will not yield flour. And if it would yield, strangers would devour it.


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For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey alone to itself; Ephraim has sold itself for lovers.


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Even though they have sold themselves to the nations, now I will gather them. They will soon writhe from the burden of kings and princes.


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They offer sacrifices of my choice and they eat flesh; Yahweh does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they will return to Egypt.


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Israel has forgotten his maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send fire on his cities and it will devour her strongholds.


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Do not rejoice, O Israel, do not exult like the nations! For you played the whore, departing from your God; you loved a harlot’s wage on all the threshing floors of grain.


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They will not remain in the land of Yahweh. But Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat unclean food.


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They will not pour drink offerings of wine to Yahweh, and their sacrifices will not please him. They are like mourners’ bread for them; all those who eat it will be defiled. For their bread will be for their hunger; it will not come to the house of Yahweh.


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For look! If they flee from the destruction, Egypt will gather them; Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their precious things of silver; thorns will be in their tents.


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The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have come; Israel knows! The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is acting like a madman. Because of the greatness of your sin, your hostility is great.


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The prophet keeps watch over Ephraim for my God; the snare of a fowler is on all his ways, and hostility in the house of his God.


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They deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; he will remember their sin, he will punish their sins.


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Like the grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like early ripened fruit on the fig tree in the first season, I saw your ancestors. They themselves came to Baal Peor, and they consecrated themselves to shame. And they became detestable things, like the thing they love.


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Even though they bring up their children, I will bereave them before maturity. Woe to them indeed, when I depart from them!


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Ephraim, as I see it, is like a palm in a meadow; but Ephraim must bring out his children to the slayer.


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Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal, so I began to hate them there; because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them out from my house. I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels.


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Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall not bear fruit. Even if they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.


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My God will reject them because they did not listen to him, and they will be wanderers among the nations.


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Israel is a luxuriant vine; he yields fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he made numerous altars. The more his land prospered, the more he improved his stone pillars.


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Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. He himself will break down their altars; he will destroy their stone pillars.


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For now they will say, “We have no king; indeed, we did not fear Yahweh, and what can a king do for us?”


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They utter words of vain oaths when making covenants, and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant on the furrows of the field.


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The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, his people will mourn for it, and his idolatrous priests will wail over it— over its glory because it has departed from it.


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It will also be brought to Assyria, as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will obtain disgrace and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.


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The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed. Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars. They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”


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From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; there they have remained. Will not war in Gibeah overtake them against the children of evil?


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In my desire I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them when they are punished for their double iniquities.


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Ephraim was a trained heifer, that loved to thresh grain, and I myself spared the fairness of her neck; I will make Ephraim break the ground, Judah will plow, Jacob must till for himself.


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Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap loyal love. Break up for yourself fallow ground; it is time to seek Yahweh so he will come and rain righteousness upon you.


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You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies, because you have trusted in your strength, in the multitude of your warriors.


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The tumult of war will rise up against your people, and all your fortresses will be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel; on the day of war mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.


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So it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of the evil of your wickedness; at dawn, the king of Israel will be utterly destroyed.


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When I called them, they went from my face. They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.


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And I myself taught Ephraim to walk; I took them in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them.


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I drew them with human ties, with the bands of love. I was to them like one who lifted up a yoke on their jaws, though I bent down to them and let them eat.


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My people are bent on backsliding from me. To the Most High they call, he does not raise them at all.


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How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is disturbed within me; all my compassions are aroused.


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I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; because I am God and not a mortal, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not come in wrath.


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They will go after Yahweh; he roars like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the sea.


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They will tremble like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will let them return to their homes— a declaration of Yahweh.


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Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; and Judah is still wandering with God and is faithful to the Holy One.


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Ephraim herds the wind and is pursuing the east wind all day long; he multiplies deception and violence and he makes a treaty with Assyria, and oil is brought to Egypt.


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Yahweh has a quarrel with Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.


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He struggled with the angel and prevailed; he pleaded for his mercy. He met him at Bethel, and there he spoke with him.


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And Ephraim said, “Surely, I am rich, I gained wealth for myself; in all my toil they have not found guilt in me that is sin.


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But I am Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, like the days of the appointed festival.


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I spoke to the prophets; I myself multiplied revelations and through the hand of the prophets I will destroy.


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If in Gilead there is evil, surely they will come to nothing. In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls, also their altars will be like stone heaps on furrows of the field.


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Jacob fled to the open field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he watched over sheep.


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Ephraim has caused bitter provocation, and his Lord will hold him responsible for his crimes and pay back to him his insults.


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When Ephraim spoke, there was terror; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.


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And now they sin again, and they make for themselves a molten idol, idols from their silver metal according to their understanding, all of them the work of skilled craftsmen. To these they say, “Sacrifice!” People are kissing bull calves.


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Therefore, they will be like the morning cloud, and like the dew of early morning going away, like chaff swirling from the threshing floor, or like smoke from a window.


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I am Yahweh your God since the land of Egypt; you know no god except me, and no one saves besides me.


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When I fed them, they were satisfied; they were satisfied and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.


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I will attack them like a bear robbed of her offspring, and I will tear open the covering of their heart; there I will devour them like a lion, like an animal of the field would mutilate them.


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Where now is your king that he may save you? Where in all your cities are your judges, of whom you said, “Give to me a king and rulers?”


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The labor pains of childbirth come for him; he is an unwise son because at the proper time, he does not present himself at the mouth of the womb.


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Should I redeem them from the power of Sheol? Should I deliver them from death? Where are your plagues, O Death? Where is your destruction, O Sheol? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.


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Although he may flourish among reeds, the east wind will come, a wind of Yahweh rising from the desert; his fountain will dry up, his spring will be parched. It will plunder his treasury, every object of desire.


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Samaria will be guilty, because she has rebelled against her God; they will fall by the sword, their children will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.


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Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips.


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Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses, and we will say no more, “Our God,” to the work of our hands because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.


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I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily plant, and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.


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His new plant shoots will spread out; his splendor will be like the olive tree, and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.


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They will again dwell in my shadow; they will grow grain and they will blossom like the plant vine; his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.


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O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? I myself have answered and looked after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; your fruit comes from me.


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Who is wise that he can understand these things? Who is discerning that he knows them? The ways of Yahweh are right, and the righteous walk in them; but transgressors stumble in them.


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Hear this, O elders, and give ear, all the inhabitants of the land. Has this happened in your days? Or the days of your ancestors?


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Tell it to your children, and your children to their children, and their children to the following generation.


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What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten. And what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.


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Wake up, drunkards, and weep! Wail, all drinkers of wine, over the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.


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Because a nation has invaded my land, strong and beyond counting. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are those of a lioness.


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It has made my vine a desolation, and my fig tree a completely splintered stump. It has stripped them bare and thrown them down; their branches have turned white.


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The offering and libation are withheld from the house of Yahweh. The priests mourn, the ministers of Yahweh.


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The field is destroyed; the earth mourns because the grain is destroyed, the new wine dries up, the olive oil languishes.


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Be ashamed, farmers; Wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and over the barley, because the harvest of the field is ruined.


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The vine withers and the fig tree droops. The pomegranate tree, and also the palm tree, the apple tree —all the trees of the field—are dried up. Indeed, joy is dried up among the sons of men.


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Gird yourselves and lament, O priests! Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because offering and libation are withheld from the house of your God.


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Solemnize a fast! Call an assembly! Gather the elders, all of the inhabitants of the land in the house of Yahweh your God, and cry out to Yahweh.


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The seeds shrivel under their clods; the storehouses are desolate. The grain storage places are destroyed because grain has dried out.


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How the beasts groan; the herds of cattle wander around because there is no pasture for them; the flocks of sheep are in distress.


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To you, O Yahweh, I cry out, because fire has devoured the pastures of the desert, and flames burned all the trees of the field.


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Also, the beasts of the field long for you, because the courses of water are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the desert.


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Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on my holy mountain ! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh is coming — it is indeed near.


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A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again for generations to come.


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Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame burns. Like the garden of Eden is the land before them, and after them it is like a desolate desert, and nothing can escape them.


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like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about; like the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble; like a strong army arranged in rows for battle.


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They run like mighty warriors, they scale the wall like men of war; each goes on its own way, and they do not swerve from their paths.


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They do not jostle one another; each goes on its own trail; and through the falling weapons, they are not halted.


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In the city they rush forth; on the walls they run. Into the houses they climb up; through the windows they enter like a thief.


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Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars have withheld their splendor


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And Yahweh utters his voice before his army, because his encampment is very large; strong is the one who carries out his decree, for great is the day of Yahweh and exceedingly fearful. Who can endure it?


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“And even now,” declares Yahweh, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing.”


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Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm.


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Who knows whether he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, an offering and a libation, for Yahweh your God?


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gather the people, consecrate the assembly; assemble the elders, gather the children, even those who are breast-feeding; let the bridegroom come out from his private room, and the bride from her canopy.


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Between the colonnade and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep. And let them say, “Take pity, Yahweh, on your people. Do not make your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the nations, ‘Where is their God?’ ”


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And Yahweh answered and said to his people, “Look at me, I am sending to you grain, new wine, and olive oil, and you will be satisfied by it. I will not give you over any more as a disgrace among the nations.


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The northerners I will remove from you; I will drive them to a desert and desolate land, its front to the eastern sea, and its rear into the western sea; its stench and odor will rise up because he has done great things.


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Do not fear, wild animals of the field, because the pastures of the desert have put forth new green shoots, because the tree has produced its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded their produce.


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Be glad, O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in Yahweh your God, because he has given for you the autumn rains for your righteousness, and he has poured down for you rainwater, the autumn and spring rains, as before.


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The threshing floors will be full with grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.


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I will repay you the years that the locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my mighty troops that I sent against you.


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And you will eat abundantly and be satisfied, and praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt with you wondrously. My people will never be ashamed.


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And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no other. My people will never be ashamed again.


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And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.


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The sun will be changed to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.


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And it will happen—everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be rescued, because on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh said, and among the survivors whom Yahweh is calling.


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I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will argue a case against them there concerning my people and my inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations, and my land that they have divided.


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For my people they cast lots, and they traded the male child for the prostitute, and the female child they sold for wine and they drank it.


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What are you to me, O Tyre and O Sidon, and all of the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying to me what is deserved? If you are recompensing me, I will return swiftly and quickly what you deserve on your head!


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For you have taken my silver and my gold, and my beautiful treasures you have carried into your temples.


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And the sons of Judah and Jerusalem you sold to the sons of the Greeks, in order to remove them from their border.


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Look! I am rousing them from the place where you have sold them, and I will return what you deserve on your head!


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I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans and to a nation far away, for Yahweh has spoken.


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Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war ! Stir up the mighty warriors; let them approach and come up; let all the men of war approach.


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Beat your cutting tools of iron into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, ‘I am a mighty warrior!’


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Hurry and come, all the nations, from all around, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your mighty warriors, O Yahweh!


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Let the nations be roused and let them come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations from all around.


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Send forth the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Go tread, for the winepress is full! The vats overflow, because their evil is great!


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Commotion, commotion in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near in the valley of decision!


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And Yahweh roars from Zion; from Jerusalem he utters his voice, and the heavens and the earth shake. But Yahweh is a refuge for his people, and a protection for the children of Israel.


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And you will know that I, Yahweh your God, am dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be a place of holiness, and strangers will pass through it no longer.


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And it will happen on that day; the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the channels of Judah will flow with water. A spring from the house of Yahweh will come forth, and it will water the valley of Acacia Trees.


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Egypt will become a desolation, and Edom will become a desolate desert, because of the violence they did against the children of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood.


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The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash, two years before the earthquake.


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And he said, “Yahweh roars from Zion and he utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds wither and the top of Carmel dries up.”


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Thus says Yahweh, “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron!


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I will break the gate bars of Damascus and I will cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says Yahweh.


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom!


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And I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod and the one who takes hold of the scepter of Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Tyre and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole community to Edom and they did not remember the covenant of brotherhood!


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Edom and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword! He stifled his compassion and his anger tore them apart continually, and he kept his rage forever.


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Ammon and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory!


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So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah and it will devour its citadel fortresses with a war cry on the day of battle, with a storm on the day of the violent tempest.


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.


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So I will send a fire against Moab and it will devour the citadel fortresses of Kerioth, and Moab will die amid uproar, amid war cries and amid the sound of a horn.


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And I will cut off the ruler from its midst and I will kill all of its officials with him,” says Yahweh.


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of Yahweh and have not kept his rules, and their lies have led them astray, after which their ancestors walked !


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Thus says Yahweh: “For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals!


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Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, so that they profane my holy name.


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They stretch themselves out beside every altar on clothing taken in pledge and they drink wine, bought with fines imposed, in the house of their God.


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Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, who was as tall as cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.


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And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness forty years to take possession of the land of the Amorite.


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And I raised up some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Is it not so, O people of Israel? This is the declaration of Yahweh!


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Look! I am going to press you down in your place just as a utility cart full of mature stalks of grain is pressed down.


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Flight will perish from the swift and the strong person will not muster his strength and the warrior will not save his life.


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And the one who takes hold of the bow will not stand and the one who is swift on his feet will not save himself, nor will the one who rides the horse save his life.


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Even those who are strong of heart among the mighty will flee away naked from the city on that day. This is the declaration of Yahweh!”


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Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole clan that I brought up from the land of Egypt:


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“You only have I chosen of all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.


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Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a fierce, young lion cry out from his den unless he has caught something?


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Does a bird fall into a trapping net on the earth when there is no snare for it? Does a trapping net spring up from the ground unless it has certainly caught something?


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Or is a horn blown in a city and people are not afraid? Or does a disaster occur in the city and Yahweh has not done it?


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Proclaim to the citadel fortresses in Ashdod and the citadel fortresses in the land of Egypt and say: “Gather on the mountains of Samaria and see the great panic in her midst and the oppression in her midst!”


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“They do not know how to do right,” declares Yahweh, “those who store up violence and destruction in their citadel fortresses.”


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Therefore, thus says my Lord Yahweh, “A foe shall surround the land and bring down your strongholds, and your citadel fortresses shall be plundered.”


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Thus says Yahweh, “Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria, with the corner of a couch and the damask of a bed.”


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“For on the day I punish Israel for its transgression, I will also punish the altars of Bethel and the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.


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I will ruin the winter house as well as the summer house, and the houses of ivory will perish and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares Yahweh.


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Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who live on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the powerless, who crush the poor, who say to their husbands, “Bring something so that we may drink!”


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My Lord Yahweh has sworn by his holiness that, “Behold, the days are coming upon you when they will take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishing hooks.


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And you shall leave through breaches in the wall, each one in front of her. You will be dragged off toward Harmon,” declares Yahweh.


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“Come to Bethel and transgress; to Gilgal and multiply transgression ! Bring your sacrifices in the morning and your tithes on the third day.


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And bring a thank offering of unleavened bread, and proclaim freewill offerings, pronounce them, for so you love to do, O people of Israel,” is the declaration of my Lord Yahweh.


text:
“And I in turn gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh.


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“And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest. And I would send rain on one city and send no rain on another city. One tract of land will be rained on, and the tract of land on which it does not rain will dry up.


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So two or three cities wandered to one city to drink water and they were not satisfied, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh.


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“I struck you with blight and with mildew. Frequently the cutting locust devoured your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh.


text:
“I sent among you a plague in the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with the captivity of your horses. And I made the stench of your camps go up into your nostrils, yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh.


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“I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a stick snatched from the fire, and yet you did not return to me,” is the declaration of Yahweh.


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“Therefore, thus I will do to you, O Israel. Because I will do this to you, O Israel, prepare to meet your God!


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Yes, here is the one who forms the mountains, and the one who creates the wind, and the one who reveals to humans what his thoughts are, and the one who treads on the heights of the earth; Yahweh, the God of hosts, is his name!”


text:
Virgin Israel has fallen and will not rise again. She is deserted on her land; there is no one to raise her up.


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For thus says my Lord Yahweh, “The city that marches out with a thousand will only have a hundred left. And the one that marches out with a hundred will only have ten left for the house of Israel.”


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But do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster.”


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Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire against the house of Joseph! And it will devour, with none to quench it for Bethel.


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The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day into night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name!


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The one who makes destruction flash upon the fierce, so that destruction comes upon the fortification.


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Therefore, because you trample on the poor and you take a grain tax from them, you built houses of dressed stone, but you will not live in them. You built vineyards of delightfulness, but you will not drink their wine.


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For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous, you foes of the righteous, those who take a bribe, and those who push aside the poor ones in the gate!


text:
Seek good and not bad in order that you may live, and so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.


text:
Hate evil and love good and establish justice in the gate; perhaps Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.


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Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, my Lord, “In all of the public squares there will be wailing, and in all of the streets they will say, ‘Alas, alas, alas!’ They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing, to those who are skilled in lamentation.


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Alas, those who desire the day of Yahweh, why is this for you the day of Yahweh? It will be darkness and not light!


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It will be as if a man fled from a lion and a bear met him; or he went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall and a snake bit him.


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Yes, even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them, and I will not look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals.


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And you will take up Sikkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.


text:
Alas for those being at ease in Zion, and those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the best of the nations! The house of Israel resorts to them.


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Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there to Hamath Rabbah and go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms, or is their territory greater than your territory?


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Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and those eating young rams from the sheep and goats, and bull-calves from the middle of the animal stall.


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Alas for those who drink from sprinkling bowls of wine and anoint themselves with the best of olive oils and are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.


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Therefore, they shall now go into exile at the head of the exiles and the feast of lounging shall pass away.


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My Lord Yahweh has sworn by himself, declares Yahweh, the God of hosts: “I abhor the pride of Jacob and I hate his citadel fortresses and I will deliver the city and its fullness!”


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And if one’s relative, who burns the body, lifts it up and brings the body out of the house and he will say to someone in the innermost part of the house, “ Are there any more with you?” and he will say, “None,” then he will say, “Silence,” because we must not invoke the name of Yahweh.


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Look, Yahweh is going to command and the great house will be destroyed to bits and the little house to pieces.


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Do horses run on rocks, or does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood!


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Indeed, I am going to raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, declares Yahweh, the God of hosts. And they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath up to the wadi of the Arabah.


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This is what my Lord Yahweh showed me, and look, he is going to form locusts at the beginning of the sprouting of the second crop, and look, after the mowings of the king.


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And then when they finished eating the vegetation of the land, I said, “O Lord Yahweh, please forgive! How can Jacob stand, because he is small?”


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This is what my Lord Yahweh showed me, and look, my Lord Yahweh was going to call for a legal case with fire, and it devoured the great deep and it ate up the plots of ground.


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This is what he showed me: Behold, my Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plummet, and a plummet was in his hand.


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And Yahweh said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “A plummet.” And my Lord said, “Look, I am going to set a plummet in the midst of my people, Israel. I will not pass them by again.


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The high places of Isaac shall become desolate and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”


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Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam the king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words.


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For this Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly go into exile away from his land.’ ”


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And Amaziah said to Amos, “ O seer, go, flee to the land of Judah and earn food there and prophesy there!”


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But do not prophesy again at Bethel, because this is a sanctuary of a king and this is a temple of a kingdom.”


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And Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet and I am not a son of a prophet, but I am a herdsman and I am one taking care of sycamore trees.


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And Yahweh took me from following behind the sheep and goats and Yahweh said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel!


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And so then, hear the word of Yahweh! You are saying, ‘You must not prophesy against Israel and you must not preach against the house of Isaac!’


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Therefore, thus says Yahweh, ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword and your land will be divided with a line, and you will die in an unclean land and Israel will surely go into exile from this land.’ ”


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And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” And Yahweh said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel. I will not pass by them again!”


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“And the songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” declares my Lord Yahweh. “The corpses are numerous; he throws them in every place. Be quiet!”


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saying, “When will the new moon be over, so that we can sell grain? And the Sabbath, so that we can open the grain bins, that we can make the ephah small and make the shekel large, and can practice deceit with a set of scales of deceit?


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That we can buy the powerless with silver and the poor for the sake of a pair of sandals, and we can sell the waste of the grain?”


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On account of this, will not the land tremble and will not every living thing in it mourn? And all of it will rise like the Nile and it will be tossed about and subside like the Nile of Egypt.


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And then in that day,” declares my Lord Yahweh, “I will make the sun go down at noon and I will darken the land on a day of light.


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And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all of your songs into lament, and I will put sackcloth on all loins and baldness on every head. And I will make it like the mourning for an only child, and its end like a bitter day.


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Look, the days are coming,” declares my Lord Yahweh, “when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine for bread and not a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh!


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And they will wander from sea to sea and from the north and to the east. They will roam about to seek the word of Yahweh, but they will not find it !


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These are those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘By the life of your gods, O Dan,’ and ‘By the life of the way of Beersheba,’ they will fall and they will not rise again.”


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I saw my Lord standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and shatter them on the head of all of them, and I will kill the rest of them with the sword. A fugitive belonging to them will not run away, and a survivor belonging to them will not escape.


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If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and even if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.


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And even if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search and will take them, and even if they hide from before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the sea serpent and it will bite them.


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And even if they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it will kill them, and I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good.”


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And thus will do the Lord Yahweh of hosts, who touches the earth and it melts, and all of those living in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile and it sinks down like the Nile of Egypt,


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who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and lays the foundation of his vault on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them on the surface of the earth—Yahweh is his name.


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“Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares Yahweh. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?


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Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh are on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares Yahweh.


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“Yes, look, I am going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground.


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All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil will not overtake or confront us.’


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On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair its breaches and will raise up its ruins and will build it like the days of old.


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Thus they may take possession of the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares Yahweh, who does this.


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“Look, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, the one who treads grapes will catch up with the one who sows the seed. And the mountains will drip sweet wine and all of the hills will flow with it.


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And I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and will drink their wine, and they will make gardens and will eat their fruit.


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And I will plant them on their land and they will not be uprooted again from their land that I have given to them,” says Yahweh your God.


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The vision of Obadiah. Thus says my Lord Yahweh concerning Edom: We have heard a report from Yahweh, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: “Rise up and let us rise against it for battle.”


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The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of a rock, the heights of its dwelling, you who say in your heart: ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’


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Even if you soar like the eagle, even if your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down!” declares Yahweh:


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“If thieves came to you, if plunderers of the night—How you have been destroyed!—would they not steal what they wanted? If grape gatherers came, would they not leave gleanings?


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All of your allies have driven you up to the boundary; your confederates have deceived you and have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set an ambush for you, there is no understanding of it.


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On that day,” declares Yahweh, “will I not destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountain of Esau?


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And your warriors will be shattered, O Teman, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut off because of the slaughter!


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“Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you and you will be cut off forever.


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On the day you stood nearby, on the day strangers took his wealth, and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots over Jerusalem, you were also like one of them.


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But you should not have gloated over your brother’s day, on the day of his misfortune, and you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah on the day of their perishing, and you should not have opened your mouth wide on the day of distress.


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You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. You also should not have gloated over his misery on the day of his disaster, and you should not have stretched out your hands on the day of his disaster.


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And you should not have stood at the crossroad s to cut off his fugitives and you should not have handed over his survivors on the day of distress.


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“For the day of Yahweh is near against all the nations! Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return on your own head.


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For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain, all the nations will drink continually. They will drink and they will slurp, and they will be as if they had never been.


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But on Mount Zion there will be an escape, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will take possession of their dispossessors.


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And the house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; and they will set them on fire and will consume them. And there will not be a survivor for the house of Esau,” for Yahweh has spoken.


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Those of the Negev will take possession of the mountain of Esau, and those of the Shephelah will possess the land of the Philistines, and they shall take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria, and Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.


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And the exiles of this army of the people of Israel will possess Canaan up to Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will take possession of the cities of the Negev.


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And those who have been saved will go up on Mount Zion to rule the mountain of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to Yahweh.


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“Get up! Go to the great city Nineveh and cry out against her, because their evil has come up before me.”


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But Jonah set out to flee toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. And he went down to Joppa and found a merchant ship going to Tarshish, and paid her fare, and went on board her to go with them toward Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.


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And Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea, and it was a great storm on the sea, and the merchant ship was in danger of breaking up.


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And the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they threw the contents that were in the merchant ship into the sea to lighten it for them. And meanwhile Jonah went down into the hold of the vessel and lay down and fell asleep.


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And the captain of the ship approached him and said to him, “Why are you sound asleep? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will take notice of us and we won’t perish!”


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And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots so that we may know on whose account this disaster has come on us!” And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.


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So they said to him, “Please tell us whoever is responsible that this disaster has come upon us! What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And from which people are you?”


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And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”


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Then the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” because they knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Yahweh (because he had told them).


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So they said to him, “What shall we do to you so that the sea may quiet down for us?” because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.


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And he said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea so that the sea may quiet down for you, because I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you all.”


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But the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to the dry land, and they could not do so because the sea was growing more and more tempestuous against them.


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So they cried out to Yahweh, and they said, “O Yahweh! Please do not let us perish because of this man’s life, and do not make us guilty of innocent blood, because you, O Yahweh, did what you wanted.”


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And Yahweh provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


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and said, “I called from my distress to Yahweh, and he answered me; from the belly of Sheol I cried for help— you heard my voice.


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And you threw me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the sea currents surrounded me; all your breakers and your surging waves passed over me.


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The waters encompassed me up to my neck; the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.


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I went down to the foundations of the mountains; the Underworld—its bars were around me forever. But you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.


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When my life was ebbing away from me, I remembered Yahweh, and my prayer came to you, to your holy temple.


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But I, with a voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you; I will fulfill what I have vowed. Deliverance belongs to Yahweh!”


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So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an extraordinarily great city —a journey of three days across.


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And Jonah began to go into the city a journey of one day, and he cried out and said, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be demolished!”


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And the people of Nineveh believed in God, and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least important.


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And the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne and removed his royal robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.


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And he had a proclamation made, and said, “In Nineveh, by a decree of the king and his nobles: “No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything! They must not eat, and they must not drink water!


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And the human beings and the animals must be covered with sackcloth! And they must call forcefully to God, and each must turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.


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Who knows? God may relent and change his mind and turn from his blazing anger so that we will not perish.”


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And God saw their deeds—that they turned from their evil ways—and God changed his mind about the evil that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.


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And he prayed to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh, was this not what I said while I was in my homeland? Therefore I originally fled to Tarshish, because I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and having great steadfast love, and one who relents concerning calamity.


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And Jonah went out from the city and sat down east of the city, and he made for himself a shelter there. And he sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would happen with the city.


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And Yahweh God appointed a plant, and he made it grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. And Jonah was very glad about the plant.


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And when the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head and he grew faint. And he asked that he could die and said, “My death is better than my life!”


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So God said to Jonah, “ Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “ It is right for me to be angry enough to die !”


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But Yahweh said, “You are troubled about the plant, for which you did not labor nor cause it to grow. It grew up in a night and it perished in a night !


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And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand people who do not know right from left, plus many animals?”


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The word of Yahweh that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, that he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem:


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Hear, all you peoples; give heed, O earth and its fullness. And let the Lord Yahweh be against you as a witness, the Lord from his holy temple.


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For behold, Yahweh is coming out from his place, and he will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.


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The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.


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All this is for the rebellion of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?


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So I will make Samaria as a heap of rubble in the field, a place for planting a vineyard. And I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.


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Then all her idols will be broken in pieces, and all her prostitution wages will be burned in the fire, and all her idols I will make a desolation, For from the wage of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the wage of a prostitute they will return.


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On account of this I will lament and wail. I will go about barefoot and naked. I will make a lamentation like the jackals, and a mourning ceremony like the ostriches.


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For her wounds are incurable, because it has come to Judah. It has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.


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Pass on, you inhabitants of Shaphir, in naked shame. The inhabitants of Zaanan do not come forth; the wailing of Beth-ha-Ezel will take its protection from you.


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For the inhabitants of Maroth writhed for good, because disaster has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem.


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Harness the chariot to the team of horses, O inhabitants of Lachish; it is the beginning of sin for the daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.


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Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth-Gath; the houses of Achzib will be a deception to the kings of Israel.


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I will again bring the conqueror upon you, O inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel will come to Adullam.


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Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair for the children of your pleasure. Expand your baldness as the eagle, for they will go into exile away from you.


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Woe to those who plan wickedness and evil deeds upon their beds! In the light of the morning they did it, because they have power in their hands.


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They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and they take them away. They oppress a man and his house; a man and his inheritance.


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Therefore, thus says Yahweh: Look! I am planning disaster against this family from which you will not be able to remove your necks. You will not walk proudly, for it is a time of disaster.


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In that day they will raise a proverb against you, and will wail a bitter wailing, saying, “We are utterly ruined; he exchanges the portion of my people. How he removes it from me; he apportions our field to an apostate.”


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“Do not preach!” they are preaching. They should not preach to these; disgrace will not overtake us.


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Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Is the patience of Yahweh shortened? Are these his deeds? Are my words not pleasing to him who walks upright?


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But recently my people have risen up as an enemy; from before the cloak you strip off the robe from those passing by in confidence, returning from war.


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You have driven out the women of my people from the houses of their pleasure. From their children you have taken away my glory forever.


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Arise and go, for this is no resting place, on account of uncleanness that destroys with painful destruction.


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If a man walks about in a spirit of deception and lies, saying “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” then he would be a preacher for this people!


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I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely gather together the remainder of Israel. I will set them like sheep of Bozrah. Like a herd in the midst of their pasture they will be in tumult from people.


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The one who breaks out before them goes up; they break through and pass the gate, going out through it. Their king passes before them, Yahweh at their head.


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And I said, “Listen, O heads of Jacob and leaders of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?


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Those of you who are haters of good and lovers of evil, who tear their skin from them and their flesh from their bones,


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and who eat the flesh of my people, and strip their skin from them, and break their bones, and chop them like meat in the pot, and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot.”


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Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time, when they have made their deeds evil.


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Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who are leading my people astray, who are biting with their teeth and proclaim, “Peace,” but whoever puts nothing into their mouths they declare war against.


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Therefore it will be as night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. And the sun will set on the prophets, and the day will grow dark over them.


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Then the seers will be disgraced, and those practicing divination will be put to shame. All of them will cover their lips, for there is no reply from God.


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But I, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of Yahweh, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his rebellion, and to Israel his sin.


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Hear this, O rulers of the house of Jacob and leaders of the house of Israel, those detesting justice and perverting all that is right,


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Its rulers judge for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money. But they lean on Yahweh, saying, “ Is not Yahweh in our midst? Disaster will not come upon us.”


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Therefore on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will be a heap of rubble, and the temple mount as a high place in a forest.


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And it will be that at the end of those days, the mountain of Yahweh will be established as the highest of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and people will stream to it.


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And many nations will come and say, “Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the temple of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths,” for the law will go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.


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And he will judge between many peoples and will arbitrate for strong nations far away; and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up a sword against a nation, and they will no longer learn war.


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But they will sit, each under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken.


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For all the nations walk, each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God, forever and ever.


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“In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will assemble the one who limps, and I will gather the one who has been scattered, and those whom I have mistreated.


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And I will make the one who limps a remnant, and the one driven far away a strong nation, and Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from now to forever.


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And you, O Migdal-Eder, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come, and the former dominion will come, the reign of the daughter of Jerusalem.


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So then, why do you shout a loud shout? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished that pangs like a woman in labor have seized you?


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Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will go forth from the city, and you will camp in the field; you will go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; there Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.


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And now, many nations are gathered against you who are saying, ‘Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.’


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But they do not know the thoughts of Yahweh, and they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to his threshing floor.


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Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for your horn I will make as iron and your hooves as bronze. And you will break many peoples in pieces, and their gain you will devote to destruction to Yahweh, and their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.”


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Now muster troops, O daughter of troops; a siege he puts against us. They strike the ruler of Israel with a rod on the cheek.


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But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one will go out for me, to be ruler in Israel; and his origins are from of old, from ancient days.


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Therefore he will give them up until the time of she who is with child has given birth. And the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.


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And he will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God. And they will live, for now he will be great unto the ends of the earth.


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And this one will be peace. As for the Assyrian, when he comes into our land and when he treads on our fortresses, then we will raise up against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.


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And they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances. And he will rescue us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land, and when they tread upon our border.


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And the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many nations, like dew from Yahweh, like showers upon the grass which does not wait for a man, nor delays for the children of humankind.


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And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the wild animals of the forest, like a young lion among the herds of sheep which, when it passes through and treads down and tears in pieces, there is none who can deliver.


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“And it will happen that in that day,” declares Yahweh, “then I will cut off your horses from among you, and I will destroy your chariots.


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And I will cut off your idols and your stone pillars from among you, and you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands.


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Hear now what Yahweh says: “Arise! Plead your case with the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.”


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Hear, O mountains, the indictment of Yahweh, and you eternal foundations of the earth, for Yahweh has an indictment against his people, and against Israel he contends.


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For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and from the house of slavery I redeemed you. And I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.


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O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh.”


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With what shall I approach Yahweh, and bow down to God on high? Shall I approach him with burnt offerings, with bull calves a year old?


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Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriads of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


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He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does Yahweh ask from you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?


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The voice of Yahweh calls to the city ( it is sound judgment to fear your name): “Hear, O staff! Now who has appointed it?


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Is there any longer a man in the house of the wicked treasures of wickedness, and the ephah of scarcity which is accursed?


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Because her rich are full of violence, and her inhabitants speak lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.


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You yourself will eat but not be satisfied; your hunger will be in your midst, and you will put away, but you will not save, and what you save I will hand over to the sword.


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You yourself will sow, but you will not reap; you will tread olives, but you will not anoint yourself with oil; you will tread grapes, but you will not drink wine.


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For you have observed the regulations of Omri and all the works of the house of Ahab. And you have walked in their counsels, so that I am making you a desolation and your inhabitants an object of scorn. So you will bear the scorn of my people.


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Woe is me! For I have become like the gatherings of summer, like the gleanings of the grape harvest, when there is no cluster of grapes to eat or early ripened fruit that my soul desires.


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The faithful person has perished from the land, and there is none who is upright among humankind. All of them lie in wait; each hunts his brother with a net.


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Their hands are upon evil, to do it well; the official and the judge ask for the bribe, and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul; and they weave it together.


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The best of them is like a brier; the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchman, your punishment, has come; now their confusion will come.


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Do not put faith in a friend; put no trust in a close friend. Guard the doorways of your mouth from the one who lies in your lap.


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For a son treats a father with contempt; a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; the enemies of a man are the men of his own house.


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You should not rejoice over me, O my enemy! When I fall I will stand up; when I sit in darkness Yahweh will be a light for me.


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I will bear the rage of Yahweh, for I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes my justice. He will bring me out to the light; I will see his righteousness.


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Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is Yahweh your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will become a trampling place, like mud in the streets.


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On that day he will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the River, and from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.


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Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, those dwelling alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.


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The nations will see and be ashamed because of all their might. They will lay the hand on the mouth; their ears will be deaf.


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They will lick the dust like the serpent, like the crawling things of the earth. They will come trembling from their strongholds to Yahweh our God. Let them fear and be afraid of you.


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Who is a God like you, forgiving sin and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, for he delights in loyal love.


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He will again have compassion on us; he will trample our iniquities. And you will hurl all their sins in the depths of the sea.


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You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.


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Yahweh is a jealous God and avenging; Yahweh is avenging and full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance against his enemies; he rages against his adversaries.


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Yahweh is slow to anger but great in power; he will certainly not allow the guilty to go unpunished. He marches in storm wind and in gale; storm clouds are the dust of his feet.


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He rebukes the sea and he dries up the rivers; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither; the blossom of Lebanon languishes.


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Mountains quake before him; the hills shake apart. The earth heaves before him— the world and all her inhabitants.


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His indignation—who can stand before it? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; rocks are shattered before him.


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But with a rushing torrent he will bring Nineveh to an end; he will chase his enemies into darkness.


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What do you plot against Yahweh? He will completely destroy it; trouble will not rise up a second time!


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For like entangled thorns, and like their drink which is drunk, they will be consumed like fully dry chaff.


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Yahweh says this: “Even though they are powerful and likewise many, even so they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.


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Yahweh has commanded concerning you: “Your name will no longer be sown. I will cut off the idols and images from the temple of your gods; I will send you to the grave because you are worthless.”


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Look! On the mountains! The feet of the one who brings good tidings, the one who proclaims peace! “Celebrate a festival, O Judah, Fulfill your vows! For he will not invade you again; the wicked one is cut off completely!”


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One who shatters has come up against you! Guard the fortification! Watch the road! Gird your loins! Muster all your strength!


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For Yahweh will restore the majesty of Jacob like the majesty of Israel; for ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their branches.


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The shields of his warriors are dyed red; The powerful men are dressed in scarlet. The metal of the chariots shines like fire on the day of battle, and their spears quiver.


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The chariots race madly through the streets; they rush back and forth in the public squares. Their appearance like lightning bolts, they dart about like flashes of lightning.


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He calls his officers; they stumble as they march; they rush to her wall; they set the covering in place.


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Her goddess is taken out and taken into exile; her maidservants moan like doves; they beat on their breasts.


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Nineveh is like a pool of water without its water. As they flee, she cries, “Stop! Stop!” But there is no one who turns back.


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Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! There is no end to the spoils, an abundance of everything one could want !


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Emptiness and plundering and devastation! Their hearts faint and their knees tremble, All their loins shake and all their faces turn pale.


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Where now is the den of the lions and the cave of the fierce lions? There the lioness, the cub, and the lion once prowled, and no one disturbed them.


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The lion tore apart enough prey for his cubs, he strangled prey for his lioness; he filled his lair with prey and his den with mangled carcass.


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“Look! I am against you!” declares Yahweh of hosts. “I will burn her chariots with fire; the sword will devour fierce lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth; the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”


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Woe to the city that has shed much blood ! She is a deceiver, She is filled with plunder, She has hoarded her spoils of war.


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The crack of the whip! The rumbling of the chariot wheel! The galloping of the horse! The racing of the chariot!


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Chariots charge! Swords flash! Spears glitter! Many corpses are piled high ! There is no end to the slain! They stumble over their dead!


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“Because of the many idolatries of the prostitute, the beautiful charm of a mistress of witchcraft, she who enslaves nations by her harlotries, and peoples by her sorceries,


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“Look! I am against you!” declares Yahweh. “I will strip up your skirts over your face; I will let nations look at your nakedness and your shame.


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“And it will be that everyone who sees you will flee from you, And they will say, ‘Nineveh is destroyed!’ Who will mourn for her? From whence shall I seek comforters for you?”


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Are you better than Thebes? She who sits at the Nile, surrounded by her waters, her rampart was the sea and water was her wall.


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Yet she went into captivity as an exile; her children were dashed to pieces at the head of the streets; they cast lots for all of her nobles; all of her dignitaries were bound with chains.


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You also will behave like a drunkard; You also will hide yourself; You also will seek refuge from the enemy.


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All of your fortifications are like fig trees with ripe firstfruits— if they are shaken, they will fall into the mouth of the eater.


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Look! Your troops are like women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire will consume the bars of your gates.


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Draw water for a siege! Strengthen your fortifications! Go to the mud pit ! Trample the clay! Grasp the brick mold!


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There fire will consume you; the sword will cut you off. It will consume you like the locust. Multiply yourself like the locust! Multiply yourself like the grasshopper!


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You have increased your merchants more than the stars of heaven; like the locust they will shed their skin and fly away.


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Your officials are like locusts; your commanders are like a swarm of locusts. They encamp on the walls on a cold day; when the sun rises, they fly away— no one knows where they have gone.


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Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria! Your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains; no one can gather them.


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There is no healing for your wound; your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you will clap their hands for joy concerning you, For who has not suffered at the hands of your endless cruelty?


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O Yahweh, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen? How long will I cry out to you, “Violence!” and you will not save?


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Why do you cause me to see evil while you look at trouble? Destruction and violence happen before me; contention and strife arise.


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Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice does not go forth perpetually. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice goes forth perverted.


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“Look among the nations and see; be astonished and astounded. For a work is about to be done in your days that you will not believe if it is told.


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For look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, the bitter and impetuous nation, the one who walks through the spacious places of earth to take possession of dwellings not belonging to it.


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Their horses are more swift than leopards; they are more menacing than wolves at dusk. Their horsemen gallop; their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle that is swift to devour.


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And they themselves scoff at kings and rulers are a joke to them. They laugh at every fortification, and they heap up earth and take it.


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Are you not from of old, O Yahweh my God, my Holy One? You shall not die. O Yahweh, you have marked them for judgment; O Rock, you have established them for reproof.


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Your eyes are too pure to see evil, and you are not able to look at wrongdoing. Why do you look at the treacherous? Why are you silent when the wicked swallows up someone more righteous than him?


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He brings up all of them with a fishhook; he drags them up with a fishnet; he gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore, he rejoices and exults.


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Therefore he sacrifices to his fishnet and makes offerings to his dragnet, for by them he makes a good living and his food is rich.


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I will stand at my post, and station myself on the rampart. And I will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will answer concerning my complaint.


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Then Yahweh answered me and said, “Write the vision and make it plain on the tablet so that it might be read quickly.


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For there is yet a vision for the appointed time; it will give witness to the end, and it will not lie. If it tarries, wait for it, for it will surely come and not delay.


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Look! His spirit within him is puffed up; it is not upright. But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.


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How much less the defiant; the arrogant, treacherous man? He who broadens his throat like Sheol, and who, like death, is not satisfied, and who gathers to himself all the nations, and harvested for himself all the peoples, will not succeed.


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Shall not all of these take up a taunt against him, with ridicule and riddles against him, saying, ‘Woe to him who heaps up what is not his’? For how long? And, ‘ Woe to him who makes himself heavy with pledges’?


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Will not your creditors suddenly rise up and awaken those who make you tremble? Then you shall be as plunder for them.


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Because you plundered many nations, all the remaining nations will plunder you on account of the blood of humanity and violence against the land, and against cities and all who live in them.


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Woe to him who obtains profit from evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be saved from the hand of misfortune!


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Look! Is it not from Yahweh of hosts that people labor for mere fire, and nations exhaust themselves for mere vanity?


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For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh, like the waters covering the sea.


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Woe to him who gives a drink to his neighbors, pouring out your wrath and also making them drunk in order to see their nakedness!


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You will be sated with shame rather than glory. Drink also yourself, and expose yourself! The cup of the right hand of Yahweh will come around upon you and disgrace upon your glory.


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For the violence of Lebanon will cover you, and the destruction of wild animals will shatter them on account of the blood of humanity, and the violence against the land, against a city and all the inhabitants in it.


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What value is an idol when its carver has fashioned it, a molten idol, a teacher of lies? For he who fashioned his creation trusts in it, though making mute idols!


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Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Wake up!’ And to a lifeless stone, ‘Arise!’ Can he teach? Look, it is covered with gold and silver, and there is no breath within it.


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O Yahweh, I have heard the report of you; O Yahweh, I stand in awe of your works. In the midst of the years, revive it! In the midst of the years, make it known! In wrath, may you remember to show compassion.


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God came from Teman; the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His splendor covers the heavens, and his praise fills the earth.


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And his brightness was like the light; flashing rays came from his hand for him; And there is the covering of his strength.


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He stood and measured the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble. Then the mountains of old were shattered; the hills of old collapsed. The ways of old belong to him.


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Was the anger of Yahweh against the rivers? Was your wrath against the rivers, or your fury against the sea, when you mounted upon your horses, upon your victory chariot?


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You laid bare the nakedness of your bow, swearing oaths with the arrows of your word. You split the earth with rivers.


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When the mountains saw you they writhed; a torrent of waters swept by; the deep gave its voice; it raised its hands on high.


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Sun and moon stood still in their place; at the light of your arrows they moved about; at the gleam of the flashing of your spear.


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You went forth for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of wickedness, laying bare from the foundation to the top.


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You pierced the head of his warriors with his own arrows; they came like a whirlwind to scatter me, their exultation like one who devours the afflicted in ambush.


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I hear and my stomach shakes; my lips quiver at the sound; infection enters my bones; that which is beneath me trembles; I wait quietly for the day of trouble to come upon the people attacking us.


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Though the fig tree does not blossom, nor there be fruit on the vines; the yield of the olive tree fails, and the cultivated fields do not yield food; the flock is cut off from the animal pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls,


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Yahweh, my Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer; he causes me to walk on my high places. To the choirmaster with stringed instruments.


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The word of Yahweh that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.


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“I will destroy humanity and beast; I will destroy the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. And I will cut off humankind from the face of the earth”—a declaration of Yahweh.


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“And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal, and the name of idolatrous priests with the priests,


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and those who bow down on the rooftops to the host of heaven, and those who bow down, swearing to Yahweh but also swearing by Milkom,


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and those who turned back from following Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him.”


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Be silent before the Lord Yahweh, for the day of Yahweh draws near, for Yahweh has provided a sacrifice and has consecrated his guests.


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And it shall be that on the day of the sacrifice of Yahweh, I will punish the officials and the sons of the king and those who dress in foreign clothing.


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And on that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill up the house of their master with violence and deceit.


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“And there shall be on that day”—a declaration of Yahweh— “a loud outcry from the Fish Gate, and a wailing from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.


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The inhabitants of the Mortar shall wail, for all the traders have perished; all who trade with silver have been cut off.


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And it shall be that at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men whose senses are dulled from drinking, who say in their hearts, ‘Yahweh will not do good, nor will he do evil.’


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Then their wealth shall be as plunder, and their homes as desolation. And they shall build their houses and not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and not drink their wine.”


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The great day of Yahweh draws near; it is near and coming very swiftly. The sound of the day of Yahweh is bitterness; there, a warrior cries out!


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That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruination, a day of darkness and deep gloom, a day of clouds and thick clouds,


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And I will bring distress to all humankind, and they shall walk about like the blind, for they sinned against Yahweh; their blood shall be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung.


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Moreover, their silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. And in the fire of his zeal, the whole land shall be consumed, for a terrifying end he shall make for all the inhabitants of the land.


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Before the birth of the decree, the day flies away like chaff; before the fierce anger of Yahweh overtakes you; before the day of the anger of Yahweh overtakes you.


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Seek Yahweh, all you afflicted of the land who have fulfilled his law; seek righteousness; seek humility. Perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the anger of Yahweh.


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For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon as a desolation. As for Ashdod, at noon they will drive her away, and Ekron shall be uprooted.


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Woe to you, inhabitants of the region of the sea, people of the Kerethites! The word of Yahweh is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines. I will destroy you until there is no inhabitant.


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And you, O region of the sea, shall become pastures and meadows for shepherds and sheep pens for the flocks.


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And it shall become a region for the remnant of the house of Judah; upon them they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening. For Yahweh their God shall be mindful of them, and he will restore their fortunes.


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I have heard the reproaches of Moab and the scorning of the Ammonites, with which they have taunted my nation and made boasts against their territory.


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“Therefore, as I live”—a declaration of Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel— “Moab shall be as Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a place of weeds and salt pits and a desolation forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remainder of my nation shall possess them.”


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This shall be for them in place of their pride because they mocked and boasted against the people of Yahweh of hosts.


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Yahweh will be awesome against them, for he will destroy all the gods of the earth and all the lands of the nations; each in its place will bow down to him.


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And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and he will destroy Assyria and will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry wasteland like the desert.


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Herds shall lie down in her midst, every wild animal of a nation; even the desert owl and the screech owl shall lodge on her capitals. A voice shall hoot in the window; rubble on the threshold; for the cedar is laid bare.


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This is the city of rejoicing that lived securely; the one saying in her heart, “ I am, and there is none besides me.” How she has become a desolation, a lair for wild animals! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.


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She listens to no voice; she does not accept correction. In Yahweh she does not trust; to her God she does not draw near.


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Her officials in her midst are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they leave nothing until the morning.


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Her prophets are arrogant men of treachery; her priests have defiled that which is holy; they do violence to the law.


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Yahweh is righteous in her midst; he does not do wickedness. Morning by morning he renders his judgment; at dawn he does not fail, but an evil one knows no shame.


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“I have cut off nations; their strongholds are deserted. I have laid waste their streets, so that none pass through. Their cities have been destroyed and are without a man, without an inhabitant.


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I have said, ‘Surely she will fear me; she will accept discipline. Then her dwelling place will not be cut down, nor all that I have brought upon her.’ Surely they rise early; they make all their deeds corrupt.


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“Therefore, wait for me”—a declaration of Yahweh— “for the day of my rising as a witness. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger. For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.


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Because then I will make the speech of the nations pure; that all of them might call on the name of Yahweh, to serve him in unison.


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From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers and the daughter of my scattered ones shall bring my offering.


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On that day you shall not be humiliated on account of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I shall remove from your midst those exulting in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain.


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And I will leave in your midst a people afflicted and poor, and they shall take refuge in the name of Yahweh.


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The remnant of Israel shall not do wickedness; they shall not speak deception, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall frighten them.”


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Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Cry aloud, O Israel! Rejoice and be jubilant with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!


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Yahweh has annulled your judgments; he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, Yahweh, is in your midst; you shall no longer fear misfortune.


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Yahweh your God is in your midst; a mighty warrior who saves. He shall rejoice over you with joy; he renews you in his love; he will exult over you with singing.


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I will gather those of you grieving on account of the feast; they were raising against her a reproach.


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Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors; I will save the lame and gather the outcast. I will change them from shame to glory and renown throughout the whole world.


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At that time I will bring you in; at the time of my gathering you together. For I will make you renowned and praised among all the nations of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says Yahweh.


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In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day, the word of Yahweh came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘This people says, “ The time has not come to rebuild the temple of Yahweh.’ ”


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“ Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your houses that have been paneled while this house is desolate?”


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You have sown much but have harvested little. You have eaten without being satisfied; you have drunk without being satiated; you have worn clothes without being warm; the one who earns wages puts it in a pouch with holes.’


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Go up the mountain and bring wood and build the house so that I may be pleased with it and honored,’ says Yahweh.


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‘You have looked for much, and look! It came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ declares Yahweh of hosts. ‘Because my house is desolate and you are running each to your own house!


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I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, on what the soil produces, on human beings and wild animals, and on all their labor.’ ”


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Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people gave heed to the voice of Yahweh their God and to the words of Haggai the prophet, as Yahweh their God had sent him, and the people feared Yahweh.


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And Haggai the messenger of Yahweh spoke to the people with the message of Yahweh, saying, “ ‘I am with you’ declares Yahweh.”


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And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did the work on the house of Yahweh of hosts, their God,


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In the seventh month on the twenty-first day, the word of Yahweh came through Haggai the prophet, saying,


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“Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,


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‘Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it seem like nothing to you?


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‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Take courage, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and take courage, all the people of the land,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Do the work, because I am with you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts,


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‘according to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit is with you; do not be afraid.’


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For thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and dry land.


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I will shake all the nations so that the treasure of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says Yahweh of hosts.


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‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace’ declares Yahweh of hosts.’ ”


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On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Haggai, saying,


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If a man carries consecrated meat in the hem of his garment, and his hem touches bread, or stew, or wine, or olive oil, or any kind of food, will it become holy?’ ” The priests answered, “No.”


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Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean from contact with a corpse touches any of these, will it become unclean?” The priests answered, “Yes, it will be become unclean.”


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And Haggai answered and said, “ ‘So it is with this people, and with this nation before me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and so it is with every kind of work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.


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But now, please consider from this day forward, before one stone was placed on another in the temple of Yahweh,


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from that time when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten, and when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there were only twenty.


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I struck you with blight, and with plant mildew, and hail, all the work of your hands. But you did not come back to me,’ declares Yahweh.


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‘ Please consider from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid, consider:


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Is there still seed in the store chamber? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still produce nothing? From this day forward I will bless you.’ ”


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and I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the military strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, every one by the sword of another!


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‘On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will make you a signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.”


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In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying,


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You must say to them: ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return to me,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Return from your evil ways and your evil deeds!” ’ But they did not hear and they did not pay attention to me,” declares Yahweh.


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However, did not my words and my regulations which I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? And they repented and said, ‘Yahweh of hosts planned to do with us according to our ways, and according to our deeds so he has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”


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On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, saying,


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I had a vision in the night, and look, a man riding on a red horse. And he was standing between the myrtle shrubs that were in the ravine, and behind him were red, reddish-brown, and white horses.


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And I asked, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel who was talking with me said, “I will show you what these are.”


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And the man standing between the myrtle shrubs answered and said, “These are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol the earth.”


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And they answered the angel of Yahweh who was standing between the myrtle shrubs, and they said, “We have patrolled the earth, and look, all the earth is dwelling in peace.”


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The angel of Yahweh answered and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, how long will you have no compassion on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which you showed fury these seventy years?”


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And the angel who was talking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “ I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion!


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And I am extremely angry with the nations that are at ease, for while I was a little angry, they furthered disaster.”


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Therefore, thus says Yahweh: “I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My temple will be built in it,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’


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Proclaim again, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “My cities shall again overflow from prosperity, and Yahweh will comfort Zion again, and he will choose Jerusalem again.” ’ ”


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And I said to the angel who was talking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”


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and I asked, “What are these coming to do?” And he answered, saying, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to strike down the horns of the nations that lifted a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”


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And I asked, “Where are you going?” And he answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to see what is its width and what is its length.”


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And look, the angel who was talking to me was coming forward, and another angel was coming forward to meet him.


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And he said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited like villages without walls because of the multitude of people and animals in its midst.


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And I will be for it a wall of fire all around,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will be the glory in its midst.’ ”


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“Woe! Woe! Flee from the land of the north,” declares Yahweh, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of the heavens,” declares Yahweh.


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For thus said Yahweh of hosts, after glory he sent me against the nations plundering you: Truly, the one touching you is touching the apple of his eye.


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“Yes, look! I am going to wave my hand against them, and they will become plunder for their servants, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me.


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Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for look, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares Yahweh.


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“Many nations will join themselves to Yahweh on that day, and they will be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you.


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And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh; and Satan was standing on his right to accuse him.


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But Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?”


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And he answered and said to the ones standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And he said to him, “See, I have taken away your guilt from you, and will clothe you with rich garments.”


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And I said, “Let them put a clean headband on his head.” And they put a clean headband on his head, and they clothed him with garments. And the angel of Yahweh was standing by.


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my requirements, then you will judge my house, and you will also guard my courtyards, and I will give to you passageways among these that are standing here.


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Listen, please, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions that are sitting before you. For the men are a sign that, look, I am going to bring my servant the Branch.


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For consider, the stone that I set before Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes. Look, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I will remove the guilt of that land in a single day.


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On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘you will invite one another under the vine and under the fig tree.’ ”


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And the angel who was talking with me returned, and he wakened me as one who is wakened from his sleep.


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And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and look, a lampstand all of gold, and a bowl was on its top, and its seven lamps on it, and seven lips on each of the lamps that are on its top.


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And the angel who was talking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”


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And he answered and said to me, “This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by strength and not by power, but only by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of hosts.


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‘Who are you O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground, and he will bring out the top stone amid the shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”


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“The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house, and his hands will finish it. And you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you.


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For whoever has despised the day of small things will rejoice and will see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.” These seven are the eyes of Yahweh which are ranging throughout the whole earth.


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And I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”


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And I replied a second time and asked him, “What are these two twigs of olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”


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And he asked me, “What are you seeing?” And I said, “I am seeing a flying scroll twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”


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And he said to me, “This is the curse going out over the surface of the whole earth. For everyone who steals has gone unpunished according to it, and likewise everyone who swears falsely has gone unpunished according to it.


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‘I have sent it out,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘and it will go into the house of the thief and into the house of the one swearing falsely by my name, and it will spend the night in that house and will destroy it, with its timber and its stone.’ ”


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And the angel who was speaking to me went out, and he said to me, “ Please look up ! See what this is going out.”


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And I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “This is a basket going out. And he said, “This is their iniquity throughout all the earth.


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And he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her back down into the basket, and threw the lead cover on top of it.


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And I looked up and saw, and look!—two women coming forward, and the wind was in their wings, and they had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky.


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And he said to me, “To build for it a house in the land of Shinar, and when it is put in place, it will be placed there on its site.”


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I looked up again, and I saw, and look!—four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze.


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And with the third chariot there were white horses, and with the fourth chariot there were strong dappled horses.


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And the angel answered and said to me, “These are the four winds of the heavens going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.


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The one with the black horses is going out to the north country, and the white horses go after them, while the dappled ones go to the south country.”


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When the strong horses went out, they were anxious to go to patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” And they patrolled the earth.


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And he cried out to me and said to me, “See those going out to the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country.”


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“Collect from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, all of whom came from Babylon—and go on that day, go to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah.


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Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.


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And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, here is a man whose name is Branch, and from his place he will sprout, and he will build the temple of Yahweh.


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And he will build the temple of Yahweh, and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” ’


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And the crown will be for Helem, for Tobijah, for Jedaiah, and for Hen son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of Yahweh.


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And those who are far off will come and build the temple of Yahweh, and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. And it will happen if you will listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God.”


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And then, in the fourth year of King Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Kislev.


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And the people of Bethel sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech, and their men, to entreat the favor of Yahweh,


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saying to the priests of the house of Yahweh of hosts and to the prophets, “Should I mourn in the fifth month and keep myself separate as I have done for these many years?”


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“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me?


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Are not these the words that Yahweh proclaimed through the former prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were inhabited and at ease, and the Negev and the Shephelah were inhabited?’ ”


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Judge with trustworthy justice, and show steadfast love and compassion to one another.


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You must not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the needy. You must not devise evil in your heart against one another.’


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They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that Yahweh of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.


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‘Thus, just as I called and they would not hear, so they will call and I will not hear,’ says Yahweh of hosts.


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‘And I scattered them with a wind among all the nations that they had not known; the land was made desolate behind them— no one crossing through it or returning—and they made the desirable land a desolation.’ ”


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘ I am exceedingly jealous for Zion; I am jealous for it with great wrath.’


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Thus says Yahweh: ‘I have returned to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called the faithful city, and the mountain of Yahweh of hosts will be called the holy mountain.’


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Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the public squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.


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And the public squares of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in its public squares.’


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Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘ Even if it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?’ declares Yahweh of hosts.


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Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Look! I am going to save my people from the land of the east, and from the land of the west,


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and I will bring them and they will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They will be my people and I will be their God in faithfulness and in righteousness.’


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts.


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For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against one another.


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But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.


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‘For there will be a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.


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And then, just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. You must not be afraid; let your hands be strong!’ ”


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For thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Just as I planned to bring disaster on you when your ancestors provoked me to anger,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I did not regret it,


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so again I have planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Do not be afraid!


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These are the things that you must do: speak truth, each of you, with his neighbor; practice trustworthy judgment and peace in your gates.


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Do not devise evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love a false oath, because all these are things I hate,” declares Yahweh.


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“Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fifth month, the seventh month, and the tenth month will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.’


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Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘ It will happen again that nations and the inhabitants of many cities will come.


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And the inhabitants of one city will go to another city, saying, “Let us go immediately to entreat the favor of Yahweh, to seek Yahweh of hosts—I also will go!”


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And many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.’


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Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from all the nations of every language will take hold of the hem of a Judean man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!” ’ ”


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An oracle. The word of Yahweh is against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place. For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind, and all the tribes of Israel,


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Tyre has built a fortification for itself, and it heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the mud of the streets.


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Look! The Lord will drive it out and will hurl its outer ramparts into the sea, and it will be consumed by fire.


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Ashkelon will see and will be afraid, and Gaza will writhe exceedingly, and Ekron also, because its hope is ruined. And the king from Gaza will perish, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.


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I will remove its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth. And it too will be a remnant for our God; and it will be like a tribal chief in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusite.


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But I will encamp at my temple like a guard, against those crossing through and returning; no oppressor will cross through them again, for now I have seen with my own eyes.


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Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king comes to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, and on a male donkey, the foal of a female donkey!


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And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow will be cut down, and he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.


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As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.


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For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have set Ephraim as an arrow. I will set in motion your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Javan. I will wield you like the sword of a warrior.


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Then Yahweh will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; and my Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet, and he shall go out in the storm winds of the south.


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Yahweh of hosts will defend them, and they will devour and subdue the slingstones; they will drink, they will make noise like wine, and they will be full like the sacrificial basin, drenched like the corners of an altar.


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And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for they are like the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land.


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For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.


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Ask rain from Yahweh in the season of the spring rain— Yahweh, who makes storm clouds, and he gives showers of rain to them, to everyone vegetation in the field.


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Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.


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My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders, because Yahweh of hosts watches over his flock, the house of Judah; and he will make them like his majestic horse in war.


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From them the cornerstone will go out, from them the tent peg, from them the battle bow, from them every ruler, all together.


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And they will be like warriors, trampling in the mud of the streets in the battle. They will fight, because Yahweh is with them, and they will put to shame the riders on horses.


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And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. And I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them, and they will be as if I had not rejected them, for I am Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.


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And the people of Ephraim will be like a warrior, and their heart will be glad as with wine. And their children will see and rejoice; their heart will shout in exultation in Yahweh.


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I will whistle to them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they will become numerous as they have been numerous before.


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Though I sow them among the nations, in the distant places they will remember me, and they will stay alive with their children, and they will return.


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And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and from Assyria I will gather them. To the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them, until no room will be found for them there.


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And he will pass through the sea of distress, and he will strike the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be brought low, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.


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Wail, O juniper, for the cedar has fallen, for the magnificent trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!


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Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their splendor is ruined! Listen to the roar of the young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!


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The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I have become rich.’ Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.


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For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh. “Look, I am going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver anyone from their hand.”


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And I shepherded the flock doomed to slaughter, even the afflicted of the flock. I took two staffs, one I called Kindness, and the other I called Unity, and I shepherded the flock.


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And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for I grew impatient with them, and they also became tired of me.


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So I said, “I will not shepherd you! The one dying will die, and the one to be destroyed will be destroyed. And the ones remaining, let them devour the flesh of each other.”


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And I took my staff Kindness and broke it, to break my covenant that I had made with all the peoples.


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And it was broken on that day. Then the afflicted of the flock, the ones who were watching me, knew that it was the word of Yahweh.


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And I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out my wages, thirty silver shekels.


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And Yahweh said to me, “Throw it to the potter,” this noble price at which I was valued by them!” So I took the thirty silver shekels and I threw them to the potter in the house of Yahweh.


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For look, I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the ones that are perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the ones that are crushed and he will not sustain the healthy ones; he will devour the flesh of the fattened ones and tear apart even their hoofs.


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“Woe, my worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! May a sword fall on his arm and on his right eye ! May his arm wither completely and his right eye be utterly blinded!”


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An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. “ Thus declares Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, founds the earth, and forms the spirit of humankind in its midst:


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‘Look, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.


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And then on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it.


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On that day,’ declares Yahweh, ‘I will strike every horse with confusion, and the one riding it with madness; but over the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, and I will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.


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And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strength to us, through Yahweh of hosts, their God.”


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“ ‘On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a pan of fire among sticks of wood, and like a torch of fire among stalks of grain, and they will devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again in its place, in Jerusalem.


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And Yahweh will save the tents of Judah first, so 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 Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh, before them.


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“ ‘I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication, and they will look to me whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him, as one wails over an only child, and they will grieve bitterly over him as one grieves bitterly over a firstborn.


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On that day the wailing will be great in Jerusalem, like the wailing for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.


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And the land shall mourn, each clan by itself; the clan of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the clan of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;


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the clan of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the clan of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves;


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“ ‘On that day a well will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from impurity.


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And then, on that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land.


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And then, if anyone prophesies again, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, “You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of Yahweh!” And his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through when he prophesies.


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And then on that day, each of the prophets will be ashamed because of his vision when he was prophesying, and they will not put on a cloak of hair in order to deceive,


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but he will say, “I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth.”


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And someone shall say to him, “What are these wounds between your arms?” and he will say, “Those I have received in the house of the ones who love me.” ’ ”


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“O sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,” declares Yahweh of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, so that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the small ones.


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And then in all the land,” declares Yahweh, “ two thirds will be cut off and perish, and one third will be left alive in it.


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And I will bring the remaining third into the fire, and I will refine them like one refines silver, and I will test them like one tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’ ”


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I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and they will loot the houses, and the women will be raped; half of the city will go into exile, but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city.


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On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half, from east to west, by a very great valley; and half of the mountain will withdraw toward the north, and the other half toward the south.


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And you will flee by the valley of my mountains, because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you will flee like you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. And Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.


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There shall be continuous day—it is known to Yahweh—not day and not night; and at evening time there will be light.


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And then on that day, living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea, and the other half to the western sea; it will happen both in the summer and in the winter.


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All the land will be transformed into a desert plateau from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But it will rise up high and it will stay in its place from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, up to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.


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And they will dwell in it, and there will be no more ban imposed, and Jerusalem will dwell in security.


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And this will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples that fight against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.


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And then on that day a great panic from Yahweh will fall on them, and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of another.


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And Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold and silver, and garments in great abundance.


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Like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and every kind of animal in those camps.


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And then every survivor from all those nations coming against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Booths.


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And then whoever of the clans of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, Yahweh of hosts, it will not rain on them.


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And if the clan of Egypt will not go up and come in, on them will be that plague Yahweh inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.


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This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.


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On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the cooking pots in the house of Yahweh will be holy like the sacrificial basins before the altar.


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And every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts, and all those who sacrifice will come and will take from them, and will cook in them, and there will be no longer a trader in the house of Yahweh of hosts on that day.


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“I have loved you,” says Yahweh, but you say, “How have you loved us?” “ Is Esau not Jacob’s brother?” declares Yahweh. “I have loved Jacob,


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but Esau I have hated. I have made his mountain ranges a desolation, and given his inheritance to the jackals of the desert.”


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If Edom says, “We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,” Yahweh of hosts says this: “They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever.”


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“A son honors his father, and a slave his master; but if I am a father, where is my honor, and if I am a master, where is my reverence?” says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. “But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’


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You are presenting defiled food on my altar! But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ By saying that the table of Yahweh is despised!


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When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong? Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Will he show you favor?” says Yahweh of hosts.


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So then, implore the favor of God so that he will be gracious to us. “ This is what you have done. Will he show favor to any of you?” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“Who also among you will shut the temple doors so that you will not kindle fire in vain on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and I will not accept an offering from your hand.


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From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name is great among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“But you are profaning it by saying the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit—its food —is despised!


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And you say, ‘Look! This is a weariness,’ and you sniff with disdain at it,” says Yahweh of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick— this you bring as the offering! Should I accept it from your hand?” says Yahweh.


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“Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows it, but instead sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I am a great king,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”


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If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart to give glory to my name,” says Yahweh of hosts, “then I will send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings; moreover I have already cursed them because you are not taking it to heart.


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Look! I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will scatter offal on your faces, the offal of your religious feasts, and you will be carried to it.


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“Then you will know that I have sent to you this command, that my covenant with Levi continues,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This required reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe before my name.


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The instruction of truth was in his mouth, and wickedness was not found on his lips. In peace and in uprightness he walked with me, and he brought back many from sin.


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For the lips of the priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.


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But you, you have turned from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“And in turn I have made you despised and humbled before all the people, inasmuch as you are not keeping my way, but are favoring your own instruction.”


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Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we unfaithful to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?


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Judah has been faithless, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of Yahweh which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.


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May Yahweh cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, the one who is awake and who answers, and the one who brings an offering to Yahweh of hosts!


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And this you do as well: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.


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But you ask, “ For what reason?” Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she is your marriage partner and your wife by covenant.


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Did not one God make them? But a remnant of the spirit is his. And what does the one God desire? An offspring of God. You must be attentive to your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.


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“For I hate divorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and he who covers his clothing with violence,” says Yahweh of hosts. “ You must be attentive to your spirit and you must not be unfaithful.”


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You have wearied Yahweh with your words, but you ask, “With what have we wearied him?” You have done so when you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and in them he delights,” or “Where is the God of justice?”


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“Look! I am going to send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you are seeking will come suddenly to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you are taking pleasure—look!— he is about to come,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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And who can endure the day of his coming? And who is the one who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, like launderers’ alkali.


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He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the children of Levi, and he will refine them like gold and like silver, and they will present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.


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And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh, like in the days of old and like in former years.


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“Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against the oppressors of the hired worker with his wages, the widow and the orphan, and the abusers of the alien, and yet do not fear me,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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From the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my rules, and have not kept them ! Return to me and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “but you say, ‘How shall we return?’


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Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In the tithes and the contributions!


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Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you an overflowing blessing.


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I will rebuke the devourer for you; it will not destroy the fruit of your soil; your vine in the field will not be unfruitful,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“And all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land in which one takes joy,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“Your words have been harsh against me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘How have we spoken together against you?’


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You have said, ‘ It is useless to serve God! What is the gain if we keep his requirements, and if we walk as mourners before Yahweh of hosts?


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And now we are calling the arrogant blessed! Not only do those who do wickedness prosper; they also test God and they escape!’ ”


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Then those who revered Yahweh spoke with one another. And Yahweh listened attentively and heard, and a scroll of remembrance was written before him of those who revere Yahweh and ponder his name.


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“They will be mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I am acting, my treasured possession. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.


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You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.


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“For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not leave behind for them root or branch.


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But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like fattened calves.


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You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act,” says Yahweh of hosts.


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“Remember the instruction of my servant Moses, which I commanded him at Horeb to all Israel, the rules and regulations.


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Look! I am going to send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh!


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And he will bring back the hearts of the fathers to the sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with a ban.”


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Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers,


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and Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Aram,


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and Aram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon,


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and Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed became the father of Jesse,


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and Jesse became the father of David the king. And David became the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,


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and Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam became the father of Abijah, and Abijah became the father of Asa,


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and Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram, and Joram became the father of Uzziah,


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and Uzziah became the father of Jotham, and Jotham became the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah,


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and Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh became the father of Amon, and Amon became the father of Josiah,


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and Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.


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And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel,


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and Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud, and Abiud became the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim became the father of Azor,


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and Azor became the father of Zadok, and Zadok became the father of Achim, and Achim became the father of Eliud,


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and Eliud became the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar became the father of Matthan, and Matthan became the father of Jacob,


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and Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.


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Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ are fourteen generations.


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Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.


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So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly.


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But as he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.


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And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name ‘Jesus,’ because he will save his people from their sins.”


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Now all this happened in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,


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“Behold, the virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”


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And Joseph, when he woke up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife


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and did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.


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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,


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saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”


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and after calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.


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‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”


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Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and determined precisely from them the time when the star appeared.


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And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and worship him.”


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After they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising led them until it came and stood above the place where the child was.


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And when they came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.


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And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.


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Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.”


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And he was there until the death of Herod, in order that what was said by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”


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Then Herod, when he saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent soldiers and executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region around it from the age of two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.


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“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they exist no longer.”


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saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead.”


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But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.


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And he came and lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”


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For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’ ”


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Now John himself had his clothing made from camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.


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But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?


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And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!


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Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.


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I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.


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His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”


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But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted him.


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Now after he was baptized, Jesus immediately went up from the water, and behold, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him.


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And behold, there was a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”


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And the tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, order that these stones become bread.”


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 But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”


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and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”


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 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand it is written, ‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”


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Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,


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 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan, for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”


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And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,


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“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, toward the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —


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the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and the ones who sit in the land and shadow of death, a light has dawned on them.”


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 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.”


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Now as he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen).


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And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.


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And he went around through all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.


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And a report about him went out throughout Syria, and they brought to him all those who were sick with various diseases and afflicted by torments, demon-possessed and epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them.


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And large crowds followed him from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from the other side of the Jordan.


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Now when he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and after he sat down, his disciples approached him.


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 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


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 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me.


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 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.


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 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside and trampled under foot by people.


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 nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house.


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 In the same way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.


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 “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to fulfill them.


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 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place.


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 Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.


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 For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.


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 “You have heard that it was said to the people of old, ‘Do not commit murder,’ and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’


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 But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Stupid fool!’ will be subject to the council, and whoever says, ‘Obstinate fool!’ will be subject to fiery hell.


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 Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,


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 leave your gift there before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your gift.


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 Settle the case quickly with your accuser while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.


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 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.


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 And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.


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 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.


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 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


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 “Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old, ‘Do not swear falsely, but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’


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 or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king.


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 But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also.


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 And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him have your outer garment also.


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 in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.


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 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same?


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 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same?


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 “And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.


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 Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!


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 But you, when you practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,


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 in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


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 And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!


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 But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


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 “But when you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.


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 “Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!


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 so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


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 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect destroy and where thieves break in and steal,


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 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal.


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 “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light.


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 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!


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 “No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.


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 “For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body more than clothing?


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 Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gather produce into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are?


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 And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin,


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 But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, although it is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not do so much more for you, you of little faith?


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 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’


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 for the pagans seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.


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 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


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 For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you.


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 And why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam of wood in your own eye?


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 Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam of wood is in your own eye?


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 Hypocrite! First remove the beam of wood from your own eye and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye!


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 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls in front of pigs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turn around and tear you to pieces.


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 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.


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 Therefore if you, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?


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 Therefore in all things, whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.


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 “Enter through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it,


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 because narrow is the gate and constricted is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it!


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 You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do they?


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 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.


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 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?’


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 And then I will say to them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!’


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 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.


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 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not collapse, because its foundation was laid on the rock.


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 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.


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 And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed, and its fall was great.”


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And behold, a leper approached and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”


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 And extending his hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing, be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.


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 And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”


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And the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. But only say the word and my slave will be healed.


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For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”


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 Now when Jesus heard this, he was astonished, and said to those who were following him, “Truly I say to you, I have found such great faith with no one in Israel.


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 But I say to you that many will come from east and west and be seated at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.


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 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!”


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 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, as you have believed it will be done for you.” And the slave was healed at that hour.


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And when Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down and suffering with a fever.


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Now when it was evening, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he expelled the spirits with a word. And he healed all those who were sick,


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in order that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled, who said, “He himself took away our sicknesses, and carried away our diseases.”


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 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”


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And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep.


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 And he said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.


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And the men were astonished, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”


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And when he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from among the tombs met him, very violent, so that no one was able to pass by along that road.


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And behold, they cried out, saying, “ What do you have to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”


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 And he said to them, “Go!” So they departed and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and drowned in the water.


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Now the herdsmen fled and went into the town and reported everything, including the things concerning the demon-possessed men.


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And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him that he would depart from their region.


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 And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher, and when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”


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 But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and go to your home.”


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But when the crowds saw this, they were afraid and glorified God who had given such authority to men.


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 And as Jesus was going away from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth and said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and followed him.


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And it happened as he was dining in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners were coming and dining with Jesus and his disciples.


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And when they saw it, the Pharisees began to say to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”


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 And when he heard it, he said, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.


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 But go and learn what it means, “I want mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”


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Then the disciples of John approached him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”


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 And Jesus said to them, “ The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But days are coming when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.


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 But no one puts a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment, for its patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear becomes worse.


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 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wineskins burst and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are destroyed. But they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”


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As he was saying these things to them, behold, one of the rulers came and knelt down before him, saying, “My daughter has just now died, but come, place your hand on her and she will live!”


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And behold, a woman who had been suffering with a hemorrhage twelve years approached from behind and touched the edge of his cloak,


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 But Jesus, turning around and seeing her, said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.


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And as Jesus was going away from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”


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 And when he came into the house, the blind men approached him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”


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Now as they were going away, behold, they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak.


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And after the demon had been expelled, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were astonished, saying, “ This has never been seen before in Israel!”


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And Jesus was going around all the towns and the villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and every sickness.


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And when he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were weary and dejected, like sheep that did not have a shepherd.


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And summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could expel them and could heal every disease and every sickness.


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Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother,


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Philip, and Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus,


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 Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them saying, “Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans,


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 Heal those who are sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, expel demons. Freely you have received; freely give.


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 Do not take a traveler’s bag for the road, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for the worker is deserving of his provisions.


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 And into whatever town or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there until you depart.


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 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.


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 And whoever does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you are going out of that house or that town.


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 Truly I say to you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!


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 “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.


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 But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues.


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 And you will be brought before both governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles.


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 But whenever they hand you over, do not be anxious how to speak or what you should say, for what you should say will be given to you at that hour.


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 For you are not the ones who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking through you.


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 “And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death,


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 and you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end—this one will be saved.


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 And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish going through the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.


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 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household?


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 “Therefore do not be afraid of them, because nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not become known.


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 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear in your ear, proclaim on the housetops.


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 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.


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 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father.


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 “Therefore everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven.


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 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth! I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.


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 For I have come to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.


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 The one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.


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 The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life because of me will find it.


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 The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.


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 And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he will never lose his reward.”


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And it happened that when Jesus had finished giving orders to his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and to preach in their towns.


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 the blind receive sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor have good news announced to them.


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 Now as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?


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 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in the houses of kings.


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 It is this man about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’


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 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist. But the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.


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 But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is treated violently, and the violent claim it.


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 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,


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 saying, ‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a lament and you did not mourn.’


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 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”


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Then he began to reproach the towns in which the majority of his miracles had been done, because they did not repent:


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 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.


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 Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!


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 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.


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 Nevertheless I tell you that it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!”


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 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.


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 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.


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 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.


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At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck off heads of grain and eat them.


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But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Behold, your disciples are doing what it is not permitted to do on the Sabbath!”


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 how he entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not permitted for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?


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 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the sanctity of the Sabbath and are guiltless?


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 And if you had known what it means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.


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And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath?” in order that they could accuse him.


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 But he said to them, “What man will there be among you who will have one sheep and if this one fell into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?


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 Then to what degree is a man worth more than a sheep? So then, it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath.”


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 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and he stretched it out, and it was restored as healthy as the other one.


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Now Jesus, when he learned of it, withdrew from there, and many followed him, and he healed them all.


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“Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.


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A crushed reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not extinguish, until he brings justice to victory.


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Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to him. And he healed him so that the man who was mute could speak and see.


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But the Pharisees, when they heard it, said, “This man does not expel demons except by Beelzebul the ruler of demons!”


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 But knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.


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 And if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel them? For this reason they will be your judges!


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 Or how can someone enter into the house of a strong man and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he can thoroughly plunder his house.


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 For this reason I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven!


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 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the coming one!


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 “Either make the tree good and its fruit is good, or make the tree bad and its fruit is bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.


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 Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say good things when you are evil? For from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.


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 The good person from his good treasury brings out good things, and the evil person from his evil treasury brings out evil things.


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 But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment!


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Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!”


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 But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation desires a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah!


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 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.


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 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here!


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 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here!


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 “Now whenever an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it travels through waterless places searching for rest, and does not find it.


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 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came out.’ And when it arrives it finds the house unoccupied and swept and put in order.


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 Then it goes and brings along with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there. And the last state of that person becomes worse than the first. So it will be for this evil generation also!”


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And while he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and brothers were standing there outside, desiring to speak to him.


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And someone told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing there outside desiring to speak to you.”


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And large crowds gathered close around him, so that he got into a boat to sit down, and all the crowd was standing on the shore.


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 and while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it.


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 And other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once because it did not have any depth of soil.


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 But other seed fell on the good soil and produced grain, this one a hundred times as much and this one sixty and this one thirty.


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 And he answered and said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted.


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 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.


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 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand,


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 and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, “ You will listen carefully and will never understand, and you will look closely and will never perceive.


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 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”


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 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it !


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 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path.


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 And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.


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 But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while, and when affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away.


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 And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive.


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 But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”


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 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.


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 But while his people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat and went away.


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 So the slaves of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’


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 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’


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 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.” ’ ”


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 He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.


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 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”


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 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”


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Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable,


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in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”


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Then he left the crowds and came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.”


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and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one.


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 And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.


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 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds,


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 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear!


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 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.


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 And when he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.


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 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind,


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 which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and collected the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw out.


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 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous


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 And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”


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And he came to his hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles?


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Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?


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 And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.”


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and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and for this reason miraculous powers are at work in him.”


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For Herod, after arresting John, bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,


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But when Herod’s birthday celebration took place, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of them and pleased Herod.


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And although the king was distressed, because of his oaths and his dinner guests he commanded the request to be granted.


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Now when Jesus heard it, he withdrew from there in a boat to an isolated place by himself. And when the crowds heard it, they followed him by land from the towns.


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Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him saying, “The place is desolate and the hour is late. Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages and purchase food for themselves.”


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And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And after breaking them, he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.


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And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.


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And immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent away the crowds.


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And after he sent away the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. So when evening came, he was there alone.


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But the boat was already many stadia distant from the land, being beaten by the waves, because the wind was against it.


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But the disciples, when they saw him walking on the sea, were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear.


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But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”


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 And immediately Jesus extended his hand and caught him and said to him, “ You of little faith! Why did you doubt?”


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And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into that whole surrounding region, and they brought to him all those who were sick.


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And they were imploring him that they might only touch the edge of his cloak, and all those who touched it were cured.


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“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”


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 So he answered and said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition?


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 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die.’


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 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is a gift to God,”


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 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.”


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Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”


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 Let them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”


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 Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine?


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 For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech.


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 These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”


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And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came and cried out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”


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But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and asked him, saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us!”


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 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.


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And departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up on the mountain and was sitting there.


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And large crowds came to him, having with them the mute, blind, lame, crippled, and many others, and they put them down at his feet, and he healed them.


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So then the crowd was astonished when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.


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 And Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way.”


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And the disciples said to him, “Where in this desolate place can we get so much bread that such a great crowd could be satisfied?”


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 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”


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he took the seven loaves and the fish and after he had given thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.


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And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.


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And when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.


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 So he answered and said to them, “ When evening comes you say, ‘ It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’


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 and early in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy weather, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to evaluate correctly the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to evaluate the signs of the times.


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 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah!” And he left them and went away.


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 But knowing this, Jesus said, “Why are you discussing among yourselves that you did not take bread, you of little faith?


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 Do you not yet understand or do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?


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 How do you not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”


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Then they understood that he did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


text:
 Now when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he began asking his disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”


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And they said, Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”


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 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.


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 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!


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 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.”


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From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.


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And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, God forbid, Lord! This will never happen to you!”


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 But he turned around and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a cause for stumbling to me, because you are not intent on the things of God, but the things of people!”


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 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


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 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me will find it.


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 For what will a person be benefited if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what will a person give in exchange for his life?


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 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and at that time he will reward each one according to what he has done.


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 Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”


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And after six days Jesus took along Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.


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And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became bright as the light.


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So Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here! If you want, I will make here three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”


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While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!”


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 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”


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But I say to you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did with him whatever they wanted. In the same way also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”


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and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers severely, for often he falls into the fire and often into the water.


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 And Jesus answered and said, “O unbelieving and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me!”


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And he said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”


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Now as they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men,


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and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were extremely distressed.


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Now when they arrived in Capernaum, the ones who collected the double drachma tax came up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the double drachma tax?”


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He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect tolls or taxes—from their own sons, or from foreigners?”


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But so that we do not give offense to them, go out to the sea, cast a line with a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”


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At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”


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and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven!


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Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,


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But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone be hung on his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea.


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 Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes.


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 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into the eternal fire!


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 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!


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 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven.


text:
 What do you think? If a certain man has a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and look for the one that wandered away?


text:
 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away.


text:
 In the same way it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.


text:
 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.


text:
 But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.


text:
 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.


text:
 “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.


text:
 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven.


text:
Then Peter came up to him and said, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?”


text:
 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves.


text:
 And because he did not have enough to repay it, the master ordered him to be sold, and his wife and his children and everything that he had, and to be repaid.


text:
 Then the slave threw himself to the ground and began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’


text:
 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’


text:
 Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and began to implore him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’


text:
 But he did not want to, but rather he went and threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed.


text:
 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and reported to their master everything that had happened.


text:
 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me!


text:
 And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers until he would repay everything that was owed.


text:
 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”


text:
And it happened that when Jesus had finished these statements, he went away from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan.


text:
And Pharisees came up to him in order to test him, and asked if it was permitted for a man to divorce his wife for any cause.


text:
 And he answered and said, “Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female


text:
 and said, ‘On account of this a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?


text:
 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”


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They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?”


text:
 He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this.


text:
 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”


text:
The disciples said to him, “If this is the case of a man with his wife, it would be better not to marry!”


text:
 For there are eunuchs who were born as such from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”


text:
Then children were brought to him so that he could lay his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.


text:
 But Jesus said, “Allow the children, and do not forbid them to come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”


text:
And behold, someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will have eternal life?”


text:
 And he said to him, “Why are you asking me about what is good? There is one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments!”


text:
 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,


text:
 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”


text:
But when the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.


text:
 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven!


text:
 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into the kingdom of God.”


text:
 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”


text:
Then Peter answered and said to him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?”


text:
 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that in the renewal of the world, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me—you also will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.


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 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.


text:
 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man—the master of the house—who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.


text:
 And after coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard.


text:
 And to those people he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right.’


text:
 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing there and said to them, ‘Why are you standing here the whole day unemployed?’


text:
 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last up to the first.’


text:
 And when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, and they also received a denarius apiece.


text:
 saying, ‘These last people worked one hour and you made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the burning heat!’


text:
 But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not come to an agreement with me for a denarius?


text:
 Is it not permitted for me to do whatever I want with what is mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?’


text:
And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples by themselves and said to them on the way,


text:
 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,


text:
 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock him and flog him and crucify him, and on the third day he will be raised.”


text:
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling down she asked something from him.


text:
 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom.”


text:
 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”


text:
 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”


text:
 But Jesus called them to himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions exercise authority over them.


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 It will not be like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,


text:
 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”


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And behold, there were two blind men sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they called out, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”


text:
And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be quiet. But they called out all the more, saying, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”


text:
And having compassion, Jesus touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed him.


text:
And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,


text:
 saying to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.


text:
 And if anyone says anything to you, you will say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”


text:
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a pack animal.’ ”


text:
And a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.


text:
And the crowds who went ahead of him and the ones who followed were shouting, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven !”


text:
And Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves.


text:
 And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a cave of robbers!”


text:
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant.


text:
 And they said to him, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” So Jesus said to them, “Yes, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing babies you have prepared for yourself praise’?”


text:
 And seeing a single fig tree by the road, he went to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And he said to it, “May there be no more fruit from you forever, and the fig tree withered at once.


text:
 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will do not only what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen!


text:
And after he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he was teaching, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?”


text:
 And Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell the answer to me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.


text:
 From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’


text:
But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.”


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 And they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.


text:
 “Now what do you think? A man had two sons. He approached the first and said, ‘Son, go work in the vineyard today.’


text:
 And he approached the second and said the same thing. So he answered and said, ‘I will, sir,’ and he did not go.


text:
 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going ahead of you into the kingdom of God!


text:
 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did believe him. And when you saw it, you did not even change your minds later so as to believe in him.


text:
 “Listen to another parable: There was a man—a master of a house—who planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.


text:
 And when the season of fruit drew near, he sent his slaves to the tenant farmers to collect his fruit.


text:
 And the tenant farmers seized his slaves, one of whom they beat, and one of whom they killed, and one of whom they stoned.


text:
 But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance!’


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They said to him, “He will destroy those evil men completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers who will give him the fruits in their season.”


text:
 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?


text:
 For this reason, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruits.


text:
 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls—it will crush him!”


text:
And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them,


text:
and although they wanted to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they looked upon him as a prophet.


text:
 And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the wedding celebration, and they did not want to come.


text:
 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding celebration!” ’


text:
 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding celebration is ready, but those who had been invited were not worthy.


text:
 Therefore, go out to the places where the roads exit the city and invite to the wedding celebration as many people as you find.’


text:
 And those slaves went out into the roads and gathered everyone whom they found, both evil and good, and the wedding celebration was filled with dinner guests.


text:
 But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there not dressed in wedding clothes.


text:
 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here, not having wedding clothes?’ But he could say nothing.


text:
 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’


text:
And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and you do not care what anyone thinks, because you do not regard the opinion of people.


text:
 They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!”


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saying, “Teacher, Moses said if someone dies without having children, his brother is to marry his wife and father descendants for his brother.


text:
Now there were seven brothers with us. And the first died after getting married, and because he did not have descendants, he left his wife to his brother.


text:
 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God!


text:
 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.


text:
 Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said,


text:
 “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!”


text:
 And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’


text:
And no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him any more questions.


text:
 Therefore do and observe everything that they tell you, but do not do as they do, for they tell others to do something and do not do it themselves.


text:
 And they tie up heavy burdens and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing with their finger to move them.


text:
 And they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries broad and make their tassels long.


text:
 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you shut the kingdom of heaven before people! For you do not enter, nor permit those wanting to go in to enter.


text:
 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are !


text:
 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’


text:
 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing! But whoever swears by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’


text:
 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you pay a tenth of mint and dill and cumin, and neglect the more important matters of the law—justice and mercy and faithfulness! It was necessary to do these things while not neglecting those.


text:
 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!


text:
 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.


text:
 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean!


text:
 In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.


text:
 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,


text:
 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’


text:
 For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town,


text:
 so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.


text:
 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her young together under her wings, and you were not willing!


text:
 For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”


text:
And as Jesus went out of the temple courts he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple.


text:
 But he answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”


text:
And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”


text:
 And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.


text:
 For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.


text:
 “Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.


text:
 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.


text:
 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand),


text:
 For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen.


text:
 And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.


text:
 “At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him !


text:
 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.


text:
 Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it !


text:
 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.


text:
 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’


text:
 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.


text:
 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other end of it.


text:
 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.


text:
 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone.


text:
 For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark.


text:
 And they did not know anything until the deluge came and swept them all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be.


text:
 But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.


text:
 For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.


text:
 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their food at the right time?


text:
 the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know,


text:
 and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!


text:
 “Then the kingdom of heaven may be compared to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.


text:
 And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!’


text:
 But the wise ones answered saying, “Certainly there will never be enough for us and for you! Go instead to those who sell olive oil and buy some for yourselves.’


text:
 But while they had gone away to buy it the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding celebration, and the door was shut.


text:
 For it is like a man going on a journey. He summoned his own slaves and handed over his property to them.


text:
 And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each one according to his own ability, and he went on a journey immediately.


text:
 And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents. See, I have gained five more talents!’


text:
 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’


text:
 And the one who had the two talents also came up and said, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!’


text:
 And the one who had received the one talent came up also and said, ‘Master, because I knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not scatter seed.


text:
 And because I was afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours!’


text:
 But his master answered and said to him, ‘Evil and lazy slave! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter seed.


text:
 Then you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and when I returned I would have gotten back what was mine with interest!


text:
 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.


text:
 And throw the worthless slave into the outer darkness—in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’


text:
 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.


text:
 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.


text:
 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!


text:
 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest,


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 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’


text:
 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?


text:
 And the king will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.’


text:
 Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!


text:
 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink,


text:
 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’


text:
 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’


text:
 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’


text:
 “You know that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man will be handed over in order to be crucified.”


text:
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,


text:
a woman came up to him holding an alabaster flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and poured it out on his head while he was reclining at table.


text:
 But Jesus, knowing this, said to them, “Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a good deed for me.


text:
 Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”


text:
and said, “What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?” So they set out for him thirty silver coins.


text:
Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”


text:
 And he said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am celebrating the Passover with you with my disciples.” ’


text:
 The Son of Man is going just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if that man had not been born.”


text:
 And Judas, the one who was betraying him, answered and said, “ Surely I am not he, am I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said it.”


text:
 Now while they were eating Jesus took bread and, after giving thanks, he broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, “Take, eat, this is my body.”


text:
 But I tell you, from now on I will never drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.”


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me during this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’


text:
 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that during this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times!”


text:
Peter said to him, “Even if it is necessary for me to die with you, I will never deny you!” And all the disciples said the same thing.


text:
 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”


text:
 Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”


text:
 And going forward a little he fell down on his face, praying and saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”


text:
 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “So, were you not able to stay awake with me one hour?


text:
 Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!”


text:
 Again for the second time he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will must be done.”


text:
 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.


text:
And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas—one of the twelve—arrived, and with him a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.


text:
Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, “ The one whom I kiss—he is the one. Arrest him!”


text:
 And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do that for which you have come.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.


text:
And behold, one of those with Jesus extended his hand and drew his sword, and striking the slave of the high priest, cut off his ear.


text:
 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place! For all who take up the sword will die by the sword.


text:
 Or do you think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he would put at my disposal at once more than twelve legions of angels?


text:
 At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day in the temple courts I sat teaching, and you did not arrest me!


text:
 But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then the disciples all abandoned him and fled.


text:
Now those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.


text:
But Peter was following him from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest. And he went inside and was sitting with the officers to see the outcome.


text:
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus in order that they could put him to death.


text:
and said, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it within three days.’ ”


text:
And the high priest stood up and said to him, “Do you reply nothing? What are these people testifying against you?”


text:
But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, “I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!”


text:
 Jesus said to him, “You have said it. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”


text:
Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy!


text:
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a female slave came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.”


text:
And when he went out to the gateway, another female slave saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.”


text:
And after a little while those who were standing there came up and said to Peter, “You really are one of them also, because even your accent reveals who you are.”


text:
Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.


text:
 And Peter remembered the statement Jesus had said, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times,” and he went outside and wept bitterly.


text:
Now when it was early morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus in order to put him to death.


text:
Then when Judas, the one who had betrayed him, saw that he had been condemned, he regretted what he had done and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and elders,


text:
saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood!” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it !”


text:
But the chief priests took the silver coins and said, “It is not permitted to put them into the temple treasury, because it is blood money.”


text:
And after taking counsel, they purchased with them the Potter’s Field, for a burial place for strangers.


text:
Then what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, who said, “And they took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one who had been priced, on whom a price had been set by the sons of Israel,


text:
 So Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And Jesus said, “You say so.”


text:
And he did not reply to him, not even with reference to one statement, so that the governor was very astonished.


text:
Now at each feast, the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd—the one whom they wanted.


text:
So after they had assembled, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you—Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?”


text:
And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him, saying, “ Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.”)


text:
But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds that they should ask for Barabbas and put Jesus to death.


text:
So the governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas!”


text:
Pilate said to them, “What then should I do with Jesus, the one who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!”


text:
And he said, “Why? What wrong has he done?” But they began to shout even louder, saying, “Let him be crucified!”


text:
So Pilate, when he saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but instead an uproar was developing, took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this man. You see to it !”


text:
Then he released Barabbas for them, but after he had Jesus flogged, he handed him over so that he could be crucified.


text:
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole cohort to him.


text:
and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling down before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”


text:
And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the military cloak and put his own clothes on him, and led him away in order to crucify him.


text:
And as they were going out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced this man to carry his cross.


text:
And they put above his head the charge against him in writing: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.”


text:
and saying, “The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”


text:
In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,


text:
“He saved others; he is not able to save himself! He is the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him!


text:
 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? ” (that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)


text:
And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, said, “This man is summoning Elijah!”


text:
And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.


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And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split.


text:
and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.


text:
Now the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that took place, were extremely frightened, saying, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”


text:
And there were many women there, observing from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him,


text:
among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.


text:
Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who also was a disciple of Jesus himself.


text:
This man approached Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.


text:
and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a large stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.


text:
Now on the next day, which is after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate,


text:
 saying, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise.’


text:
Therefore give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”


text:
Now after the Sabbath, at the dawning on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to view the tomb.


text:
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came up and rolled away the stone and sat down on it.


text:
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.


text:
And go quickly, tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and behold, he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Behold, I have told you.”


text:
 And behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.


text:
 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid! Go tell my brothers that they should go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”


text:
And while they were going, behold, some of the guard of soldiers went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.


text:
And after they had assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave a rather large sum of money to the soldiers,


text:
So they took the money and did as they were told, and spread abroad this report among the Jews until this very day.


text:
 And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.


text:
 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,


text:
 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.”


text:
Just as it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,


text:
the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!’ ”


text:
John was there baptizing in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.


text:
And all the Judean region and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem went out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.


text:
And John was dressed in camel’s hair and a belt made of leather around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.


text:
And he was preaching, saying, “One who is more powerful than I is coming after me, of whom I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his sandals.


text:
And it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.


text:
And immediately as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being split apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.


text:
And he was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.


text:
 and saying, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”


text:
And as he was passing by along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen).


text:
And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John, and they were in the boat mending the nets.


text:
And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went away after him.


text:
And they were amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like the scribes.


text:
saying, “ Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”


text:
And they were all amazed, so that they began to discuss with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him.”


text:
And so then he departed from the synagogue and came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.


text:
Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down, suffering with a fever, and at once they told him about her.


text:
And he came and raised her up by taking hold of her hand, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.


text:
Now when it was evening, when the sun had set, they began bringing to him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.


text:
And he healed many who were sick with various diseases and expelled many demons. And he did not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.


text:
And getting up early in the morning while it was very dark, he departed and went to a deserted place, and there he was praying.


text:
 And he said to them, “Let us go elsewhere, into the neighboring rural towns, so that I can preach there also, because I have come out for this very reason.”


text:
And a leper came to him, entreating him and kneeling down, saying to him, “If you are willing, you are able to make me clean.”


text:
 And becoming angry, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be made clean.”


text:
 And he said to him, “See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and bring for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.


text:
But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread abroad the account, so that he was no longer able to enter publicly into a town. But he was staying outside in deserted places, and they were coming to him from all directions.


text:
And many had gathered, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them.


text:
And when they were not able to bring him to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. And after digging through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying.


text:
“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?”


text:
 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, said to them, “Why are you considering these things in your hearts?


text:
 Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and walk’?


text:
 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he said to the paralytic—


text:
And he got up and immediately picked up his stretcher and went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”


text:
And he went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he began to teach them.


text:
 And as he was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and followed him.


text:
And it happened that he was dining in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him.


text:
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”


text:
 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”


text:
And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “ Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”


text:
 And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they? As long a time as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast.


text:
 But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.


text:
 No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear becomes worse.


text:
 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins too. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”


text:
And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while plucking off the heads of grain.


text:
And the Pharisees began to say to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?”


text:
 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry—


text:
 how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it to those who were with him?”


text:
And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they could accuse him.


text:
 And he said to them, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.


text:
 And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.


text:
And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians and began to conspire against him with regard to how they could destroy him.


text:
And Jesus went away with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd from Galilee followed him. And from Judea


text:
and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and the other side of the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon a great crowd came to him because they heard all that he was doing.


text:
And he told his disciples that a small boat should stand ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press upon him.


text:
For he had healed many, so that all those who were suffering from diseases pressed about him in order that they could touch him.


text:
And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, were falling down before him and crying out, saying, “You are the Son of God!”


text:
And he appointed twelve, so that they would be with him and so that he could send them out to preach


text:
and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”),


text:
and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot,


text:
And when his family heard this, they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, “He has lost his mind!”


text:
And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul!” and “By the ruler of the demons he expels the demons!”


text:
 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand, but is at an end!


text:
 But no one is able to enter into the house of a strong man and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man, and then he can thoroughly plunder his house.


text:
 “Truly I say to you that all the sins and the blasphemies will be forgiven the sons of men, however much they blaspheme.


text:
 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit does not have forgiveness forever, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—


text:
And a crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”


text:
 And looking around at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers!


text:
And again he began to teach beside the sea, and a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and sat on the sea, and the whole crowd was at the sea on the land.


text:
 And it happened that while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it.


text:
 And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once, because it did not have any depth of soil.


text:
 And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it, and it did not produce grain.


text:
 And other seed fell on the good soil, and produced grain, coming up and increasing, and it bore a crop —one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much.


text:
And when he was alone, those around him together with the twelve began asking him about the parables.


text:
 And he said to them, “To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables,


text:
 so that ‘ they may look closely and not perceive, and they may listen carefully and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’ ”


text:
 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables?


text:
 And these are the ones beside the path where the word is sown, and whenever they hear it, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.


text:
 And these are like the ones sown on the rocky ground, who whenever they hear the word immediately receive it with joy.


text:
 And they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.


text:
 and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word and it becomes unproductive.


text:
 And those are the ones sown on the good soil, who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit—one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much.”


text:
 And he said to them, “Surely a lamp is not brought so that it may be put under a bushel basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not so that it may be put on a lampstand?


text:
 For nothing is secret except so that it may be revealed, nor has become hidden except so that it will come to light.


text:
 And he said to them, “Take care what you hear! With the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you, and will be added to you.


text:
 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”


text:
 By itself the soil produces a crop: first the grass, then the head of grain, then the full grain in the head.


text:
 It is like a mustard seed that when sown on the ground, although it is the smallest of all the seeds that are on the ground,


text:
 but when it is sown it grows up and becomes the largest of all the garden herbs, and sends out large branches so that the birds of the sky are able to nest in its shade.”


text:
And with many parables such as these he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it.


text:
And he did not speak to them without a parable, but in private he explained everything to his own disciples.


text:
And a great storm of wind developed, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already being filled with water.


text:
And he was in the stern sleeping on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, is it not a concern to you that we are perishing?”


text:
 And he woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be silent!” And the wind abated and there was a great calm.


text:
And they were terribly frightened and began to say to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”


text:
And as he was getting out of the boat, immediately from the tombs a man with an unclean spirit went to meet him,


text:
because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles had been shattered. And no one was strong enough to subdue him.


text:
And during every night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was crying out and cutting himself with stones.


text:
And crying out with a loud voice he said, “ What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!”


text:
 And he was asking him “ What is your name?” And he said to him, “My name is Legion, because we are many.”


text:
And he permitted them. And the unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs, and the herd—about two thousand—rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea.


text:
And their herdsmen fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside, and they came to see what it was that had happened.


text:
And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there clothed and in his right mind—the one who had had the legion—and they were afraid.


text:
And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and about the pigs.


text:
And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed began to implore him that he could go with him.


text:
 And he did not permit him, but said to him, “Go to your home to your people and tell them all that the Lord has done for you, and that he has had mercy on you.”


text:
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him, and they were all astonished.


text:
And after Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered to him, and he was beside the sea.


text:
And one of the rulers of the synagogue came—Jairus by name—and when he saw him, he fell down at his feet.


text:
And he was imploring him many times, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death ! Come, lay your hands on her, so that she will get well and will live.”


text:
And she had endured many things under many physicians, and had spent all that she had and had received no help at all, but instead became worse.


text:
And immediately her hemorrhage stopped and she realized in her body that she was healed of her suffering.


text:
 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from himself, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothing?”


text:
 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing upon you, and you say ‘Who touched me?’ ”


text:
So the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.


text:
 But he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be well from your suffering.”


text:
While he was still speaking, they came from the synagogue ruler’s house saying, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the Teacher further?”


text:
 But Jesus, ignoring what was said, told the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid—only believe!”


text:
And he did not allow anyone to follow along with him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James.


text:
And they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and saw a commotion, and people weeping and wailing loudly.


text:
 And when he entered, he said to them, “Why are you agitated and weeping? The child is not dead, but is sleeping.”


text:
And they began laughing at him. But he sent them all out and took along the father and mother of the child, and those who were with him, and went in to where the child was.


text:
 And taking hold of the child’s hand, he said to her, “ Talitha koum! ” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”),


text:
and immediately the girl stood up and began walking around (for she was twelve years old). And immediately they were utterly and completely astonished.


text:
And he commanded them strictly that no one should learn of this, and said to give her something to eat.


text:
And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed, saying, “Where did this man get these things? And what is this wisdom that has been granted to this man, and the miracles such as these performed through his hands?


text:
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they were offended by him.


text:
 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own household.”


text:
And he was not able to do any miracle in that place except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.


text:
And he was astonished because of their unbelief. And he was going around among the villages teaching.


text:
And he summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.


text:
And he commanded them that they take along nothing for the journey except only a staff—no bread, no traveler’s bag, no money in their belts—


text:
 And whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.”


text:
And King Herod heard it, because his name had become known. And they were saying, “John, the one who baptizes, has been raised from the dead, and because of this these miraculous powers are at work in him.”


text:
But others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and others were saying, “ He is a prophet like one of the prophets.”


text:
For Herod himself had sent and arrested John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.


text:
For Herod was afraid of John, because he knew him to be a righteous and holy man and protected him. And when he listened to him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he listened to him gladly.


text:
And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent men of Galilee.


text:
And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and his dinner guests, the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.”


text:
And she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.”


text:
And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.”


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And although he was deeply grieved, the king, because of his oaths and dinner guests, did not want to refuse her.


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And immediately the king sent an executioner and ordered him to bring his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison.


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And the apostles regathered to Jesus and reported to him everything that they had done and that they had taught.


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 And he said to them, “You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time.” For those who were coming and going were many, and they did not even have time to eat.


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And many people saw them leaving and recognized them, and ran there together by land from all the towns, and arrived ahead of them.


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And getting out of the boat he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.


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And the hour had already become late when his disciples came up to him, saying, “The place is desolate and the hour is already late.


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Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding farms and villages and purchase something to eat for themselves.”


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 But he answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Should we go and purchase bread for two hundred denarii and give it to them to eat?”


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 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”


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And taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples so that they could set them before them. And he distributed the two fish to them all.


text:
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.


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And he saw them being beaten in their rowing because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was wanting to pass by them.


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 For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, “Have courage, I am he ! Do not be afraid!”


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And he went up with them into the boat, and the wind abated. And they were extraordinarily astounded within themselves,


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They ran about through that whole region and began to carry around those who were sick on stretchers, wherever they heard that he was.


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And wherever he would go, into villages or into towns or to farms, they would put those who were sick in the marketplaces and would implore him that if they could touch even the edge of his cloak. And all those who touched it were healed.


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And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands.


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(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, thus holding fast to the traditions of the elders.


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And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions which they have received and hold fast to— for example, the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)


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And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?”


text:
 So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me.


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 And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition.


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 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die.’


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 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or to his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is corban ” (that is, a gift to God ),


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 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”


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 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”


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 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him?


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 For it does not enter into his heart but into his stomach, and goes out into the latrine”— thus declaring all foods clean.


text:
 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy, abusive speech, pride, foolishness.


text:
And from there he set out and went to the region of Tyre. And when he entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice.


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But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, when she heard about him, came and fell down at his feet,


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Now the woman was a Greek—a Syrophoenician by nationality—and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter.


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 And he said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs!”


text:
And again he went away from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis.


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And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his hand on him.


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And he took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.


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And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it even more instead.


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And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”


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In those days there was again a large crowd, and they did not have anything they could eat. Summoning the disciples, he said to them,


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 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat.


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 And if I send them away hungry to their homes they will give out on the way, and some of them have come from far away.”


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And his disciples answered him, “Where is anyone able to feed these people with bread here in the desert?”


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And he commanded the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, after he had given thanks he broke them and began giving them to his disciples so that they could set them before them. And they set them before the crowd.


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And they had a few small fish, and after giving thanks for them, he said to set these before them also.


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And they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces that were left, seven baskets full.


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And the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven in order to test him.


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 And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!”


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And they had forgotten to take bread, and except for one loaf, they did not have any with them in the boat.


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 And he ordered them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!”


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 And knowing this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened?


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 Although you have eyes, do you not see? And although you have ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?


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 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” They said to him, “Twelve.”


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 “When I also broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to him, “Seven.”


text:
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.


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And he took hold of the blind man’s hand and led him outside the village, and after spitting in his eyes, he placed his hands on him and asked him, “Do you see anything?”


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Then he placed his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes and was cured, and could see everything clearly.


text:
 And Jesus and his disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”


text:
And they told him, saying, “John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others that you are one of the prophets.”


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 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to him, “You are the Christ!”


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And he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.


text:
 But turning around and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan, because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of people!”


text:
 And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.


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 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me and of the gospel will save it.


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 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”


text:
 And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, that there are some of those standing here who will never experience death until they see the kingdom of God having come with power.”


text:
And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them,


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And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”


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And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”


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And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.


text:
 And he said to them, “Elijah indeed does come first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?


text:
 But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”


text:
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them.


text:
And one individual from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought to you my son who has a spirit that makes him mute.


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And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes paralyzed. And I told your disciples that they should expel it, and they were not able to do so.


text:
 And he answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”


text:
And they brought him to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately convulsed him, and falling on the ground, he began to roll around, foaming at the mouth.


text:
 And he asked his father how long it was since this had been happening to him. And he said, “From childhood.


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And often it has thrown him both into fire and into water, in order that it could destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us!”


text:
 Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more!”


text:
And it came out, screaming and convulsing him greatly, and he became as if he were dead, so that most of them said, “He has died!”


text:
And after he had entered into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why were we not able to expel it?”


text:
 for he was teaching his disciples and was telling them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”


text:
 And they came to Capernaum. And after he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”


text:
 And he sat down and called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.”


text:
And he took a young child and had him stand among them. And taking him in his arms, he said to them,


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 “Whoever welcomes one of the young children such as these in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but the one who sent me.”


text:
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.”


text:
 But Jesus said, “Do not prevent him, because there is no one who does a miracle in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.


text:
 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you are Christ’s, truly I say to you that he will never lose his reward.


text:
 “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it is better for him if instead a large millstone is placed around his neck and he is thrown into the sea.


text:
 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire!


text:
 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!


text:
 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell,


text:
 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes deprived of its salt content, by what can you make it salty? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”


text:
And from there he set out and came to the region of Judea and the other side of the Jordan, and again crowds came together to him. And again, as he was accustomed to do, he began to teach them.


text:
And they were bringing young children to him so that he could touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.


text:
 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant, and said to them, “Let the young children come to me. Do not forbid them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.


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 Truly I say to you, whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a young child will never enter into it.”


text:
And as he was setting out on his way, one individual ran up and knelt down before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?”


text:
 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’ ”


text:
 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all that you have, and give the proceeds to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”


text:
 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it is for those who possess wealth to enter into the kingdom of God!”


text:
 And the disciples were astounded at his words. But Jesus answered and said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter into the kingdom of God!


text:
 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”


text:
 Jesus looked at them and said, “With human beings it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”


text:
 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields on account of me and on account of the gospel


text:
 who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.


text:
Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going on ahead of them. And they were astounded, but those who were following him were afraid. And taking aside the twelve again, he began to tell them the things that were about to happen to him:


text:
 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles.


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 And they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise.”


text:
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.”


text:
So they said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.”


text:
 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”


text:
 And they said to him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup that I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with,


text:
 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”


text:
 And Jesus called them to himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their people in high positions exercise authority over them.


text:
 But it is not like this among you! But whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,


text:
 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”


text:
And they came to Jericho. And as he was setting out from Jericho along with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road.


text:
And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”


text:
And many people warned him that he should be quiet. But he was crying out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”


text:
And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.”


text:
 And Jesus answered him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “ Rabboni, that I may regain my sight.”


text:
 And Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” And immediately he regained his sight and began to follow him on the road.


text:
And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples


text:
 and said to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away as you enter into it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.


text:
 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say ‘The Lord has need of it, and will send it here again at once.’ ”


text:
And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields.


text:
And those who went ahead and those who were following were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!


text:
And he went into Jerusalem to the temple, and after looking around at everything, because the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.


text:
And when he saw from a distance a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he came up to it he found nothing except leaves, because it was not the season for figs.


text:
 And he responded and said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you any more forever !” And his disciples heard it.


text:
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered into the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple courts, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves.


text:
 And he began to teach and was saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations,’ but you have made it a cave of robbers!”


text:
And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and began considering how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching.


text:
 Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.


text:
 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be done for you.


text:
 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”


text:
And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came up to him


text:
and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority that you do these things?”


text:
 So Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.


text:
And they began to discuss this with one another, saying, “What should we say? If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’


text:
But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John as truly a prophet.


text:
 And they replied to Jesus saying, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”


text:
 And he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a trough for the winepress, and built a watchtower, and leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey.


text:
 And he sent a slave to the tenant farmers at the proper time, so that he could collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from the tenant farmers.


text:
 And he sent another, and that one they killed. And he sent many others, some of whom they beat and some of whom they killed.


text:
 He had one more, a beloved son. Last of all he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’


text:
 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’


text:
 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others.


text:
 Have you not read this scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone.


text:
And they were seeking to arrest him, and they were afraid of the crowd, because they knew that he had told the parable with reference to them. And they left him and went away.


text:
And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement.


text:
And when they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and you do not care what anyone thinks, because you do not regard the opinion of people but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”


text:
 But because he knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at it !”


text:
 So they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to him, “Caesar’s.”


text:
 And Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!” And they were utterly amazed at him.


text:
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if someone’s brother dies and he leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, that his brother should take the wife and father descendants for his brother.


text:
There were seven brothers, and the first took a wife. And when he died, he did not leave descendants.


text:
 Jesus said to them, “Are you not deceived because of this, because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?


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 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.


text:
 Now concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses in the passage about the bush how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’?


text:
And one of the scribes came up and heard them debating. When he saw that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”


text:
 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.’


