# verses

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O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep.


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For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.


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O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled.


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What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?


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You have turned my crying into dancing. You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy.


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So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.


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O Lord, in You I have found a safe place. Let me never be ashamed. Set me free, because You do what is right and good.


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Turn Your ear to me, and be quick to save me. Be my rock of strength, a strong place to keep me safe.


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I will be glad and full of joy in Your loving-kindness. For You have seen my suffering. You have known the troubles of my soul.


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Show me loving-kindness, O Lord, for I am in trouble. My eyes, my soul and my body are becoming weak from being sad.


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For my life gets weaker with sorrow, and my years with crying inside myself. My strength has left me because of my sin. And my bones waste away.


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Because of all those who hate me, I have become a shame to my neighbors. Even my friends do not want to be with me. Those who see me on the street run from me.


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For I have heard many say things to hurt me. Fear is on every side. They planned together against me. They thought of ways to take away my life.


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My times are in Your hands. Free me from the hands of those who hate me, and from those who try to hurt me.


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Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord. For I call to You. Let the sinful be put to shame. Let them be quiet in the grave.


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How great is Your loving-kindness! You have stored it up for those who fear You. You show it to those who trust in You in front of the sons of men.


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You will hide them with You in secret from the sinful plans of men. You keep them in Your tent in secret from those who fight with tongues.


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Honor and thanks be to the Lord. For He has shown His great loving-favor to me when I was in a city with armies all around.


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In my fear I said, "You have closed Your eyes to me!" But You heard my cry for loving-kindness when I called to You.


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Love the Lord, all you who belong to Him! The Lord keeps the faithful safe. But He gives the proud their pay in full.


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How happy is the man whose sin the Lord does not hold against him, and in whose spirit there is nothing false.


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I told my sin to You. I did not hide my wrong-doing. I said, "I will tell my sins to the Lord." And You forgave the guilt of my sin.


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So let all who are God-like pray to You while You may be found, because in the floods of much water, they will not touch him.


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You are my hiding place. You keep me safe from trouble. All around me are your songs of being made free.


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I will show you and teach you in the way you should go. I will tell you what to do with My eye upon you.


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Do not be like the horse or the donkey which have no understanding. They must be made to work by using bits and leather ropes or they will not come to you.


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Many are the sorrows of the sinful. But loving-kindness will be all around the man who trusts in the Lord.


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Be glad in the Lord and be full of joy, you who are right with God! Sing for joy all you who are pure in heart!


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Sing for joy in the Lord, you who are right with Him. It is right for the pure in heart to praise Him.


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He loves what is right and good and what is fair. The earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.


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The young lions suffer want and hunger. But they who look for the Lord will not be without any good thing.


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The face of the Lord is against those who sin. He will keep the people of the earth from remembering them.


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Those who are right with the Lord cry, and He hears them. And He takes them from all their troubles.


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A man who does what is right and good may have many troubles. But the Lord takes him out of them all.


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The Lord saves the soul of those who work for Him. None of those who trust in Him will be held guilty.


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Take a spear and battle-ax against those who come to get me. Say to my soul, "I am the One Who saves you."


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Let the people be ashamed and without honor who want to take my life. Let those be turned away and brought to shame who plan to hurt me.


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Let them be destroyed before they know it. And let them be caught in their own net. May they destroy themselves as they fall into their own hole.


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All my bones will say, "Lord, who is like You? Who saves the weak from those too strong for them? Who saves the poor from those who would rob them?"


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But when they were sick, I put on clothes made from hair. With no pride in my soul, I would not eat. And I prayed with my head on my chest.


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I went about as if it were my friend or brother. I put my head down in sorrow, like one crying for his mother.


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But when I would fall, they would gather together in joy. Those who say things to hurt people would gather against me. I did not know them. They spoke against me without stopping.


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Do not let those who hate me for no reason stand over me with joy. Do not let those who hate me for no reason wink their eye.


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Say what is right or wrong with me, O Lord my God, because You are right and good. Do not let them have joy over me.


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Do not let them say in their heart, "O, just what we wanted!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"


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Let all who are happy because of my trouble be ashamed and without honor. Let those who think they are better than I, be covered with shame and without honor.


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Let them call out for joy and be glad, who want to see the right thing done for me. Let them always say, "May the Lord be honored. He is pleased when all is going well for His servant."


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He plans wrong-doing upon his bed. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He does not hate what is bad.


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You are as right and good as mountains are big. You are as fair when You judge as a sea is deep. O Lord, You keep safe both man and animal.


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Of what great worth is Your loving-kindness,O God! The children of men come and are safe in the shadow of Your wings.


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Keep on giving Your loving-kindness to those who know You. Keep on being right and good to the pure in heart.


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Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him. Do not trouble yourself when all goes well with the one who carries out his sinful plans.


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A little while, and the sinful man will be no more. You will look for his place, and he will not be there.


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But those who have no pride will be given the earth. And they will be happy and have much more than they need.


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The sinful have taken up their sword and their bow, to bring down the poor and those in need, and to kill those whose ways are right.


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They will not be ashamed in the time of trouble. And in days when there is no food they will have enough.


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But the sinful will be lost forever. Those who hate the Lord will be like the beauty of the fields. They will be gone. Like smoke they will be gone.


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The sinful ask for something, but do not return it. But those who are right with God are kind and give.


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For those who are made happy by Him will be given the land. But those who are being punished by Him will be cut off.


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I have been young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the man who is right with God left alone, or his children begging for bread.


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For the Lord loves what is fair and right. He does not leave the people alone who belong to Him. They are kept forever. But the children of the sinful will be cut off.


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The mouth of the man who is right with God speaks wisdom. And his tongue speaks what is fair and right.


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Wait for the Lord. Keep His way. And He will give you a high place to receive the land. When the sinful are cut off, you will see it.


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Look at the man without blame. And watch the man who is right and good. For the man of peace will have much family to follow him.


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But the saving of those who are right with God is from the Lord. He is their strength in time of trouble.


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The Lord helps them and takes them out of trouble. He takes them away from the sinful, and saves them, because they go to Him for a safe place.


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Those who want to take my life set their traps. And those who want to destroy me talk about ways to do it. They make their sinful plans all day long.


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But those who fight against me are full of action and strength. There are many who hate me without reason.


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I said, "I will watch my ways so I may not sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth shut as if it were tied with ropes, while the sinful are near me."


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My heart was hot within me. As I thought about things, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue,


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"O Lord, let me know my end and how many days I have to live. Let me know that I do not have long to stay here.


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You have made each of my days as long as a hand is wide. My whole life is nothing in Your eyes. Every man at his best is only a breath.


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Every man walks here and there like a shadow. He makes a noise about nothing. He stores up riches, not knowing who will gather them.


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With sharp words You punish a man for sin. You destroy like a moth what is of worth to him. For sure, every man is only a breath.


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O Lord, hear my prayer, and listen to my cry. Do not be quiet when You see my tears. For I am a stranger with You, a visitor like all my fathers.


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He brought me up out of the hole of danger, out of the mud and clay. He set my feet on a rock, making my feet sure.


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He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and will put their trust in the Lord.


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How happy is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud or to the followers of lies.


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O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.


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You have not wanted gifts given on the altar in worship. You have opened my ears. You have not wanted burnt gifts or gifts to cover sins.


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I have told the good news about what is right and good in the big meeting with many people. You know I will not close my lips, O Lord.


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I have not hidden what is right and good with You in my heart. I have spoken about how faithful You are and about Your saving power. I have not hidden Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the big meeting.


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O Lord, You will not keep Your loving-pity from me. Your lovingkindness and Your truth will always keep me safe.


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Too many troubles gather around me. My sins have taken such a hold on me that I am not able to see. There are more of them than there are hairs on my head. And the strength of my heart has left me.


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Let all who want to destroy my life be ashamed and troubled. Let those who want to hurt me be turned away without honor.


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But let all who look for You have joy and be glad in You. Let those who love Your saving power always say, "The Lord be honored!"


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Because I suffer and am in need, let the Lord think of me. You are my help and the One Who sets me free. O my God, do not wait.


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The Lord will keep him alive and safe. And he will be happy upon the earth. You will not give him over to the desire of those who hate him.


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The Lord will give him strength on his bed of sickness. When he is sick, You will make him well again.


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As for me, I said, "O Lord, have loving-kindness for me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You."


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Those who hate me speak bad words against me, saying, "When will he die, and his name be forgotten?"


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When one comes to see me, he speaks lies. His heart gathers up bad stories. Then he goes outside and tells them.


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These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with many people and lead them to the house of God, with the voice of thankful joy, among the many happy people.


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Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again for His help of being near me.


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O my God, my soul is troubled within me. So I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the tops of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.


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The Lord will send His loving-kindness in the day. And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.


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I will say to God my Rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?"


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As a breaking of my bones, those who hate me speak sharp words to me. All day long they say to me, "Where is your God?"


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Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my help and my God.


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Stand by me, O God, and speak in my favor against a sinful nation. Save me from the lying and sinful man.


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For You are the God of my strength. Why have You turned away from me? Why do I have sorrow because those who hate me come against me with power?


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Send out Your light and Your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to the places where You live.


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Then I will go to the altar of God, the God of my joy. And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God.


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Why are you sad, O my soul? Why have you become troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will praise Him again, my help and my God.


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O God, we have heard with our ears. Our fathers have told us what work You did in their days, in the days long ago.


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With Your own hand You made the nations leave, and put our fathers in the land. You brought trouble upon the nations, and You spread them out.


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It was not by their sword that they took the land. Their own arm did not save them. But it was Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You favored them.


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Through You we will push away those who hate us. Through Your name we will walk over those who rise up against us.


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But we are killed all day long because of You. We are thought of as sheep that are ready to be killed.


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My heart flows over with good words. I sing my songs to the King. My tongue writes the words of a good writer.


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You are more beautiful than the children of men. Lovingfavor is poured upon Your lips. So God has honored You forever.


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And in Your great power, move on to win the fight for truth and for not having pride and for what is right and good. Let Your right hand teach You to do great things.


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Your arrows are sharp. The people fall under You. Your arrows are in the heart of those who hate the King.


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You have loved what is right and good. You have hated what is wrong. That is why God, Your God, has chosen You. He has poured over You the oil of joy more than over anyone else.


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Daughters of kings are among Your women of honor. At Your right hand stands the queen, wearing gold from Ophir.


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She will be led to the King in clothes sewed for beauty. The young women who have never had men are her friends. They follow her and will be brought to You.


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I will make Your name to be remembered to all the children-to-come. So that the nations will honor You forever and ever.


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So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and the mountains fall into the center of the sea,


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He stops wars to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the war-wagons with fire.


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Be quiet and know that I am God. I will be honored among the nations. I will be honored in the earth.


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The rulers of the people have gathered together as the people of the God of Abraham. For the powers of the earth belong to God. He is much honored.


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Mount Zion in the far north is beautiful and high, the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great King.


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As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord of All, in the city of our God. God will make her last forever.


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Like Your name, O God, Your praise is heard to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of what is right and good.


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Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the people of Judah be full of joy because You are right in how You judge.


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Give thought to her walls. Go through her beautiful houses where kings live. And tell about it to the children-to-come.


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For he sees that even wise men die. The fool and those who cannot think well die alike. And they leave their riches to others.


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They think in their hearts that their houses will last forever, and that the places where they live will last for all their children to follow. They have used their own names to name their lands.


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Like sheep they are meant for the grave. Death will be their shepherd. And those who are right with God will rule over them in the morning. Their bodies will be eaten by the grave, so that they have no place to stay.


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Even if while he lives, he thinks good of himself, and even though men praise you when you do well for yourself,


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The Powerful One, God, the Lord, has spoken. And He calls the earth from where the sun rises to where the sun goes down.


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"Gather My holy ones to Me, those who have made an agreement with Me by their gifts given on an altar."


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I do not speak sharp words to you for your gifts given on an altar. And your burnt gifts are always before Me.


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But to the sinful, God says: "What right do you have to tell of My Laws, and take My agreement in your mouth?


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You have done these things, and I have kept quiet. You thought that I was just like you. But I will speak sharp words to you, and tell you who is guilty to your face.


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"Now think about this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces and there will be no one to save you.


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He who gives a gift of thanks honors Me. And to him who makes his way right, I will show him the saving power of God."


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O God, favor me because of Your loving-kindness. Take away my wrong-doing because of the greatness of Your loving-pity.


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I have sinned against You, and You only. I have done what is sinful in Your eyes. You are always right when You speak, and fair when You judge.


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Save me from the guilt of blood, O God. You are the God Who saves me. Then my tongue will sing with joy about how right and good You are.


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For You are not happy with a gift given on the altar in worship, or I would give it. You are not pleased with burnt gifts.


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The gifts on an altar that God wants are a broken spirit. O God, You will not hate a broken heart and a heart with no pride.


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Then You will be happy with gifts given on the altar that are right and good, with burnt gifts and whole burnt gifts. Then young bulls will be given on Your altar.


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Why do you take pride in wrong-doing, O powerful man? The loving-kindness of God lasts all day long.


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But God will destroy you forever. He will pick you up and pull you away from your tent. He will pull up your roots from the land of the living.


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"Look, the man who would not make God his safe place, but trusted in his many riches and was strong in his sinful desire."


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But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.


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I will give You thanks forever because of what You have done. And I will hope in Your name, for it is good to be where those who belong to You are.


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The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are sinful and have done bad things. There is no one who does good.


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God has looked down from heaven at the children of men to see if there is anyone who understands and looks for God.


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They have all turned back. They have all turned to sin. There is no one who does good, not even one.


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Have those who do wrong no understanding? They eat up My people like they eat bread. They have not called upon God.


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There they were, in much fear, where there was nothing to be afraid of. For God has spread out the bones of those who come against you. You put them to shame, because God has turned away from them.


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O, that the saving of Israel would come out of Zion! Jacob will be full of joy and Israel will be glad when God returns His people to their land.


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For strangers have risen against me. And men who hurt others want to take my life. They do not think about God.


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He will punish those who hate me, for the wrong they have done. He will destroy them because He is faithful.


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I will be glad to give You a gift on the altar. I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.


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For He has taken me out of all trouble. And my eyes have looked without fear upon those who hate me.


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because of the voice of those who hate me and the power of the sinful. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they keep on having bad thoughts against me.


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I would be able to take it if one who hates me were putting me to shame. I could hide from him. It is not one who hates me who has put himself up against me.


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Let death take them by surprise. Let them go down alive to the grave. For sin is with them where they live.


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God sits on His throne forever. And He will hear them and bring trouble upon them, because there has been no change in them. They do not fear God.


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What he says is smoother than butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are raised swords.


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Give all your cares to the Lord and He will give you strength. He will never let those who are right with Him be shaken.


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But You, O God, will bring the sinful down into the hole that destroys. Men who kill and lie will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.


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Show me Your loving-kindness, O God, for man has walked on me. All day long the one who tries to keep me down fights with me.


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All day long those who hate me have walked on me. For there are many who fight against me with pride.


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I praise the Word of God. I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can only a man do to me?


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All day long they change my words to say what I did not say. They are always thinking of ways to hurt me.


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They go after me as in a fight. They hide themselves. They watch my steps, as they have waited to take my life.


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For You have set my soul free from death. You have kept my feet from falling, so I may walk with God in the light of life.


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Show me loving-kindness, O God, show me loving-kindness. For my soul goes to You to be safe. And I will be safe in the shadow of Your wings until the trouble has passed.


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He will send from heaven and save me. He will put to shame him who is breaking me under his feet. God will send His loving-kindness and His truth.


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My soul is among lions. I must lie among the sons of men who breathe fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongues are a sharp sword.


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They have set a net for my steps. My soul is brought down. They dug a deep hole in front of me. But they themselves have fallen into it.


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Do you speak what is right and good, O you powerful ones? Are you always right in how you judge, O sons of men?


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It does not hear the voice of the man who has power over it, even if the man is very good in his work.


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Let them be like a snail that melts away as it goes. Like a baby born dead, may they never see the sun.


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Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns, He will blow them away with a storm, both the green and the burning ones.


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The one who is right and good will be full of joy when he sees the sinful punished. He will wash his feet in their blood.


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And men will say, "For sure there is a reward for those who are right and good. For sure there is a God Who says who is guilty or not on the earth."


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For, look, they lie in wait for my life. Strong men are gathering together to fight me, but not because of my wrong-doing or my sin, O Lord.


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You, O Lord God of All, God of Israel, rise up to punish all the nations. Show no loving-kindness to those people who cannot be trusted and plan sins.


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My God in His loving-kindness will meet me. God will let me look at those who come against me and know that I will win the fight.


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Do not kill them, or my people may forget. Divide them by Your power and bring them down, O Lord, our safe-covering.


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Let them be caught in their pride for the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips. For the lies and bad things they say,


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destroy them in anger. Destroy them so that they will be no more. Let it be known that God rules in Jacob and to the ends of the earth.


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But as for me, I will sing of Your strength. Yes, I will sing with joy of Your loving-kindness in the morning. For You have been a strong and safe place for me in times of trouble.


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O my Strength, I will sing praises to You. For God is my strong place and the God Who shows me loving-kindness.


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O God, You have turned away from us. You have broken us. You have been angry. O heal us and turn to us again.


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You have made Your people suffer hard things. You have given us wine to drink that makes us not able to walk straight.


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God has said in His holy place: "I will be full of joy. I will divide Shechem and the valley of Succoth.


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I call to You from the end of the earth when my heart is weak. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.


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For You have been a safe place for me, a tower of strength where I am safe from those who fight against me.


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For You have heard my promises, O God. You have given me that which You give to those who fear Your name.


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You will add days to the life of the king. His years will be as long as the lives of many children and grandchildren added together.


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How long will all of you go against a man to break him down, that you may kill him, like a wall that no longer stands straight, like a fence ready to fall?


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They have talked only about throwing him down from his high place. They find joy in lies. They pray with their mouth that good will come. But inside they hope that bad will come instead.


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Men who are not important come to nothing. Men who are important are a lie. When weighed they go up. Together they weigh less than a breath.


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Do not get money in a wrong way or be proud in stolen things. If you get more riches, do not set your heart on them.


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O God, You are my God. I will look for You with all my heart and strength. My soul is thirsty for You. My flesh is weak wanting You in a dry and tired land where there is no water.


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But the king will be full of joy in God. All who are faithful to God will be full of joy. For the mouth of those who speak lies will be stopped.


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They shoot at the man without blame from their hiding place. They are quick to shoot at him and are not afraid.


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They talk each other into doing sinful things. They talk about setting hidden traps. They say, "Who will see them?"


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They think of ways to do bad things, and say, "We have made a perfect plan!" For the inside thoughts and the heart of a man are deep.


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They will be made to trip and fall. Their own tongue is against them. All who see them will shake their heads.


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Then all men will be afraid. They will tell about the work of God. And they will think about what He has done.


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The man who is right and good will be glad in the Lord and go to Him to be safe. All those whose hearts are right will give Him praise.


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All will be quiet before You, and praise belongs to You, O God, in Zion. And our promise to You will be kept.


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Happy is the man You choose and bring near to You to live in Your holy place. We will be filled with the good things of Your house, Your holy house.


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O God Who saves us, You answer us in the way that is right and good by Your great works that make people stand in fear. You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.


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Those who live far away are afraid of Your great works. You make morning and evening call out for joy.


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You visit the earth and water it. You make it very rich. The river of God is full of water. You give the people grain when You have made the earth ready.


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You water where the plow has been used. You cover the seeds with earth. You make it soft with rain. And You make the plants grow well.


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The grass lands are covered with birds. And the valleys are covered with grain. They call out for joy and sing.


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Say to God, "How Your great works make those who hate You afraid! They will have to obey You because of Your great power.


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Come and see what God has done. There is much fear because of His great works toward the children of men.


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He changed the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot. There we were full of joy in Him.


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He rules forever by His power. His eyes keep watch over the nations. Do not let those who do not obey You honor themselves.


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You made men travel over our heads. We went through fire and through water. But You brought us out into a place where we have much more than we need.


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I will give You burnt gifts of fat animals with the smoke of rams. I will give You bulls with male goats.


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Honor and thanks be to God! He has not turned away from my prayer or held His loving-kindness from me.


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May the nations be glad and sing for joy. For You will be fair when You judge the people and rule the nations of the earth.


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Drive them away like smoke in the wind. Let the sinful be destroyed before God like a candle melts by the fire.


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But let those who are right and good be glad. Let them be happy before God. Yes, let them be full of joy.


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Sing to God. Sing praises to His name. Make a road for Him Who goes through the deserts. The Lord is His name. Be full of joy before Him.


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God in His holy house is a father to those who have no father. And He keeps the women safe whose husbands have died.


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God makes a home for those who are alone. He leads men out of prison into happiness and wellbeing. But those who fight against Him live in an empty desert.


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the earth shook. The heavens poured down rain before God. And Sinai shook before God, the God of Israel.


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When you lie down among the sheep, you are like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and the end of its wings with shining gold.


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A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan. A mountain of many high tops is the mountain of Bashan.


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O mountains of many high tops, why do you look with jealousy at the mountain which God has chosen for His home? For sure, the Lord will live there forever.


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The war-wagons of God are 20,000, even thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, as at Sinai, in the holy place.


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You have gone up on high. You have taken those who were held with You. You have received gifts of men, even among those who fought against You. So the Lord God may live there with them.


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Honor and thanks be to the Lord, Who carries our heavy loads day by day. He is the God Who saves us.


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But God will break the head of those who hate Him, the hair-covered head of him who goes on in his sins.


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The Lord said, "I will bring them back from Bashan. I will bring them back from the bottom of the sea.


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So your feet may crush them in blood. And the tongue of your dogs may have a share of those who hate you."


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They have seen Your people walking together, O God. They have seen the people of my God and King walking into the holy place.


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Those who sing are in front. Those who play music are behind. And young women who beat timbrels are between.


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Give thanks to God in the meetings of worship. Give thanks to the Lord, you who are of the family of Israel.


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There is young Benjamin leading them. The rulers of Judah are among the people, and the rulers of Zebulun, and the rulers of Naphtali.


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Speak sharp words to the wild animals in the tall grass by the river, the group of bulls with the calves of the people. Walk on those who desire pieces of silver. Divide the people who have joy in war.


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Sing to Him Who sits upon the heavens, the heavens of old. Listen, He sends out His voice, His powerful voice.


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O God, You are honored with fear as You come from Your holy place. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to His people. Honor and thanks be to God!


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I have gone down into deep mud and there is no place to put my feet. I have come into deep waters and a flood comes over me.


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Those who hate me, without a reason, are more than the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are powerful. I am made to return things that I did not steal.


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May those who wait for You not be put to shame because of me, O Lord God of All. May those who look for You not lose respect because of me, O God of Israel.


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For the strong desire for Your house has burned me up. And the bad things said about You have fallen on me.


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But as for me, my prayer is to You at the right time, O Lord. Answer me with Your saving truth in Your great loving-kindness, O God.


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Take me out of the mud and do not let me go down in it. Take me away from those who hate me and from the deep waters.


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Keep the flood water from covering me. Do not let the sea swallow me up. Do not let the deep hole close its mouth over me.


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You know how I have been put to shame by the bad things said about me. All those who hate me are before You.


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Being put to shame has broken my heart, and I feel very sick. I looked for pity but there was none. I looked for someone to comfort me but there was no one.


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For they have made it hard for the one You have punished. And they talk about the pain of those You have hurt.


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May they be taken out of the book of life, and not be written down with those who are right with You.


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Those without pride will see it and be glad. You who look for God, let your heart receive new strength.


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For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah. Then His people may live there and have it for their own.


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And the children of those who obey Him will have it given to them. Those who love His name will live there.


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Let those who want to kill me be ashamed and brought low. Let those who want to hurt me be turned away in shame.


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Let all who look for You be full of joy and be glad in You. And let those who love Your saving power always say, "Let God be honored."


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But I am poor and in need. Hurry to me, O God! You are my help and the One Who takes me out of trouble. O Lord, do not wait.


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Be a rock to me where I live, where I may always come and where I will be safe. For You are my rock and my safe place.


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O my God, take me from the hand of the sinful, from the hand of the wrong-doer and the man without pity.


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You have kept me safe from birth. It was You Who watched over me from the day I was born. My praise is always of You.


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They say, "God has turned away from him. Run and catch him, for there is no one to take him out of trouble."


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Let those who are against me be ashamed and destroyed. Let those who want to hurt me be without honor and covered with shame.


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My mouth will tell about how right and good You are and about Your saving acts all day long. For there are more than I can know.


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I will come in the strength of the Lord God. I will tell about how right and good You are, and You alone.


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Even when I am old and my hair is turning white, O God, do not leave me alone. Let me tell about Your strength to all the people living now, and about Your power to all who are to come.


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O God, You are right and good, as the heavens are high. You have done great things, O God. Who is like You?


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You have shown me many troubles of all kinds. But You will make me strong again. And You will bring me up again from deep in the earth.


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O my God, I will praise You with a harp. I will praise Your truth. I will sing praises to You with different kinds of harps, O Holy One of Israel.


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My tongue will tell about how right and good You are all day long. For those who want to hurt me are ashamed and troubled.


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May he stand by those who are poor, save the children of those in need, and destroy the bad power over them.


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In His days may all go well with those who are right and good. And may there be much peace until the moon is no more.


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Those who live in the desert will put their faces to the ground before Him. And those who hate Him will kiss the dust.


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Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring gifts. Let the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.


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For He will take out of trouble the one in need when he cries for help, and the poor man who has no one to help.


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He will take them from the bad power that is held over them and from being hurt. Their blood will be of much worth in His eyes.


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He will live, and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him. Prayer will be given for Him all the time. Let them honor Him all day long.


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May there be much grain in the land on top of the mountains. May its fruit grow like the trees of Lebanon. And may those of the city grow like the grass of the earth.


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May His name last forever. May His name become bigger as long as the sun shines. And let men respect themselves through Him. Let all nations honor Him.


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And honor be to His great name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His shining-greatness. Let it be so.


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They laugh at the truth, and speak sinful things about making it hard for others. They speak from a high place.


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For sure, You set the sinful in places where there is danger at every step. You throw them down to be destroyed.


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You will lead me by telling me what I should do. And after this, You will bring me into shining-greatness.


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For, see, those who are far from You will be lost from You forever. You have destroyed all those who are not faithful to You.


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But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Lord God my safe place. So I may tell of all the things You have done.


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O God, why have You turned away from us forever? Why does Your anger burn against the sheep in Your fields?


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Remember Your people that You bought a long time ago. You made them free to be the family of Your promise, and Mount Zion, where You have lived.


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Turn Your steps toward this place that has been destroyed forever. Those who hate You have destroyed all that is in the holy place.


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Those who hate You have called out in the center of Your meeting place. They have set up their flags to show that they have won.


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They said in their hearts, "Let us destroy all of these places!" They have burned all the meeting places where God was worshiped in the land.


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We do not see any special things happening. There is no longer anyone who speaks for God. And none of us knows how long this will be.


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O God, how long will those who hate You laugh at the truth? Will they speak against Your name forever?


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You divided the sea by Your power. You broke the heads of the large snake-like animals in the waters.


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It was You Who opened up the earth for water to flow out. And You dried up rivers that flow forever.


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Remember how those who hate You have laughed at the truth, O Lord. Foolish people have spoken against Your name.


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Do not give the life of Your dove over to the wild animal. Do not forget the lives of Your troubled people forever.


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Do not let those who suffer under a bad power return without honor. Let those who suffer and those who are in need praise Your name.


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Rise up, O God. Stand up for Your rights. Remember how the foolish man speaks against You all day long.


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Do not forget the voice of those who hate You, the noise that comes without stopping from those who rise against You.


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We give thanks to You, O God. We give thanks that Your name is near. Men tell about the great things You have done.


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For there is a cup in the Lord's hand. It is full of strong wine that is well mixed. He pours out from it, and all the sinful people of the earth must drink all of it.


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He will cut off all the horns of the sinful. But the horns of those who are right with God will be lifted up.


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There He broke the burning arrows, the iron covering and the sword, and all the things used for fighting in war.


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Strong men have been robbed. They sleep their last sleep. Not one of the soldiers can lift his hands.


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when God stood up to say who is guilty or not, and to save all the people of the earth who are not proud.


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Make promises to the Lord your God and keep them. Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him, Who is to be feared.


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I looked to the Lord when I was in trouble. I put out my hand at night, and it did not get tired. My soul would not be comforted.


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The clouds poured down water. The sky sounded with thunder. Your arrows of lightning went this way and that.


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Your way was through the sea. Your paths went through the powerful waters. And it cannot be known where You stepped.


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I will open my mouth in picturestories. I will tell things which have been kept secret from long ago,


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We will not hide them from their children. But we will tell the children-to-come the praises of the Lord, and of His power and the great things He has done.


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For He has made His will known to Jacob. He made the Law in Israel, which He told our fathers to teach their children.


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So the children-tocome might know, even the children yet to be born. So they may rise up and tell it to their children.


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Then they would put their trust in God and not forget the works of God. And they would keep His Law.


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He broke the rocks in the place where no people live, and gave them water as if it flowed from the sea.


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But they still kept on sinning against Him. They did not obey the Most High in the place where no people live.


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See, He hit the rock and water poured out and rivers flowed over. Can He give bread also? Will He give meat to His people?"


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The Lord was full of anger when He heard them. And a fire was set against Jacob. His anger went up against Israel,


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the anger of God came upon them. And He killed the strongest of them. He cut down the young men of Israel.


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But He showed them loving-kindness and forgave their sins. He did not destroy them. He held back His anger many times. He did not let all of His anger loose.


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How many times they went against Him in the place where no people live, and gave Him sorrow in that empty land!


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He sent them His burning anger and trouble. He sent a group of angels to bring trouble and sorrow to them.


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He made a straight path for His anger. He did not save their soul from death. But He gave their lives over to all these troubles.


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But He brought His people out like sheep. And He led them like a flock in the place where no people live.


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He drove out the nations before them. He gave them parts of the land for a gift. And He made the families of Israel live in their tents.


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They turned away and acted without faith like their fathers. They were like a bow that cannot be trusted.


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They made Him angry with their sinful places of worship. And they made Him jealous with their false gods.


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He allowed His people to be killed with the sword. And He was very angry with those who belong to Him.


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He brought him from caring for the sheep and their lambs to being the shepherd of Jacob His people, and Israel who belongs to Him.


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O God, the nations have come into the land of Your people. They have made Your holy house dirty. They have crushed the walls and buildings of Jerusalem.


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They have given the dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the heavens for food. The flesh of those who belong to You has been given to the wild animals of the earth.


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They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem. And there was no one to bury them.


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Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the nations that do not call on Your name.


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Do not hold the sins of our fathers against us. Let Your loving-pity come fast to meet us. For we are in much need.


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O God Who saves us, help us for the honor of Your name. Take us out of trouble and forgive our sins, for the honor of Your name.


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Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Make it known among the nations, in front of our eyes, that You punish for the blood that has poured from Your servants.


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Hear the cries of those in prison. By the greatness of Your power, save those who are being sent to death.


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Then we Your people, the sheep of Your field, will give thanks to You forever. We will tell of Your praise to all the people of all times.


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Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock! You Who sit on Your throne above the angels, let Your light shine!


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Take care of the root Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You have raised up for Yourself.


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He made it a Law for Joseph, when he went through the land of Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know:


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You called in your trouble, and I took you out of it. I answered you in the hiding place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.


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I, the Lord, am your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.


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I would hurry to crush those who fight against them. I would turn My hand against those who hate them.


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Do the right thing for the weak and those without a father. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need.


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They know nothing; they understand nothing. They walk around in the dark. All that the earth is built upon is shaking.


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For, look, those who hate You are making much noise. Those who fight against You have honored themselves.


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O my God, make them like dust turning in the wind, like parts of the grass that have no worth and are blown away.


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My soul wants and even becomes weak from wanting to be in the house of the Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.


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Even the bird has found a home. The swallow has found a nest for herself where she may lay her young at Your altars, O Lord of all, my King and my God.


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As they pass through the dry valley of Baca, they make it a place of good water. The early rain fills the pools with good also.


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For a day in Your house is better than a thousand outside. I would rather be the one who opens the door of the house of my God, than to live in the tents of the sinful.


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For the Lord God is a sun and a safe-covering. The Lord gives favor and honor. He holds back nothing good from those who walk in the way that is right.


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I will listen to what God the Lord will say. For He will speak peace to His people, to those who are right with Him. But do not let them turn again to foolish things.


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For sure His saving power is near those who fear Him, so His shining-greatness may live in the land.


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Loving-kindness and truth have met together. Peace and what is right and good have kissed each other.


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For You are good and ready to forgive, O Lord. You are rich in loving-kindness to all who call to You.


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All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, O Lord. And they will bring honor to Your name.


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O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You with all my heart. I will bring honor to Your name forever.


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For Your loving-kindness toward me is great. And You have saved my soul from the bottom of the grave.


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O God, proud men have come up against me. A group of fighting men want to take my life. And they do not think of You.


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But You, O Lord, are a God full of love and pity. You are slow to anger and rich in loving-kindness and truth.


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Turn to me, and show me loving-kindness. Give Your strength to Your servant. And save the son of your woman servant.


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Give me something special to see of Your favor. Then those who hate me may see it and be ashamed. Because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.


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I will say that Rahab and Babylon are among those who know Me. Look, Philistia and Tyre and Ethiopia say, "This one was born there."


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But it will be said of Zion, "This one and that one were born in her." And the Most High Himself will make her strong.


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I am left among the dead, like those who have been killed and lie in the grave, whom You remember no more. They are cut off from Your help.


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You have taken my good friends far from me. You have made me hated by them. I am shut in and cannot go out.


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My eyes have become weak because of trouble. I have called to You every day, O Lord. I have spread out my hands to You.


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Will Your loving-kindness be told about in the grave, and how faithful You are in the place that destroys?


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Will Your great works be known in the darkness, and Your right and good works in the land where all is forgotten?


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I have been troubled and near death since I was young. I have suffered Your punishment. And I cannot win.


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I will sing of the loving-kindness of the Lord forever. I will make known with my mouth how faithful You are to all people.


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For I said, "Loving-kindness will be built up forever. You will make known how faithful You are in the heavens."


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O Lord, the heavens will praise Your great works and how faithful You are in the meeting of the holy ones.


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God is honored with fear in the meeting of the holy ones. He is honored with fear more than all who are around Him.


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You have crushed Rahab like one who is killed. You have destroyed those who hate You with Your powerful arm.


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Once You spoke in a special dream to Your faithful ones, saying: "I have given help to a powerful one. I have honored a chosen one from among the people.


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But You have thrown off and turned away from Your chosen one. You have been full of anger against him.


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You have honored the right hand of those who fight against him. You have made all who hate him glad.


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O Lord, remember the shame of those who work for You. Remember how I carry near my heart the shame of all the nations.


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Those who hate You have put us to shame, O Lord. They have put to shame the footsteps of Your chosen one.


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Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, forever and ever, You are God.


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For a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday when it passes by, or like the hours of the night.


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You carry men away as with a flood. They fall asleep. In the morning they are like the new grass that grows.


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The days of our life are seventy years, or eighty if we have the strength. Yet the best of them are only hard work and sorrow. For they are soon gone and we fly away.


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Who understands the power of Your anger? Your anger is as great as the fear that we should have for You.


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Let Your work be shown to Your servants. And let Your wonderful greatness be shown to their children.


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Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. And make the work of our hands stand strong. Yes, make the work of our hands stand strong.


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He will cover you with His wings. And under His wings you will be safe. He is faithful like a safe-covering and a strong wall.


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You will not be afraid of the sickness that walks in darkness, or of the trouble that destroys at noon.


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A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand. But it will not come near you.


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You will walk upon the lion and the snake. You will crush under your feet the young lion and the snake.


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Because he has loved Me, I will bring him out of trouble. I will set him in a safe place on high, because he has known My name.


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He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will take him out of trouble and honor him.


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For You have made me glad by what You have done, O Lord. I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.


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Even if the sinful grow up like grass and all goes well with wrong-doers, they will be destroyed forever.


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For, look, those who hate You will be lost from You forever, O Lord. All those who do wrong will be destroyed.


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The man who is right and good will grow like the palm tree. He will grow like a tall tree in Lebanon.


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And they will show that the Lord is faithful. He is my rock. There is nothing in Him that is not right and good.


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The Lord rules. He is dressed with great power. The Lord has dressed Himself with strength. For sure, the world is built to last. It will not be moved.


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The floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their beating waves.


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They pour out proud words. All those who do wrong, talk about themselves as if they are great people.


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They kill the woman whose husband has died and the stranger. They kill the children who have no parents.


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He Who punishes nations so they might give up sin, will He not speak strong words to them? Is He not the One Who teaches man all he knows?


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Who will rise up for me against the sinful? Who will take a stand for me against those who do wrong?


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They join together against the life of those who are right and good. They send those who are not guilty to their death.


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He has brought back their own sin upon them and will destroy them for their wrong-doing. The Lord our God will destroy them.


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For He is our God. And we are the people of His field, and the sheep of His hand. If you hear His voice today,


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do not let your hearts become hard as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the place where no people live.


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I was angry with the people of that day for forty years. I said, "They always think wrong thoughts. And they do not know My ways."


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For the Lord is great and should be given much praise. He is to be honored with fear above all gods.


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Give to the Lord, O families of the nations, give to the Lord the honor and strength that He should have.


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Say among the nations that the Lord rules. The world is built to last. It will not be moved. He will be right when He says who is guilty or not.


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Let the heavens be glad. And let the earth be full of joy. Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise.


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Let the fields and all that is in them be full of joy. Then all the trees of the land will sing for joy


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before the Lord. For He is coming. He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be faithful to the people.


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Let all those who serve false gods be ashamed, those who talk about how great their gods are. Worship Him, all you gods!


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Zion heard this and was glad. The people of Judah have been full of joy because of what You decide, O Lord.


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Let those who love the Lord hate what is bad. For He keeps safe the souls of His faithful ones. He takes them away from the hand of the sinful.


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Sing a new song to the Lord. For He has done great things. His right hand and His holy arm have won the fight for Him.


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He has shown His loving-kindness and how beautiful He is to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of our God.


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before the Lord. For He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be fair to the people.


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The Lord rules! Let the people shake in fear! He sits on His throne above the angels. Let the earth shake!


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The strength of the King loves what is right. You have set up what is fair. You do what is right and fair in Jacob.


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Moses and Aaron were among His religious leaders. And Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.


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O Lord our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them. But You punished them for their wrong-doing.


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Know that the Lord is God. It is He Who made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His field.


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Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name.


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For the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. And He is faithful to all people and to all their children-to-come.


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I will be careful to live a life without blame. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a right and good heart.


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I will set no sinful thing in front of my eyes. I hate the work of those who are not faithful. It will not get hold of me.


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I will stop whoever talks against his neighbor in secret. I will not listen to anyone who has a proud look and a proud heart.


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My eyes will look with favor on the faithful in the land, so they may serve me. He who walks without blame will help me.


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I will destroy all the sinful in the land every morning. I will cut off all those who do wrong from the city of the Lord.


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Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble. Turn Your ear to me. Hurry to answer me in the day when I call.


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You will rise up and have loving-pity on Zion. For it is time to show favor to her. The set time has come.


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The nations will fear the name of the Lord. All the kings of the earth will fear Your shining-greatness.


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This will be written for the children-to-come. So a people not yet born may give thanks to the Lord.


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I said, "O my God, do not take me away when my days are only half done. Your years go on to all people of all time.


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They will be destroyed but You will always live. They will all become old as clothing becomes old. You will change them like a coat. And they will be changed,


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But the loving-kindness of the Lord is forever and forever on those who fear Him. And what is right with God is given forever to their children's children,


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Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great. You are dressed with great honor and wonderful power.


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They give water to all the animals of the field. The wild donkeys drink until they are no longer thirsty.


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He makes the grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to use. So He may bring food from the earth,


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O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made.


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They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.


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Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!


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Remember the great and powerful works that He has done. Keep in mind what He has decided and told us,


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He has remembered His agreement forever, the promise He made to last through a thousand families-to-come,


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And He made the number of His people grow until they were stronger than those who held power over them.


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Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold. And there was not one weak person among their families.


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So I may share in the well-being of Your chosen ones. So I may share in the joy of Your nation, and be proud of Your people.


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Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your powerful works. They did not remember how many times You showed Your loving-kindness. But they turned against You by the sea, the Red Sea.


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So He spoke sharp words to the Red Sea and it dried up. And He led them through the sea as through a desert.


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He saved them from the hand of those who hated them. He set them free from the hand of those who went against them.


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They were jealous of Moses in the place where they set up their tents. And they were jealous of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.


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So He said that He would destroy them. But Moses, His chosen one, stood in the way to keep His anger from destroying them.


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They poured out the blood of those who were not guilty, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they gave on an altar to the gods of Canaan. And the land was poisoned with blood.


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He remembered His agreement because of them, and took pity on them by the greatness of His loving-kindness.


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O Lord our God, save us! Gather us from among the nations. And we will give thanks to Your holy name and find honor in Your praise.


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Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. Let all the people say, "Let it be so!" Praise the Lord!


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Let the people who have been saved say so. He has bought them and set them free from the hand of those who hated them.


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Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men!


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They went up to the heavens and down to the deep. Their strength of heart left them in their danger.


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They could not walk straight but went from side to side like a drunk man. They did not know what to do.


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He lets good come to them and they become many in number. And He does not let the number of their cattle become less.


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When the number of people becomes less and they are put to shame under a bad power and trouble and sorrow,


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Moab is where I wash My hands. I will throw My shoe over Edom. I will call out over Philistia that I have won."


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With God's help we will do great things. And He will break under His feet those who fight against us.


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For sinners and liars have opened their mouths against me. They have spoken against me with lying tongues.


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Let the one to whom he owes money take all that he has. May strangers take away all he has worked for.


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Let the sins of his fathers be remembered by the Lord, and do not let the sins of his mother be forgotten.


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Because he did not remember to show loving-kindness. Instead he made it hard for the poor and those in need and those with a broken heart. He even put them to death.


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He loved to curse others, so may it come to him. He did not like to have good come to others, so good was far from him.


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He dressed himself with cursing as with a coat. They came into his body like water and into his bones like oil.


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Let this be what the Lord pays to those who speak against me and wish bad things would happen to me.


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But You, O God, the Lord, be kind to me because of Your name. Take me out of trouble because Your loving-kindness is good.


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Let them hope that bad things will happen. But You make good things happen. Let them be ashamed when they rise up against me. But let Your servant be full of joy.


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Let those who speak against me be dressed with shame. Let them cover themselves with shame as with a coat.


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The Lord says to my Lord, "Sit at My right side, for those who hate You will be a place to rest Your feet."


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Your people will be willing to help in the day of Your power. Your young men will be dressed in holy clothes. They will come to You like water on the grass in the early morning.


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The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: "You are a Religious Leader forever, in the same way as Melchizedek."


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He will say who is guilty or not among the nations. He will fill them with dead bodies. He will crush the leaders of many lands.


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Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart where those who are right with God gather together and in the meeting of the people.


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He has made a way for His people to be free. He has set up His agreement forever. His holy name is to be honored with fear.


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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. All who obey His Laws have good understanding. His praise lasts forever.


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Light rises even in darkness for the one who is right. He is kind and has loving-pity and does what is right.


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His heart will not be shaken. He will not be afraid and will watch those lose who fight against him.


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He has given much to the poor. His right-standing with God lasts forever. His horn will be lifted high in honor.


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The sinful man will see it and be troubled and angry. He will grind his teeth and waste away. The desire of the sinful will come to nothing.


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He gives a home to the woman who could not give birth and makes her the mother of children. Praise the Lord!


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Let honor be given to Your name and not to us, O Lord, not to us. Because You are loving and kind and faithful.


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They have hands but they cannot feel. They have feet but they cannot walk. They cannot make a sound come out of their mouths.


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The Lord has remembered us and will make good come to us. He will make good come to the house of Israel. He will make good come to the house of Aaron.


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The strings of death are all around me. And the fear of the grave came upon me. I suffered with trouble and sorrow.


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For sure I am Your servant, O Lord. I am Your servant, the son of the woman who served You. You have set me free from my chains.


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For His loving-kindness toward us is great. And the truth of the Lord lasts forever. Praise the Lord!


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They were all around me like bees and they died out fast like burning thorns. I will destroy them in the name of the Lord.


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The joy of being saved is being heard in the tents of those who are right and good. The right hand of the Lord does powerful things.


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The Lord is God. He has given us light. Tie the gift with rope to the horns of the altar on this special day.


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May the proud be ashamed, because they do wrong to me for no reason, but I will think about Your Law.


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That is where the different families go, the families of the Lord. There they give thanks to the name of the Lord, by the Law that was given to Israel.


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See, the eyes of servants look to the hand of their owner. The eyes of a woman servant look to the hand of her owner. So our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He shows us loving-kindness.


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For the sinful will not rule over the land of those who are right with God. So those who are right and good may not use their hands to do wrong.


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But the Lord will let all those who turn aside to their sinful ways go with those who are sinners. Peace be upon Israel.


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Then we laughed with our mouths, and we sang with our tongues. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."


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He who goes out crying as he carries his bag of seed will return with songs of joy as he brings much grain with him.


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Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders work for nothing. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the men who watch over it stay awake for nothing.


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You rise up early, and go to bed late, and work hard for your food, all for nothing. For the Lord gives to His loved ones even while they sleep.


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Happy is the man who has many of them. They will not be put to shame when they speak in the gate with those who hate them.


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Your wife will be like a vine with much fruit within your house. Your children will be like olive plants around your table.


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May the Lord do good things for you from Zion. And may you see good come to Jerusalem all the days of your life.


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And those who pass by do not say, "May the Lord be good to you. We pray that good will come to you in the name of the Lord."


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My soul waits for the Lord more than one who watches for the morning; yes, more than one who watches for the morning.


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O Israel, hope in the Lord! For there is loving-kindness with the Lord. With Him we are saved for sure.


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O Lord, my heart is not proud. My eyes are not filled with pride. And I do not trouble myself with important things or in things too great for me.


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For sure I have made my soul quiet like a child who no longer nurses while he is with his mother. My soul within me is like a child who no longer nurses.


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Rise up, O Lord. Go to the place where You can rest, You and the special box of the Way of Worship which is Your strength.


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Let Your religious leaders be dressed with what is right and good. And let those who belong to You sing for joy.


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The Lord has made a sure promise to David that He will never break: "I will set upon your throne your own children.


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If your sons will keep My Law and My Word which I will teach them, then their sons will sit upon your throne forever."


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I will dress her religious leaders with saving power. And those in her that belong to Me will sing for joy.


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It is like oil of great worth poured on the head, flowing down through the hair on the face, even the face of Aaron, and flowing down to his coat.


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It is like the morning water of Hermon coming down upon the hills of Zion. For there the Lord has given the gift of life that lasts forever.


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See, give honor and thanks to the Lord, all who work for the Lord, who stand during the night in the house of the Lord.


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He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning come with the rain. He brings the wind out from where He stores His riches.


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He sent special things to see and did great works among you, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.


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O house of Israel, give honor and thanks to the Lord. O house of Aaron, give honor and thanks to the Lord.


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O house of Levi, give honor and thanks to the Lord. You who fear the Lord, give honor and thanks to the Lord.


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But He caused the death of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.


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Give thanks to Him Who led His people through the place where no people live, for His loving-kindness lasts forever.


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For those who held us there made us sing. And those who made it hard for us asked for joy. They said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."


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May my tongue hold to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not honor Jerusalem above my highest joy.


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O Lord, remember what the sons of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell. "Knock it down," they said, "Knock it down to the ground."


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O daughter of Babylon, you who will be destroyed, how honored will be the one who pays you back for what you have done to us!


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I will bow down toward Your holy house. And I will give thanks to Your name for Your loving-kindness and Your truth. For You have honored Your Word because of what Your name is.


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O Lord, all the kings of the earth will give thanks to You when they have heard the words of Your mouth.


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For even if the Lord is honored, He thinks about those who have no pride. But He knows the proud from far away.


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Even if I walk into trouble, You will keep my life safe. You will put out Your hand against the anger of those who hate me. And Your right hand will save me.


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The Lord will finish the work He started for me. O Lord, Your lovingkindness lasts forever. Do not turn away from the works of Your hands.


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even the darkness is not dark to You. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You.


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I will give thanks to You, for the greatness of the way I was made brings fear. Your works are great and my soul knows it very well.


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My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret and put together with care in the deep part of the earth.


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Your eyes saw me before I was put together. And all the days of my life were written in Your book before any of them came to be.


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O Lord, keep me from the hands of the sinful. Keep me safe from men who want to hurt others and have planned to trip my feet.


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The proud have hidden a trap for me. With ropes they have spread a net. They have set traps for me beside the road.


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O Lord, do not give the sinful what they want. Do not let their plans work, or they will be honored.


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May burning coals fall upon them. May they be thrown into the fire, into deep holes, and rise no more.


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Do not let the man whose talking hurts people stand in the land. May trouble hurry to catch and destroy the man who wants to hurt others."


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For sure those who are right and good will give thanks to Your name. Those who are right will live with You.


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May my prayer be like special perfume before You. May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening gift given on the altar in worship.


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Do not let my heart turn to any sinful thing, to do wrong with men who sin. And do not let me eat their fine food.


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Let those who are right with God punish me and speak strong words to me in kindness. It is oil upon my head. Do not let my head turn away from it. Yet my prayer is always against the sinful works of those who sin.


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For my eyes are toward You, O God the Lord. In You I have a safe place. Do not leave me without help.


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When my spirit had grown weak within me, You knew my path. They have hidden a trap for me in the way where I walk.


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Look to the right and see. For there is no one who thinks about me. There is no place for me to go to be safe. No one cares about my soul.


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Listen to my cry, for I am brought down. Save me from those who make it hard for me. For they are too strong for me.


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Bring my soul out of prison, so that I may give thanks to Your name. Those who are right and good will gather around me. For You will give much to me."


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For the one who hates me has made it hard for my soul. He has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, like those who have been dead for a long time.


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I remember the days long ago. I think about all You have done. I think about the work of Your hands.


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Hurry to answer me, O Lord! My spirit is becoming weak! Do not hide Your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the grave.


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Let me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for I trust in You. Teach me the way I should go for I lift up my soul to You.


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Give me new life, O Lord, because of Your name. Bring me out of trouble because You are right and good.


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In Your loving-kindness cut off those who hate me. Destroy all those who make it hard for my soul, for I am Your servant.


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Praise and thanks be to the Lord, my rock. He makes my hands ready for war, and my fingers for battle.


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He is my loving-kindness and my walls of strength, my strong place and the One Who sets me free, my safe-covering and the One in Whom I trust. He brings my people under my rule.


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Put out Your hand from above. Take me out of trouble and away from the many waters, from the power of those from other lands.


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Take me out of trouble and away from the power of those from other lands. Their mouths speak lies. And their right hand is a right hand that is false.


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May our young sons be like plants that are full-grown. And may our daughters be like the corner pieces of a great house.


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May our store-houses be full of all kinds of food. And may our sheep grow by the thousands and ten thousands in our fields.


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Let our cattle give birth without trouble and without loss. And may there be no cry of trouble in our streets.


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Families of this time will praise Your works to the familiesto-come. They will tell about Your powerful acts.


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Many words will come from their mouths about how good You are. They will sing for joy about how right You are.


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My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. And all flesh will honor His holy name forever and ever.


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He helps those who have a bad power over them. He gives food to the hungry. And He sets those in prison free.


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The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord raises up those who are brought down. The Lord loves those who are right and good.


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The Lord keeps the strangers safe. He takes care of the children who have no father and the woman whose husband has died. But He destroys the way of the sinful.


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The Lord will rule forever. Your God, O Zion, will rule over all people for all time. Praise the Lord!


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He covers the heavens with clouds. He gives rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the mountains.


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Let them praise the name of the Lord. For His name alone is honored. His shining-greatness is above earth and heaven.


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He has raised up a horn for His people, praise for all who belong to Him, for the people of Israel, who are near to Him. Praise the Lord!


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Let the punishment that is written be given to them. This is an honor for all His faithful ones. Praise the Lord!


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If they say, "Come with us. Let us lie in wait to kill someone. Let us set a trap for those who are without blame.


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Such are the ways of all who get things by hurting others. Their desire for stolen riches takes away their own lives.


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"O foolish ones, how long will you love being foolish? How long will those who laugh at others be happy in their laughing? How long will fools hate much learning?


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Listen to my strong words! See, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you.


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You did not listen when I told you what you should do, and you would not hear any of my strong words.


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Fear will come to you like a storm. Hard times will come like a strong wind. When trouble and suffering come upon you,


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For the foolish will be killed by their turning away. The trust that fools put in themselves will destroy them.


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But he who listens to me will live free from danger, and he will rest easy from the fear of what is sinful."


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He stores up perfect wisdom for those who are right with Him. He is a safe-covering to those who are right in their walk.


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Then you will understand what is right and good, and right from wrong, and you will know what you should do.


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but the sinful will be destroyed from the land, and those who are not faithful will be taken away from it.


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Then your store-houses will be filled with many good things and your barrels will flow over with new wine.


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Do not be afraid of fear that comes all at once. And do not be afraid of the storm of the sinful when it comes.


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Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and return tomorrow, and I will give it," when you have it with you.


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The punishment of the Lord is on the house of the sinful, but He makes good come to the house of those who are right with Him.


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But the way of those who are right is like the early morning light. It shines brighter and brighter until the perfect day.


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Strangers would be filled with your strength, and the fruits of your work would go to a strange house.


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I have not listened to the voice of my teachers. I have not turned my ear to those who would teach me.


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Let her be like a loving, female deer. Let her breasts please you at all times. Be filled with great joy always because of her love.


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My son, why should you be carried away with a sinful woman and fall into the arms of a strange woman?


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He will die for want of teaching, and will go the wrong way because of the greatness of his foolish ways.


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My son, if you have put yourself as a trust for what your neighbor owes to another, or if you have made a promise for a stranger,


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you have been trapped with the words of your lips. You have been caught with the words of your mouth.


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Do this now, my son, and get yourself out of trouble, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go without pride and beg your neighbor to let you go.


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Take yourself away like a deer from the man who kills animals, and like a bird from the hand of the man who catches birds.


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So trouble will come upon him all at once. Right then he will be broken, and there will be no healing.


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They will lead you when you walk. They will watch over you when you sleep, and they will talk with you when you wake up.


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For because of a woman who sells the use of her body, one is brought down to a loaf of bread. A sinful woman hunts to take a man's very life.


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But if he is caught, he must pay seven times what he took. He must give up all the things in his house.


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And I saw among the childlike and among the young people a young man without wisdom and understanding.


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See, a woman comes to meet him. She is dressed like a woman who sells the use of her body, and with a heart that wants to fool and trap someone.


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She is now in the street, now in the center of town where people gather. She lies in wait at every corner.


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until an arrow cuts through him. Like a bird that hurries into the net, he does not know that he will lose his life.


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I was there when He marked out the places for the sea, so that the waters would not go farther than what He said. I was there when He marked out the ground for the earth.


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I was beside Him as the leading workman. I was His joy every day. I was always happy when I was near Him.


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He who speaks strong words to the man who laughs at the truth brings shame upon himself. He who speaks strong words to a sinful man gets hurt.


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Do not speak strong words to a man who laughs at the truth, or he will hate you. Speak strong words to a wise man, and he will love you.


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Give teaching to a wise man and he will be even wiser. Teach a man who is right and good, and he will grow in learning.


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If you are wise, your wisdom is a help to you. If you laugh at the truth, you alone will suffer for it.


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But he does not know that the dead are there, and that the ones who visit her are in the bottom of hell.


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The sayings of Solomon: A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.


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The Lord will not let those who are right with Him go hungry, but He puts to one side the desire of the sinful.


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The mouth of the one who is right with God is a well of life, but the mouth of the sinful hides trouble.


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Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding, but a stick is for the back of him who has no understanding.


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He who listens to teaching is on the path of life, but he who will not listen to strong words goes the wrong way.


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The tongue of those who are right with God is like fine silver, but the heart of the sinful is not worth much.


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What the sinful man is afraid of will come upon him, and what is wanted by the man who is right with God will be given to him.


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When the storm passes, the sinful man is no more, but the man who is right with God has a place to stand forever.


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The way of the Lord is a strong-place to those who are faithful, but it destroys those who do wrong.


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The lips of those who are right with God speak what is pleasing to others, but the mouth of the sinful speaks only what is bad.


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The honor of good people will lead them, but those who hurt others will be destroyed by their own false ways.


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Those right with God, who are without blame, make a straight way for themselves, but the sinful will fall by their own wrong-doing.


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Being right with God will save the honest man, but those who hurt others will be trapped by their wrong desires.


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The sinful man destroys his neighbor with his mouth, but those who are fair will be saved through knowing God.


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The city is glad when everything goes well with those who are right with God, and there are shouts of joy when the sinful are destroyed.


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A city is honored by the good things that come to the faithful, but it is torn down by the mouth of the sinful.


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He who is always telling stories makes secrets known, but he who can be trusted keeps a thing hidden.


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A nation falls where there is no wise leading, but it is safe where there are many wise men who know what to do.


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He who puts himself as trust for what a stranger owes to another will suffer for it, but he who hates to be trusted for what another owes is safe.


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He who will not be moved from being right with God will live, but he who goes for what is bad will bring about his own death.


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Know for sure that the sinful man will not go without being punished, but the children of those who are right with God will be saved.


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There is one who is free in giving, and yet he grows richer. And there is one who keeps what he should give, but he ends up needing more.


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He who trusts in his riches will fall, but those who are right with God will grow like a green leaf.


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He who troubles his own house will be given the wind, and the foolish will serve those with a wise heart.


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If those who are right with God will be rewarded on earth, how much more the sinful and the wrong-doer!


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A man will not stand by doing what is wrong, but the root of those who are right with God will not be moved.


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A good wife is the pride and joy of her husband, but she who brings shame is like cancer to his bones.


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The words of the sinful lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the faithful will take them away from trouble.


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A man who has only a little honor and has a servant is better than one who honors himself and does not have bread.


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He who works his land will have all the bread he needs, but he who follows what is of no worth has no wisdom.


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The sinful man wants what sinful men have, but the root of those who are right with God gives fruit.


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A sinful man is trapped by the sin of his lips, but those who are right with God will get away from trouble.


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A man will be filled with good from the fruit of his words, and the work of a man's hands will return to him.


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The man who is right with God is a teacher to his neighbor, but the way of the sinful leads them the wrong way.


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The lazy man will not cook the food he has caught, but the man who does his best has what is of great worth.


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A wise son listens when his father tells him the right way, but one who laughs at the truth does not listen when strong words are spoken to him.


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The one who is careful what he says will have good come to him, but the one who wants to hurt others will have trouble.


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The soul of the lazy person has strong desires but gets nothing, but the soul of the one who does his best gets more than he needs.


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A man who is right with God hates lies, but the actions of a sinful man are hated and he is put to shame.


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What is right and good watches over the one whose way is without blame, but sin destroys the sinful.


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There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing. Another pretends to be poor, but has many riches.


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A rich man can use his riches to save his life, but the poor man does not hear strong words spoken to him.


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Riches taken by false ways become less and less, but riches grow for the one who gathers by hard work.


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He who will not listen to strong teaching will become poor and ashamed, but he who listens when strong words are spoken will be honored.


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A good man leaves what he owns for his children's children. The riches of the sinner are stored up for those who are right with God.


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He who does not punish his son when he needs it hates him, but he who loves him will punish him when he needs it.


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The man who is right with God has all the food he needs, but the stomach of the sinful man never has enough.


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One who laughs at the truth looks for wisdom and does not find it, but much learning is easy to him who has understanding.


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The man who has gone back into sin will get the fruit of his ways, and a good man will get the fruit of what he does.


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A wise man fears God and turns away from what is sinful, but a fool is full of pride and is not careful.


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Do not those who make sinful plans go the wrong way? Kindness and truth are for those who plan good.


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He who is slow to get angry has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper makes his foolish way look right.


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A heart that has peace is life to the body, but wrong desires are like the wasting away of the bones.


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He who makes it hard for the poor brings shame to his Maker, but he who shows loving-favor to those in need honors Him.


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The sinful is thrown down by his wrong-doing, but the man who is right with God has a safe place when he dies.


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Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, but what is in the heart of fools is made known.


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The king's favor is toward a wise servant, but his anger is toward the one who brings shame by what he does.


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The tongue of the wise uses much learning in a good way, but the mouth of fools speaks in a foolish way.


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A fool turns away from the strong teaching of his father, but he who remembers the strong words spoken to him is wise.


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Great riches are in the house of those who are right with God, but trouble is what the sinful will receive.


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A man who laughs at the truth has no love for the one who speaks strong words to him. He will not go to the wise.


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The mind of him who has understanding looks for much learning, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolish ways.


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Plans go wrong without talking together, but they will go well when many wise men talk about what to do.


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The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but He will make a place for the woman whose husband has died.


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He who gets things by doing wrong brings trouble to his family, but he who will not be paid in secret for wrong-doing will live.


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The mind of the one who is right with God thinks about how to answer, but the mouth of the sinful pours out sinful things.


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He who does not listen to strong teaching hates himself, but he who listens when strong words are spoken gets understanding.


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When the ways of a man are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even those who hate him to be at peace with him.


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The lips of the king should decide as God would. His mouth should not sin in deciding what is right or wrong.


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What is fair in telling the weight of something belongs to the Lord. He cares about all the weights of the bag.


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To get wisdom is much better than getting gold. To get understanding should be chosen instead of silver.


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It is better to be poor in spirit among poor people, than to divide the riches that were taken with the proud.


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The wise in heart will be called understanding. And to speak in a pleasing way helps people know what you say is right.


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He who winks his eyes plans to do bad things. He who closes his lips allows sinful things to happen.


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Hair that is turning white is like a crown of honor. It is found in the way of being right with God.


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He who is slow to anger is better than the powerful. And he who rules his spirit is better than he who takes a city.


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A servant who is wise in what he does will rule over a son who acts in shame. He will share in what is given as one of the brothers.


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Being paid in secret for wrongdoing is like a stone of much worth to the one who has it. Wherever he turns, he does well.


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A man of understanding learns more from being told the right thing to do than a fool learns from being beaten a hundred times.


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A man who will not obey looks only for what is bad. So one who has no loving-pity will be sent against him.


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He who says that the sinful are right, and he who says those who do right are wrong, both are hated by the Lord.


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A man without good thinking makes promises, and becomes a trust for what another man owes his neighbor.


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He who loves sin loves making trouble. He who opens his door wide for trouble is looking for a way to be destroyed.


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It is not good to punish those who are right with God, and it is wrong to beat men of honor for being faithful.


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He who is careful in what he says has much learning, and he who has a quiet spirit is a man of understanding.


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Even a fool, when he keeps quiet, is thought to be wise. When he closes his lips, he is thought of as a man of understanding.


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The words of a man's mouth are deep waters. Wisdom comes like a flowing river making a pleasant noise.


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The words of one who speaks about others in secret are like tempting bites of food. They go down into the inside parts of the body.


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A brother who has been hurt in his spirit is harder to be won than a strong city, and arguing is like the iron gates of a king's house.


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A man's stomach will be filled with the fruit of his mouth. He will be filled with what his lips speak.


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It is not good for a person to be without much learning, and he who hurries with his feet rushes into sin.


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Many will ask for the favor of a man who gives much, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.


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All the brothers of a poor man hate him. How much more do his friends go far from him! He runs to them with words, but they are gone.


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It is not right for a fool to live in great comfort, and for sure, for a servant to rule over rulers.


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A man's understanding makes him slow to anger. It is to his honor to forgive and forget a wrong done to him.


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A foolish son destroys his father. The arguing of a wife is like water falling drop by drop all the time.


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He who shows kindness to a poor man gives to the Lord and He will pay him in return for his good act.


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An angry man will suffer punishment. For if you save him from his trouble, you will only have to do it again.


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Listen to words about what you should do, and take your punishment if you need it, so that you may be wise the rest of your days.


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The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will sleep well, and will not be touched by sin.


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Hit a man who laughs at the truth, and the foolish may become wise. But speak strong words to one who has understanding, and he will get more learning.


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My son, stop listening to teaching that will cause you to turn away from the words of much learning.


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A man without worth who tells all he knows laughs at what is right and fair, and the mouth of the sinful spreads wrong-doing.


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Ways of punishing are made ready for those who laugh at the truth, and beatings are for the back of fools.


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Wine makes people act in a foolish way. Strong drink starts fights. Whoever is fooled by it is not wise.


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"It is bad, it is bad," says the one who buys, but when he goes away, he talks much about his good buy.


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Take a man's coat when he has given himself as trust for what a stranger owes. And hold him to his promise when he gives himself as trust for what the people from other lands owe.


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Make plans by listening to what others have to say, and make war by listening to the leading of wise men.


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He who goes about talking to hurt people makes secrets known. So do not be with those who talk about others.


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It is a trap for a man to say without thinking, "It is holy," and then later think more about what he has promised.


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A king will stay in power as long as he is faithful and true. He can stay on his throne if he does what is right and good.


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To do what is right and good and fair is more pleasing to the Lord than gifts given on the altar in worship.


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The plans of those who do their best lead only to having all they need, but all who are in a hurry come only to want.


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The way the sinful hurt others will draw them away, because they will not do what is right and fair.


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When the man who laughs at the truth is punished, the fool becomes wise. When a wise man is taught, he gets much learning.


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The One Who is right and good thinks about the house of the sinful, and the sinful are thrown down to be destroyed.


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When what is right and fair is done, it is a joy for those who are right with God. But it fills the sinful with fear.


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The sinful man is the price given for the man who is right with God, the man who is not faithful for the faithful man.


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There are riches and oil of great worth in the house of the wise, but a foolish man swallows them up.


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A wise man goes over the city walls of the powerful, and brings down the strong-place in which they trust.


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"Proud," "Self-important" and "One who laughs at the truth" are the names of the man who acts without respect and is proud.


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The gift given on an altar in worship by the sinful is a hated thing. How much more when he brings it for the wrong reason!


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A person who tells a lie about someone else will be lost, but the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.


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Bring up a child by teaching him the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it.


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The rich rules over the poor. The man who uses something that belongs to someone else is ruled by the one who let him use it.


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The eyes of the Lord keep watch over much learning, but He destroys the words of the man who is not faithful.


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He who makes it hard for the poor by getting more for himself, or who gives to the rich, will become poor himself.


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Do you see a man who is good at his work? He will stand in front of kings. He will not stand in front of men who are not important.


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When you set your eyes upon it, it is gone. For sure, riches make themselves wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.


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Do not eat the bread of a man who thinks only about himself. Do not have a desire for his fine food.


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For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you.


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Do not keep from punishing the child if he needs it. If you beat him with the stick, he will not die.


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For the man who drinks too much or eats too much will become poor, and much sleep will dress a man in torn clothes.


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The father of one who is right with God will have much joy. He who has a wise son will be glad in him.


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Who has trouble? Who has sorrow? Who is fighting? Who is complaining? Who is hurt without a reason? Who has eyes that have become red?


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And you will be like one who lies down in the center of the sea, or like one who lies above a ship's sail.


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"They hit me, but I was not hurt. They beat me, but I did not know it. When will I wake up? I will look for another drink."


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For by wise leading you will make war, and the fight is won when there are many wise men to help you make the plans.


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If you say, "See, we did not know this," does not He Who knows what is in hearts see it? Does not He Who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will He not pay each man for his work?


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Know that wisdom is like this to your soul. If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.


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O sinful man, do not lie in wait against the house of the man who is right with God. Do not destroy his resting place.


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For a man who is right with God falls seven times, and rises again, but the sinful fall in time of trouble.


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Do not be full of joy when the one who hates you falls. Do not let your heart be glad when he trips.


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He who says to the sinful, "You are right and good," will be spoken against by people and hated by nations.


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And see, it was all grown over with thorns. The ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down.


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These also are wise sayings of Solomon, which were written down by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah.


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It is the greatness of God to keep things hidden, but it is the greatness of kings to find things out.


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For it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put down in front of the ruler whom your eyes have seen.


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Do not go out in a hurry to argue. Or what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame?


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A wise man speaking strong words to a listening ear is like a piece of gold for the ear and a beautiful object of fine gold.


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A faithful man who carries news is like the cold of snow at gathering time to those who send him, for he makes the spirit of his owners feel new again.


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Do not let your foot be in your neighbor's house too much, or he may become tired of you and hate you.


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In time of trouble, trusting in a man who is not faithful is like a bad tooth or a foot out of joint.


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He who sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a coat on a cold day, or like sour wine poured on soda.


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A man who does what is right but gives way in front of the sinful, is like a well of mud or poisoned water.


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Like a sparrow in its traveling, like a swallow in its flying, so bad words said against someone without reason do not come to rest.


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A wise saying in the mouth of fools is like a thorn that goes into the hand of a man who drinks too much.


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When there is no wood, the fire goes out. Where there is no one telling secret stories about people, arguing stops.


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The words of one who tells secret things about people are like good-tasting bites of food. They go down into the inside parts of the body.


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When he speaks with kindness, do not believe him, for there are seven things that are hated in his heart.


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Even if his hate is covered with false ways, his sin will be found out in front of the great meeting.


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Do not leave your own friend or your father's friend alone, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your trouble. A neighbor who is near is better than a brother who is far away.


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Take the man's coat who has given himself as trust for what a stranger owes. And hold him to his promise who has given it as trust for a sinful woman.


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He who praises his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning will be thought of as saying bad things against him.


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He who cares for the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for the one he works for will be honored.


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There will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of all your house, and a living for your young women.


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The sinful run away when no one is trying to catch them, but those who are right with God have as much strength of heart as a lion.


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When a nation sins, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and much learning, it will last a long time.


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Sinful men do not understand what is right and fair, but those who look to the Lord understand all things.


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He who gets money by being paid much for the use of it, gathers it for him who will be kind to the poor.


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He who leads good people into a sinful way will fall into his own deep hole, but good will come to those without blame.


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When those who are right with God win, there is great honor, but when the sinful rule, men hide themselves.


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It will not go well for the man who hides his sins, but he who tells his sins and turns from them will be given loving-pity.


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A ruler who takes much from the people who have little does not have understanding. But he who hates wanting something that belongs to someone else will live a long time.


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A man who is loaded down with the guilt of human blood will run in fear until death. Let no one help him.


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He who works his land will have more than enough food, but he who wastes his time will become very poor.


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He who speaks strong words to a man will later find more favor than he who gives false respect with his tongue.


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He who robs his father or his mother, and says, "It is not a sin," is the friend of a man who destroys.


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He who gives to the poor will never want, but many bad things will happen to the man who shuts his eyes to the poor.


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When the sinful rule, men hide themselves, but when they pass away, those who do what is right become many.


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A man who does not listen after many strong words are spoken to him will be destroyed all at once and without help.


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When those who are right with God rule, the people are glad, but when a sinful man rules, the people have sorrow.


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A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who goes with women who sell the use of their bodies wastes his money.


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The king makes the land strong by doing what is right and fair, but the one who takes pay for doing wrong, destroys it.


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The man who is right with God cares about the rights of poor people, but the sinful man does not understand such things.


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When a wise man argues with a foolish man, the fool only gets angry or laughs, and there is no peace and quiet.


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The stick and strong words give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.


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Punish your son when he does wrong and he will give you comfort. Yes, he will give joy to your soul.


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Where there is no understanding of the Word of the Lord, the people do whatever they want to, but happy is he who keeps the law.


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He who gives good care to his servant from the time he is young, will in the end find him to be a son.


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He who works with a robber hates his own life. He knows about the bad that will come, but can tell nothing.


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A sinful man is a shame to those who are right with God, and he who is right with God is a shame to the sinful.


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Who has gone up into heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has gathered the waters in His coat? Who has put in place all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name? For sure you know!


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Take lies and what is false far from me. Do not let me be poor or rich. Feed me with the food that I need.


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Then I will not be afraid that I will be full and turn my back against You and say, "Who is the Lord?" And I will not be afraid that I will be poor and steal, and bring shame on the name of my God.


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Do not speak against a slave while talking with his owner, or he may curse you and you will be found guilty.


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There is a kind of man whose teeth are swords, whose jaws are like knives, who eat up those who are suffering from the earth, and those in need from among men.


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The one who lives by the blood of another has two daughters, "Give," "Give." There are three things that are never filled, four that never say, "Enough":


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The place of the dead, the woman who cannot have children, the earth that is always thirsty for water, and fire that never says, "Enough."


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The eye that makes fun of a father and hates to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the young eagles.


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The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship out at sea, and the way of a man with a woman.


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This is the way of a woman who is not faithful in marriage: She eats and washes her mouth, and says, "I have done no wrong."


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under a woman who is not loved when she gets a husband, and under a woman servant when she takes the place of the woman of the house.


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If you have been foolish in honoring yourself, or if you have planned wrong-doing, put your hand on your mouth.


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It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to desire strong drink.


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Open your mouth. Be right and fair in what you decide. Stand up for the rights of those who are suffering and in need.


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She rises while it is still night and makes food for all those in her house. She gives work for the young women to do.


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The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. It goes around and around, and returns again on its way.


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All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is not full. And they return again to the place from which the rivers flow.


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All things are tiring. Man is not able to tell about them. The eye never has enough to see, and the ear is never filled with what it hears.


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What has been is what will be. And what has been done is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.


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Is there anything of which one might say, "See, this is new"? It has already been there since long before us.


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No one remembers the things that happened before. And no one will remember the things that will happen in the future among those who will come later.


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And I set my mind to look for wisdom to learn about all that has been done under heaven. It is a hard work which God has given to the sons of men to be troubled with.


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I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun. And see, it is all for nothing. It is like trying to catch the wind.


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I said to myself, "I have received more wisdom than all who were over Jerusalem before me. My mind has seen much wisdom and much learning."


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And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know what is crazy and foolish. I saw that this also is like trying to catch the wind.


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I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with things that are fun. So have a good time." But see, this also was for nothing.


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I tried to find in my mind how to make my body happy with wine, yet at the same time having my mind lead me with wisdom. I tried to find how to take hold of what is foolish, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven during the few years of their lives.


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I bought men and women servants, and had other servants who were born in my house. I had more flocks and cattle than anyone before me in Jerusalem.


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I gathered for myself silver and gold and the riches of kings and lands. I got for myself male and female singers, and kept many women who acted as my wives, the joy of man.


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Then I became great, greater than all who lived before me in Jerusalem. And my wisdom stayed with me.


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Whatever my eyes wanted I did not keep away from them. I did not keep my heart from anything that was pleasing, for my heart was pleased with all my work. This was my pay for all my work.


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Then I thought about all that my hands had done, and the work I had done. I saw that it was all for nothing. It was like trying to catch the wind, and there was nothing to get for it under the sun.


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So I turned to think about wis-dom and what is crazy and foolish. For what can the man do who comes after the king, except what has already been done?


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The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I know that one thing will happen to both of them.


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Then I said to myself, "What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise?" So I said to myself, "This also is for nothing."


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For the wise man will not be remembered forever any more than the fool. All will be forgotten in the days to come. The wise man dies just like the fool!


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So I hated life. For the work which had been done under the sun brought sorrow to me. Because everything is for nothing and is like trying to catch the wind.


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I hated what came from all my work which I had done under the sun. For I must leave it to the man who will come after me.


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And who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will rule over all that I have worked for by acting with wisdom under the sun. This also is for nothing.


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For here is a man who has worked with wisdom, much learning, and an able hand. Yet he must give this to one who has not worked for it. This also is for nothing, and very wrong.


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For his work brings pain and sorrow all his days. Even during the night his mind does not rest. This also is for nothing.


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There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and find joy in his work. I have seen that this also is from the hand of God.


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For God has given wisdom and much learning and joy to the person who is good in God's eyes. But to the sinner He has given the work of gathering and getting many riches together to give to the one who pleases God. This also is for nothing, like trying to catch the wind.


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There is a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to kiss, and a time to turn from kissing.


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He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has put thoughts of the forever in man's mind, yet man cannot understand the work God has done from the beginning to the end.


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I know that everything God does will last forever. There is nothing to add to it, and nothing to take from it. God works so that men will honor Him with fear.


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That which is, already has been. And that which will be, has already been. For God allows the same things to happen again.


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Also I have seen under the sun that in the place of what is right and fair there is sin. And in the place of what is right and good there is wrongdoing.


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I said to myself, "God will judge both the man who is right and good, and the sinful man." For there is a time for everything to be done and a time for every work.


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I said to myself about the sons of men, "God is testing them to show them that they are like animals."


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For the same thing is to happen to both the sons of men and animals. As one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and to be a man is no better than to be an animal. Because all is for nothing.


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So I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be happy in his work, for that is all he can do. Who can bring him to see what will happen after him?


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Then I saw all the bad powers that were ruling under the sun. I saw the tears of the people who were suffering under these powers, with no one to comfort them. Those who made it hard for them had the power. But the people had no one to comfort them.


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But better than both is the one who has never been, who has never seen the wrong that is done under the sun.


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I have seen that all the work done is because a man wants what his neighbor has. This also is for nothing, like trying to catch the wind.


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There was a certain man who lived alone. He did not have a son or a brother. Yet he worked all the time. His eyes were never happy with the riches he had, and he never asked, "For whom am I working and why am I keeping myself from happiness?" This also is for nothing. It is work that brings sorrow.


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For if one of them falls, the other can help him up. But it is hard for the one who falls when there is no one to lift him up.


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One man is able to have power over him who is alone, but two can stand against him. It is not easy to break a rope made of three strings.


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A poor and wise boy is better than an old and foolish king who will no longer listen to words of wisdom.


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I have seen all the living under the sun gather to the side of the boy who becomes king in his place.


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There was no end to all the people. He ruled over all of them. Yet those who come later will not be happy with him. For this also is for nothing, like trying to catch the wind.


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Watch your steps as you go to the house of God. Go near and listen but do not give the gift of fools. For they do not know they are sinning.


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Do not hurry to speak or be in a hurry as you think what to tell God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth. So let your words be few.


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When you make a promise to God, do not be late in paying it, for He is not pleased with fools. Pay what you promise to pay!


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Do not let your mouth cause you to sin. And do not say to the one sent from God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of what you said, and destroy the work of your hands?


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In one part of a land if you see a bad power held over the poor, and what is right and fair and good taken away, do not be surprised by what you see. For one leader watches over another leader, and more important leaders watch over them.


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He who loves money will never have enough money to make him happy. It is the same for the one who loves to get many things. This also is for nothing.


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When there are more good things, there are also more people to eat them. So what does their owner get except to see them with his eyes?


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The sleep of the working man is pleasing, if he eats little or much. But the full stomach of the rich man does not let him sleep.


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There is something very wrong which I have seen under the sun: Riches being kept by the owner and he is hurt by them.


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When those riches are lost because he used them in a wrong way, and he had become the father of a son, there was nothing left for him.


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A man comes from his mother without clothing, and he will go as he came. He will take nothing from his work that he can carry in his hand.


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This also is very wrong: As a man is born, this is the way he will leave. So what does the man get who works for the wind?


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This is what I have seen to be good and right: to eat and to drink and be happy in all the work one does under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him. For this is his pay.


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As for every man to whom God has given riches and many good things, He has also given him the power to eat from them, receive his pay and be happy in his work. This is the gift of God.


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God gives a man riches and many good things and honor, so that he has everything he wants. But He does not allow him to have joy from them, for a stranger has joy from them. This is for nothing, and is very bad.


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If a man becomes the father of a hundred children and lives many years until he is very old, but he is not happy with good things, and is not buried as he should be, then I say that the child who dies before it is born is shown more favor than he.


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Even if the other man lives a thousand years twice and does not find joy in good things, do not all go to the same place?


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For what is better for the wise man than for the fool? And what good does the poor man have who knows how to walk among the living?


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What the eyes see is better than what there is a desire for. This also is for nothing, like trying to catch the wind.


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Whatever has come to be has already been given a name. It is known what man is, and that he cannot argue with one who is stronger than he.


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For who knows what is good for a man during his life, during the few years of his living for nothing? He will spend them like a shadow. For who can tell a man what will happen after he is gone under the sun?


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A good name is better than oil of much worth. And the day of one's death is better than the day of one's birth.


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It is better to go to a house of sorrow than to go to a house of much eating. For this is the end of all men, and the living takes it to heart.


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The heart of the wise is in the house of sorrow, while the heart of fools is in the house where there is fun.


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For the laughing of a fool is like the sound of a thorn bush burning under a pot. This also is for nothing.


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For sure a bad power makes the wise man angry. And to get paid in secret for wrong-doing destroys the heart.


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The end of something is better than its beginning. Not giving up in spirit is better than being proud in spirit.


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For wisdom keeps one from danger just as money keeps one from danger. But the good thing about much learning is that wisdom keeps alive those who have it.


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In the day of well-being be happy. But in the day of trouble, think about this: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man can never know what is going to happen.


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In the days of my life I have seen everything, but my life has been worth nothing. There is a right and good man who is destroyed while he is right and good. And there is a sinful man who lives long in his wrong-doing.


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It is good that you take hold of one thing, and do not let go of the other. For the one who fears God will have both of them.


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I turned my mind to know, to find out, and to look for wisdom and the reason of things, and to know how sinful it is to be foolish, and that being mad is foolish.


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And I found that the woman whose heart is traps and nets, and whose hands are chains is more bitter than death. He who pleases God will get away from her. But the sinner will be taken in by her.


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"See, I have found this out," says the Preacher. "I have added one thing to another to find the reason,


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which I am still looking for but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all these.


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Who is like the wise man? And who understands the meaning of anything? A man's wisdom makes his face shine. The hard look on his face is changed.


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No man has the right and power to hold back the wind with the wind, or power over the day of his death. No man is free to leave in the time of war. And sin will not take the sinner out of trouble.


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All this I have seen while thinking about every work that has been done under the sun. There is a time when one man has power over another man and makes him suffer.


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Then I saw the sinful buried, who used to go in and out of the holy place. They are soon forgotten in the city where they did this. This also is for nothing.


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Because a sinful act is not punished in a hurry, so the hearts of the sons of men are given completely over to sin.


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Even though a sinner does sinful things a hundred times and lives a long time, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, and let others know they fear God.


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But it will not go well for the sinful man. His days will not be long like a shadow, because he does not fear God.


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There is something that is of no use on the earth: There are right and good men who have the same thing happen to them that happens to those who do sinful things. And there are sinful men who have the same thing happen to them that happens to those who are right and good. I say this also is for nothing.


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So I say a man should enjoy himself. For there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and drink and be happy. For this will be with him in his work through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.


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I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the work which has been done on the earth, not sleeping day or night.


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And I saw all the work of God and knew that man cannot even think of all that is done under the sun. Even if man tries hard to find out, he will not be able to. Even if a wise man says he knows, he does not.


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For I have thought of all this, how good and wise men and their works are in the hand of God. Man does not know if love or hate is waiting for them.


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It is the same for all. The same thing will happen to both the man who is good and the man who is sinful. The same thing will happen to the clean and the unclean, and to the man who gives a gift on the altar and to the man who does not. As the good man is, so is the sinner. As the man who swears is, so is the one who is afraid to swear.


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This is a bad thing in all that is done under the sun, that the same thing happens to all men. Also the hearts of men are sinful and crazy all their lives. Then they join the dead.


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But there is hope for the one who is among the living. For sure a live dog is better off than a dead lion.


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For the living know they will die. But the dead know nothing, and they will receive nothing further, for they are forgotten.


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Their love and hate and desire have already died. They will no longer have a part in what is done under the sun.


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Go and eat your bread in happiness. Drink your wine with a happy heart. For God has already been pleased with your works.


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Enjoy life with the woman you love all the days of your life that will soon be over. God has given you these days under the sun. This is the good you will get in life and in your work which you have done under the sun.


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Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your strength. For there is no work or planning or learning or wisdom in the place of the dead where you are going.


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Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the fast and the battle to the men of war. Bread is not to the wise and riches are not to the men of understanding. Favor is not to able workers. Time comes and goes and things happen for no reason to them all.


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Man does not know his time. Like fish caught in a bad net, and birds caught in a trap, so men are trapped at a bad time when trouble comes upon them when they do not expect it.


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There was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it. His army gathered around it and built a large wall to help them in battle against it.


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But a poor wise man was found in the city, and he brought the city out of its trouble by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.


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So I said, "Wisdom is better than strength." But the wisdom of the poor man is hated and his words are not carried out.


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Dead flies make a perfume maker's oil smell bad. So does acting a little foolish weigh more than wisdom and honor.


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A wise man's heart leads him toward the right. But the foolish man's heart leads him toward the left.


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Even when the fool walks on the road, he has little understanding and shows everyone that he is a fool.


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If the ruler becomes angry with you, do not back away. If you are quiet, much wrong-doing may be put aside.


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If the ax is not sharp and he does not make it sharp, then he must use more strength. Wisdom helps one to do well.


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If the snake bites before it is put under a man's power, it will not be of help to the man who would have power over it.


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Yet the fool speaks many words. No man knows what will happen. And who can tell him what will come after him?


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Happy are you, O land, when your king is from parents who have ruled, and your princes eat at the right time, for strength and not to get drunk.


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When men are lazy, the roof begins to fall in. When they will do no work, the rain comes into the house.


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Do not curse a king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich man in your bedroom because a bird of the heavens will carry your voice and an animal with wings will make it known.


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Share what you have with seven, or even with eight, for you do not know what trouble may come on the earth.


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If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.


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He who watches the wind will not plant his seeds. And he who looks at the clouds will not gather the food.


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Just as you do not know the path of the wind or how the bones are made of a child yet to be born, so you do not know the work of God Who makes all things.


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Plant your seeds in the morning, and do not be lazy in the evening. You do not know which will grow well, the morning or evening planting, or if both of them alike will do well.


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If a man should live many years, let him have joy in them all. Yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is for nothing.


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Young man, be filled with joy while you are young. And let your heart be happy while you are a young man. Follow the ways of your heart and the desires of your eyes. But know that God will judge you for all these things.


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So put away trouble from your heart, and put away pain from your body. Because the years when you were a child and the best years of your life are going by fast.


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Remember also your Maker while you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years when you will say, "I have no joy in them,"


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This will be the day when the men who watch the house shake in fear. Strong men bow. Those who grind will stop because they are few. And the eyes of those who look through windows will not see well.


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The doors on the street will be shut when the sound of the grinding is no more. One will rise up at the sound of a bird. All the daughters of song will sing very low.


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Men will be afraid of a high place and of fears on the road. Flowers will grow on the almond tree. The grasshopper will pull himself along. And desire will be at an end. For man will go to his home that lasts forever, while people filled with sorrow go about in the street.


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Remember Him before the silver rope of life is broken and the gold dish is crushed. Remember Him before the pot by the well is broken and the wheel by the water-hole is crushed.


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Besides being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people much learning. He thought about, and looked for, and put together many wise sayings.


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The words of wise men are like a stick. Their gathered sayings are like well-driven nails given by one Shepherd.


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But more than this, my son, be careful. There is no end to the writing of many books and reading many of them makes the body tired.


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The last word, after all has been heard, is: Honor God and obey His Laws. This is all that every person must do.


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Take me away with you, and let us run together. The king has brought me into his room. "We will have joy and be glad because of you. We will praise your love more than wine. They are right to love you.


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"I am dark but beautiful, O people of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.


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Do not look hard at me because I am dark, for the sun has burned me. My mother's sons were angry with me, and made me take care of the grape-fields. But I have not taken care of my own grape-field.


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Tell me, O you whom my soul loves. In what field do you feed your flock? Where do your sheep lie down at noon? Why should I need to look for you beside the flocks of your friends?"


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"If you do not know, most beautiful among women, follow the path of the flock. And let your young goats eat in the field beside the tents of the shepherds.


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"Like a fruit tree among many trees, so is my loved one among the young men. With much joy I sat down in his shadow. And his fruit was sweet to my taste.


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Make me strong with cakes of dried grapes. Make me strong again with fruit, because I am sick with love.


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"I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the field, you must not wake up my love until it is pleasing to her."


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"Listen, it is the voice of my loved one! See, he is coming! He is running over the mountains, jumping across the hills.


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My love is like a gazelle or a young deer. See, he is standing behind our wall. He is looking through the windows, through the wood cross-pieces.


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The flowers are coming through the ground. The time for singing has come. The voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land.


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The fig tree has its fruits. The flowers on the vines spread their sweet smell. Get up, my love, my beautiful one, and come with me!


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O my dove, hidden in the rock, in the secret place in the mountain-side, let me see you. Let me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet, and you are beautiful.


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'Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are destroying our grape-fields, for the flowers are on the vines.


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Until the morning comes and the shadows hurry away, turn, my love. Be like a gazelle or a young deer on the mountains of Bether.' "


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"On my bed night after night I looked for him whom my soul loves. I looked for him but did not find him.


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'I must get up now and go about the city, in the streets and in the open places. I must look for him whom my soul loves.' I looked for him but did not find him.


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I had just passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held on to him and would not let him go, until I had brought him to my mother's house, and into the room of her who gave birth to me."


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"I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the deer of the field, you must not wake up my love until it is pleasing to her."


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"What is this coming up from the desert like smoke? It has the smell of special perfumes, with all the perfumes of the traders.


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All of them use the sword and are very able in war. Each man has his sword at his side, keeping watch against trouble in the night.


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He made its long pieces of silver, its back of gold, and its seat of purple cloth. The inside of it was made beautiful by the daughters of Jerusalem.


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Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon as he wears the crown his mother put on his head on the day of his wedding, on the day his heart was glad."


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"How beautiful you are, my love! How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your face-covering. Your hair is like a flock of goats coming down from Mount Gilead.


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Your teeth are like a flock of sheep that have just had their wool cut and have come up from their washing. All have given birth to two lambs, and not one among them has lost her young.


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Your lips are like a bright red string. Your mouth is beautiful. The sides of your face are like a piece of a pomegranate under your covering.


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Your neck is like the tower of David, built with beauty. On it hang a thousand battle-coverings, the coverings of men of war.


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Your two breasts are like two young deer, the two young ones of a gazelle, that eat among the lilies.


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Until the morning comes and the shadows hurry away, I will go to the mountain of perfume plants, to the hill of special perfume.


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Come with me from Lebanon, my bride. May you come with me from Lebanon. Travel down from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the homes of lions, from the mountain homes of leopards.


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You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride. You have made my heart beat faster with one look from your eyes, with one piece of the beautiful chain around your neck.


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How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the sweet smell of your oils than all kinds of spices!


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Honey comes from your lips, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue. And the sweet smell of your clothing is like the smell of Lebanon.


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There is nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices.


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"Wake up, O north wind! Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden so the sweet smells will spread far. May my loved one come into his garden and eat its best fruits."


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"I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my perfume with my spice. I have eaten my honey and the comb. I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat and drink, friends. Drink much, O lovers."


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"I was asleep, but my heart was awake. A voice! My love was knocking: 'Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is wet from the water on the grass in the early morning. My hair is wet from the night.'


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I have taken off my dress. How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them dirty again?


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I got up to let my love in, and perfume fell from my hands. Wet perfume fell from my fingers onto the lock.


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I opened the door to my love, but he had already gone! My heart went out to him as he spoke. I looked for him, but did not find him. I called him, but he did not answer me.


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The watchmen of the city found me. They beat me and hurt me. The watchmen of the walls took my coat from me.


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I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my loved one, you must tell him that I am weak with love."


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"What is your loved one more than another loved one, O most beautiful among women? What is your loved one more than another loved one, that you tell us to do this?"


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His cheeks are like beds of spices, with sweet-smelling plants. His lips are like lily flowers giving off drops of perfume.


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His hands are strong pieces of gold set with stones of much worth. His body is made of ivory set with stones of much worth.


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His legs are pillars of clay put on bases of pure gold. He looks like Lebanon, as beautiful as the cedar trees.


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His mouth is very sweet, everything about him is pleasing. This is my loved one and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."


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"Where has your loved one gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your loved one turned, that we may look for him with you?"


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"My love has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices. He has gone to feed his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.


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"You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my love, as beautiful as Jerusalem. You are to be feared as an army with flags.


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Turn your eyes away from me, for they trouble me. Your hair is like a flock of goats that has come down from Gilead.


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Your teeth are like a flock of sheep which has come up from the washing. All of them give birth to two lambs at a time, and not one of them has lost her young.


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There are sixty queens, and eighty women kept who act like wives, and there are too many young women to number who have never had a man.


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But my dove, my perfect one, is special. She is her mother's only daughter. She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. The young women saw her and knew she was honored. The queens and the women who act as wives praised her, saying,


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'Who is this that looks out like the first light of day? She is as beautiful as the full moon, as pure as the sun. She is to be feared as an army with flags.' "


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"I went down to the field of nut trees to see the flowers of the valley, to see if the vines or the pomegranates had flowers.


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"Return, return, O Shulammite! Return, return, that we may look upon you!" "Why should you look upon the Shulammite, as upon a dance in front of two armies?"


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"How beautiful are your feet in their shoes, O daughter! Your legs are like stones of much worth, the work of an able workman.


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Your navel is like a beautiful glass full of wine. Your stomach is like gathered grain with lilies around it.


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Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus.


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Your head crowns you like Carmel. Your flowing hair is like strings of purple. The king is held by the beauty of your hair.


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I said, 'I will go to the top of the palm tree. I will take hold of its branches.' O, may your breasts be like the fruit of the vine, and the sweet smell of your breath like pleasing fruit.


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And may your mouth be like the best wine." "For my love, it is smooth going down, flowing through the lips while sleeping.


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Let us get up early and go to the grape-fields. Let us see if the buds are on the vines, and if its flowers have opened. Let us see if the pomegranates have flowers. There I will give you my love.


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The mandrakes have given out their sweet smell. And over our doors are all the best fruits, both new and old, which I have saved for you, my love.


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"O that you were like a brother to me, who nursed from my mother's breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would hate me.


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I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother, who used to teach me. I would give you wine with spices to drink, made from my pomegranates.


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"Who is this coming up from the desert, resting on her loved one?" "I woke you up under the fruit tree. There your mother suffered and gave birth to you.


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Put me over your heart and on your arm, never to be taken off. For love is as strong as death. Jealousy is as hard as the grave. Its bright light is like the light of fire, the very fire of the Lord.


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Many waters cannot put out love. Rivers cannot cover it. If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would all be hated."


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"We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What should we do for our sister on the day when she is promised in marriage?


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If she is a wall, we should build on her a tower of silver. But if she is a door, we should cover her with strong pieces of cedar wood."


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"Solomon has a grape-field at Baal-hamon. He put the grape-field into the care of certain men. Each one was to bring 1,000 pieces of silver for its fruit.


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My own grape-field is for myself. The 1,000 pieces of silver are for you, Solomon. And 200 are for those who take care of its fruit."


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This is the special dream of Isaiah the son of Amoz, about Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the rule of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.


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Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: "I have brought up and have taken care of sons, but they have turned against Me.


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An ox knows its owner. A donkey knows where to find the food its owner gives it. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand."


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O sinful nation, people weighed down with sin, children of those who do wrong, sons who act in a sinful way! They have left the Lord. They have hated the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him.


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Where will you be punished again, since you still fight against the Lord? Your whole head is sick, and your whole heart is weak.


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From the bottom of the foot even to the head, there is no good part. There are only sores from beatings and open sores. They are not taken care of or cov-ered or made soft with oil.


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Your land lies waste. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers are eating the food of your fields in front of you. It lies waste, as destroyed by strangers.


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The people of Zion are left like a tent in a grape-field, like a watchman's house in a vegetable field, like a city closed in by armies.


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If the Lord of All had not left some people, we would have all been destroyed like those who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.


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Hear the Word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah.


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"What are your many gifts given in worship to Me?" says the Lord. "I have had enough burnt gifts of rams and the fat of cattle. And I am not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.


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Do not bring your gifts of no worth any more. Your special perfume is a hated thing to Me. The new moon and Day of Rest, this calling together of the people, I cannot put up with. I cannot put up with your sin and your meetings of worship.


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I hate your new moons and your special suppers. They have become heavy upon Me. I am tired of carrying them.


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So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Even if you pray many times, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.


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"Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Take your sinful actions from My eyes. Stop doing sinful things.


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Learn to do good. Look for what is right and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for people. Stand up for the rights of those who have no parents. Help the woman whose husband has died.


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"Come now, let us think about this together," says the Lord. "Even though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snow. Even though they are dark red, they will be like wool.


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But if you are not willing and turn against Me, you will be destroyed by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.


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The faithful city has become like a woman who sells the use of her body. At one time she was full of what was right and fair! Those who are right and good lived in her, but now those who kill.


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Your rulers have turned against what is right. They are the friends of robbers. Every one loves to get pay in secret for wrong-doing, and they run after gifts. They do not stand for the rights of those who have no parents. And they never hear the cry for help of the woman whose husband has died.


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So the Lord God of All, the Powerful One of Israel, says, "I will put an end to those who fight against Me. I will punish those who hate Me.


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I will turn My hand against you and burn what is of no worth in you. And I will take away from you all that is not pure.


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Then I will give you judges as at the first, and your wise men as at the beginning. After that you will be called the city that is right and good, a faithful city."


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Zion will be saved by being fair. Those who are sorry for their sins and turn from them will be saved by being right and good.


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But wrong-doers and sinners will be crushed together. Those who turn away from the Lord will come to an end.


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For you will be ashamed of the oaks where you worshiped. You will be ashamed of the gardens you have chosen.


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The strong man will become easy to burn, and his work also a fire. They will burn together, and there will be no one to put the fire out.


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In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be the most important of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills. All the nations will come to it.


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Many people will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. Then He will teach us about His ways, that we may walk in His paths. For the Law will go out from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem."


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He will judge between the nations, and will decide for many people. And they will beat their swords into plows, and their spears into knives for cutting vines. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will not learn about war anymore.


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For You have left Your people, the family of Jacob, because they are filled with the sinful ways of the East. They use secret ways to tell the future like the Philistines. And they make agreements with the children of strangers.


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Their land is filled with silver and gold. There is no end to their riches. Their land is filled with horses also. And there is no end to their warwagons.


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Their land is filled with false gods. They worship the work of their hands, that which their fingers have made.


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So pride has been taken away from the poor man, and important men have been put to shame. Do not forgive them.


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Go into the rock and hide in the dust from the anger of the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power.


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The proud look of man will be put to shame. The pride of men will be taken away. And the Lord alone will be honored in that day.


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On that day the Lord of All will be against everyone who is proud and feels important, and against all who are honored. They will be put to shame.


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He will be against all the cedar trees of Lebanon that are tall and honored, and against all the oak trees of Bashan.


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The pride of man will be taken away. What men honor will be put to shame. The Lord alone will be honored in that day.


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Men will go into the caves of the rocks and into holes of the earth because of the anger of the Lord and the shining-greatness of His power when He rises up to shake the earth.


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In that day men will take their false gods of silver and gold which they made for themselves to worship and will throw them away to the moles and the bats.


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They will go into the caves of the rocks and mountains. They will try to hide from the anger of the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power, when He rises up to shake the earth.


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See, the Lord, the Lord God of All, is going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah all they have to keep themselves alive and safe, all the bread and all the water.


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He will take away the strong man, the man of war, the man who judges, the man who tells what will happen in the future, the man who uses secret ways, and the leader.


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He will take away the captain of fifty, the man of honor, the wise man, the able workman, and the one who uses secret powers.


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The people will make it hard for each other. Each one will hurt the other, and each one will be hurt by his neighbor. The younger will show anger toward the older. And the man who is not respected will show anger toward the man of honor.


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A man will take hold of his brother in his father's house, saying, "You have a coat. You will be our ruler. This destroyed city will be under your rule."


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In that day he will call out, "I can not be of help to you. For in my house there is no bread or coat. You should not choose me to be ruler of the people."


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For Jerusalem has no strength, and Judah has fallen, because their speaking and their actions are against the Lord. They have turned against His shining-greatness.


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The look on their faces speaks against them. They show their sin like Sodom. They do not even hide it. It is bad for them! For they have brought trouble upon themselves.


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Tell those who are right and good that it will go well for them. For they will enjoy the fruit of what they do.


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It will be bad for the sinful man! It will not go well for him, for what he has done will be done to him.


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O My people! Children make it hard for them. And women rule over them. O My people! Your leaders lead you in the wrong way. You do not know which path to take.


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The Lord judges the leaders and rulers of His people: "It is you who have destroyed the grape-field. What had belonged to the poor is in your houses.


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What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the faces of the poor?" says the Lord God of All.


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The Lord said, "The daughters of Zion are proud. They walk with heads held high and a wrong desire in their eyes. They walk with short steps, making noise with the chains on their ankles.


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So the Lord will make sores come upon the heads of the daugh-ters of Zion, and take the hair from their head.


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Instead of sweet perfume there will be a bad smell. Instead of a belt there will be a rope. Instead of well set hair there will be no hair. Instead of fine clothes they will wear cloth made from hair. And there will be burnt marks instead of beauty.


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Seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes. Only let us be called by your name. Take away our shame!"


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In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and shining with greatness. The fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of those of Israel who are still alive.


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He who is left in Zion and stays in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been written down among the living in Jerusalem.


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The Lord will wash away the sin of the daughters of Zion. He will wash away the blood that was shed in Jerusalem, by the spirit of punishment and the spirit of fire.


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Then the Lord will cover the whole land of Mount Zion and her people with a cloud of smoke during the day, and a bright fire that shines during the night. The Lord's shining-greatness will cover everything.


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It will be a covering from the heat during the day and it will keep the people safe from the storm and the rain.


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Let me sing for my loved one a love song about His grape-field: My loved one had a grape-field on a hill that grows much fruit.


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He dug all around it and took away its stones, and planted it with the best vine. He built a tower in the center of it, and cut out a place in it for crushing grapes. Then He expected it to give good grapes, but it gave only wild grapes.


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What more was there to do for My grape-field that I have not done for it? When I expected it to give good grapes, why did it give wild grapes?


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Now I will tell you what I am going to do to My grape-field. I will take away its fence and it will be destroyed. I will break down its wall and it will be crushed under foot.


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I will make it a waste. It will not be taken care of, and thistles and thorns will come up. I will also tell the clouds not to rain on it."


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For the grape-field of the Lord of All is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the vines He planted. So He looked for what is right and fair, but He saw blood poured out. He looked for what is right and good, but He heard a cry of those in trouble.


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It is bad for those who join house to house and field to field until there is no empty space, and you have to live alone in the land.


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The Lord of All has sworn in my ears, "For sure, many houses will be laid waste. Large and beautiful houses will be empty.


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For ten fields of vines will give only eleven large bottles of wine. And 110 jars of seed will give only eleven jars of grain."


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It is bad for those who get up early in the morning to run after strong drink! It is bad for those who stay up late in the evening that they may get drunk!


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They have harps, a noise-maker, a horn, and wine at their special suppers. But they do not think about the works of the Lord. They do not think of the work of His hands.


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So My people are taken away to strange lands because they have not been wise. Their men of honor are dying because they are hungry. Their people are dried up because they are thirsty.


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So the grave has become larger and has opened its mouth wide. And Jerusalem's greatness, her people, her sounds of wild joy, and those who are happy with sin go down into it.


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Man's pride will be taken away. Important men will be put to shame. The eyes of the proud also will be put to shame.


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But the Lord of All will be honored in what is right and fair. The holy God will show Himself holy in what is right and good.


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It is bad for those who pull sin along with ropes of lies, who pull wrong-doing as with a wagon rope,


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who say, "Let Him hurry. Let Him be quick to do His work, that we may see it. Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel be done, that we may know it!"


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It is bad for those who call what is sinful good, and good sinful, who say dark is light and light is dark, who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!


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They take money in secret for saying that bad people are good. And they take away the rights of those who are not guilty.


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So, as fire destroys what is left of the cut grain and dry grass falls into the fire, so their root will waste away and their flower blow away like dust. For they have turned away from the Law of the Lord of All. They have hated the Word of the Holy One of Israel.


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Because of this the anger of the Lord has burned against His people. He has put out His hand against them and destroyed them. The mountains shook. Their dead bodies lay like waste in the center of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away but His hand is still put out.


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He will raise up flags as a sign to the nations far away. He will call for them from the ends of the earth, and they will hurry to come.


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Not one of them is tired or falls. No one sleeps. Not a belt is loosened at the waist, or a shoe string broken.


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Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The feet of their horses are like hard stone. And the wheels of their warwagons are like a strong-wind.


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Their noise is like that of a female lion. They sound like young lions. They make an angry noise as they take their food, and carry it away where no one can take it from them.


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In that day they will make an angry noise over it like the noise of the sea. If one looks to the land, he will see darkness and trouble. Even the light is made dark by its clouds.


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In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and honored. His long clothing spread out and filled the house of God.


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Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.


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One called out to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of All. The whole earth is full of His shining-greatness."


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And the base of the doorways shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filled with smoke.


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Then I said, "It is bad for me, for I am destroyed! Because I am a man whose lips are unclean. And I live among a people whose lips are unclean. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of All."


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Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal which he had taken from the altar using a special tool.


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He touched my mouth with it, and said, "See, this has touched your lips, and your guilt is taken away. Your sin is forgiven."


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Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom should I send? Who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"


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He said, "Go, and tell these people, 'You hear and hear but do not understand. You look and look but do not see.'


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Make the hearts of these people hard. May their ears hear little and their eyes see little. Or they will see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn again and be healed."


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Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are destroyed and empty, and until houses are without people and the land is laid waste.


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Yet one tenth part of the people will stay in it. But it will be burned again, like an oak tree whose roots are still there when it is cut down. The holy seed is all that will be left <n>(of Israel)</n>."


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In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to make war against Jerusalem. But they could not win the battle.


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When the family of David was told, "Syria has joined with Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as trees shake with the wind.


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Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Now you and your son Shear-jashub go out to meet Ahaz at the end of the ditch of the upper pool on the road to the Fuller's Field.


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Say to him, 'Be careful and quiet. Do not be afraid or weak in your heart because of these two pieces of burnt and smoking wood. Do not be afraid of the burning anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah.


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"Let us go up against Judah and make the people very afraid. Let us break open its walls, and make the son of Tabeel its king."


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For the head of Syria is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin. <n>(Within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be destroyed so that it is no longer a people.)</n>


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The head of Ephraim is Samaria. And the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, for sure you will not last." ' "


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"Ask for something special to see from the Lord your God. Ask for it to be as deep as the place of the dead or as high as heaven."


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Then Isaiah said, "Listen now, O people of David! Is it too small a thing for you to test men, that you will test my God as well?


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So the Lord Himself will give you a special thing to see: A young woman, who has never had a man, will give birth to a son. She will give Him the name Immanuel.


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He will eat milk and honey when He knows enough to have nothing to do with wrong-doing and chooses good.


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For before the boy knows to turn away from what is bad and choose good, the land whose two kings you are afraid of will be left empty."


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The Lord will bring upon you and your people and your father's house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim was divided from Judah. He is going to bring the king of Assyria on you.


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In that day the Lord will call for flies that are in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, and for bees that are in the land of Assyria.


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They will all come and stay in the narrow valleys, on the hill-sides, on the thorn bushes, and in the fields.


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In that day the Lord will use the king of Assyria from the other side of the Euphrates to cut off the hair from your head, your legs, and your face.


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And because they give much milk, he will have all he can use. For everyone who is left in the land will have milk and honey to eat.


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In that day, every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, will be thistles and thorns.


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Men will go there with bows and arrows because all the land will be covered with thistles and thorns.


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As for all the hills which used to be cared for as a garden, you will not go there for fear of thistles and thorns. They will become a place where cattle feed and where sheep will run.


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Then the Lord said to me, "Take a large piece of stone and write on it in easy-to-read letters: 'They hurry to get what they can. They run to pick up what is left.' "


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And I took men who could be trusted to watch the writing, Uriah the religious leader and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.


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Then I went to the woman who spoke for God, and she was able to have a child, and gave birth to a son. Then the Lord said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hashbaz.


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For before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and everything of any worth in Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."


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"These people have turned away from the gentle, flowing waters of Shiloah, and find joy in Rezin and the son of Remaliah.


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So now, see, the Lord is ready to bring on them the strong and powerful waters of the Euphrates, the king of Assyria and all his greatness. It will rise up high and cause a flood.


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Then it will flow into Judah. It will flood and pass through, and come up even to the neck. And the spread of its wings will cover the width of your land, O Immanuel.


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"Be broken, O people, and be afraid. Listen, all you far places of the earth. Get ready, yet be afraid. Get ready, yet be afraid.


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Make a plan, but it will come to nothing. Give your plan, but it will not be done. For God is with us."


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For the Lord said this to me with great power, and told me not to walk in the way of these people. He said,


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It is the Lord of All Whom you should think of as holy. Let Him be the One you fear. He is the One to be afraid of.


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Then He will become a holy place. But He will be a stone of trouble and a rock to fall over for both houses of Israel. He will be a net and a trap for the people of Jerusalem.


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I will wait for the Lord Who is hiding His face from the family of Jacob. I trust Him and hope in Him.


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See, I and the children the Lord has given me are something special to see and a wonder in Israel from the Lord of All, Who lives on Mount Zion.


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When they say to you, "Ask those who speak in secret with the spirits of the dead and who use their secret ways," should not a people ask their God? Should they speak to the dead for the living?


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Tell them to put their faith in the teaching and the Law. If they do not speak what this word says, it is because they have no light in them.


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They will pass through the land troubled and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse their king and their God as they look up.


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Then they will look to the earth and see trouble and darkness and suffering and will be driven out into darkness.


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But there will be no more heavy hearts for those who were suffering. In the past God allowed the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali to be put to shame. In the future He will honor Galilee where those who are not Jews live and where the road to the sea is. It is on the other side of the Jordan.


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The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. The light will shine on those living in the land of dark shadows.


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You will make the nation great. You will give them great joy. They will be glad before You, as with the joy of gathering time, and as men have joy when they divide the riches taken after a battle.


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For You will break the heavy load from their neck and shoulders. You will break the power of those who made it hard for them, as at the battle of Midian.


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For every shoe of the soldiers in the battle, and every coat rolled in blood, will be burned in the fire.


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For to us a Child will be born. To us a Son will be given. And the rule of the nations will be on His shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Teacher, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.


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There will be no end to His rule and His peace, upon the throne of David and over his nation. He will build it to last and keep it strong with what is right and fair and good from that time and forever. The work of the Lord of All will do this.


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And all the people will know it, that is, Ephraim and the people of Samaria. They say with a proud spirit in their hearts,


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"The clay blocks have fallen down, but we will build again with smooth stones. The sycamore trees have been cut down, but we will put cedar trees in their place."


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So the Lord brings men from Rezin to fight against them. He makes those who hate them move to action.


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The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west swallow Israel with an open mouth. Even with this, the Lord's anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.


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So the Lord will cut off the head and tail from Israel, both palm branch and river-grass in one day.


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For those who lead these people are leading them from the right way, and those who are led by them are going the wrong way.


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So the Lord is not pleased with their young men. He does not have pity on their children who have no parents or on their women whose husbands have died. Every one of them is without God and does sinful things. Every mouth speaks foolish words. Even with all this, His anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.


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For sin burns like a fire. It burns thistles and thorns. It sets the woods on fire, and they go up in smoke.


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The land is burned up by the anger of the Lord, and the people are like wood for the fire. No man shows pity on his brother.


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They take what is on the right hand but still are hungry. They eat what is in the left hand but are not filled. Each of them eats the flesh of his own children.


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Manasseh goes against Ephraim, and Ephraim goes against Manasseh. And together they are against Judah. Even with all this, the Lord's anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.


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It is bad for those who make laws that are not fair. It is bad for those who make it hard for people.


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They keep what is right and fair from those in need. They take away the rights of the poor of My people. They take from wives after their husbands die, and take what belongs to those who have no parents.


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Now what will you do in the day of punishment, when the destroying power comes from far away? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches?


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Nothing will be left to do but to bow down among those who are being taken to prison, or fall among those who are killed. Even with all this, His anger does not turn away. His hand is still held out.


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I sent it against a nation without God, against the people of My anger. I sent it to take away the riches of battle, and to step hard on the people like dirt in the streets.


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But this is not what is in Assyria's mind. It does not plan this in its heart. It plans to destroy and to cut off many nations.


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My hand took the nations of the false gods, whose false gods were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria.


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So when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the proud heart of the king of Assyria and his proud spirit.


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For the king has said, "I did this by the power of my hand and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. I moved the land-marks of the people and took their riches. Like a strong man I have brought down those who sat on thrones.


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My hand has taken the riches of the people like one taken from a nest. I gathered all the earth as one gathers eggs that have been left. And there was not one that moved its wing or opened its mouth or made a sound."


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Can an ax say it is more important than the one who uses it? Is the saw more important than the one who saws with it? A stick of wood does not lift up a man. A man lifts up a stick.


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So the Lord, the Lord of All, will send a wasting disease among the strong Assyrian soldiers. Under the king's greatness a fire will be started that will burn and burn.


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The light of Israel and his Holy One will become a fire. And it will burn and destroy his thorns and thistles in one day.


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The Lord will destroy the greatness of the trees and the fields that give much fruit, both soul and body. It will be as when a sick man wastes away.


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In that day those of Israel and of the family of Jacob who are still alive will never again trust in the one who destroyed them. But they will trust in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.


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Even if there are as many Jews as the sand by the sea, only a few of them will return. The plan is to destroy them and it will be right and complete.


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So the Lord, the Lord of All, says, "O My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they come to fight against you as the Egyptians did.


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For in a very little while My anger against you will come to an end and it will be turned to destroy them."


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The Lord of All will punish them like He punished Midian at the rock of Oreb. His special stick will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt.


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In that day the Assyrian's load will be taken from your shoulders and neck, and it will be broken because you are so fat.


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They have gone through a narrow path. They stayed in Geba during the night. Ramah is afraid, and Gibeah of Saul has run away.


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Yet today he will stop at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the people of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.


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See, the Lord, the Lord of All, will cut off the branches with a great noise. Those who stand tall will be cut down. And those who are high will be brought low.


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And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of wise words and strength, the spirit of much learning and the fear of the Lord.


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He will be glad in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what His eyes see, or decide by what His ears hear.


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But He will judge the poor in a right and good way. He will be fair in what He decides for the people of the earth who have much trouble. He will punish the earth with His powerful mouth, and kill the sinful with the breath of His lips.


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The wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the young lion and the young fat animal will lie down together. And a little boy will lead them.


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The cow and the bear will eat side by side. And their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox.


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The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra. And another child will put his hand in the hole of a snake whose bite is poison.


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They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain. For the earth will be as full of much learning from the Lord as the seas are full of water.


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In that day the nations will turn to the One from the family of Jesse. He will be honored by the people as someone special to see. And His place of rest will be full of His shining-greatness.


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In that day the Lord will put out His hand a second time to bring back His people who are left. He will bring them back from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.


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He will lift up flags for the nations, and will gather together the people of Israel and of Judah who had been sent away. He will bring them back from the four corners of the earth.


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Ephraim will not be jealous. Those who made it hard for Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not make it hard for Ephraim.


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But they will go down against the Philistines in the west. Together they will take what belongs to the sons of the east. They will go against Edom and Moab. And they will rule the sons of Ammon.


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The Lord will dry up all the tongue of the Sea of Egypt. He will wave His hand over the Euphrates River with His burning wind, and will break it into seven rivers. Men will be able to walk over it with dry feet.


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And there will be a road from Assyria for those of His people who will be left just as it was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.


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You will say on that day, "I will give thanks to You, O Lord. Even though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comfort me.


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See, God saves me. I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and song. And He has become the One Who saves me."


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In that day you will say, "Give thanks to the Lord. Call on His name. Make known His works among the people. Help them remember that His name is honored."


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Lift up a flag on the hill without trees. Call out to the people. Wave the hand for them to go into the gates of the princes.


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I have told My holy ones, and My powerful soldiers who take pride in their strength, to carry out My anger.


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Listen to the noise on the mountains, like that of many people! Listen to the loud sound of the many people, of nations gathered together! The Lord of All is gathering an army for battle.


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They are coming from a far country, from the end of the heavens. The Lord and all He is using to show His anger are coming to destroy the whole land.


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Cry out in sorrow, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as a destroying power from the All-powerful.


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They will be filled with fear. Pain and suffering will take hold of them. They will suffer like a woman giving birth. They will look surprised at one another, their faces burning.


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See, the day of the Lord is coming, without pity and with much anger. He is coming to destroy the land and its sinners from it.


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The stars of heaven and every group of stars will not give out their light. The sun will be dark when it comes up, and the moon will not give its light.


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This is how I will punish the world for its sin, and the sinful for their wrong-doing. I will also put an end to those who are proud. And I will put to shame those who make it hard for others and show no pity.


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I will make the heavens shake. And the earth will be shaken from its place with the anger of the Lord of All in the day of His burning anger.


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Every man will turn to his own people and run to his own land like a hunted gazelle or like sheep with no shepherd.


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Anyone who is found will have a spear put through him. And anyone who is caught will fall by the sword.


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Their little ones will be broken in pieces in front of their eyes. Their things will be taken from their houses. And their wives will be carried away.


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Their bows will cut down the young men. They will have no pity on babies. Their eyes will not pity children.


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And Babylon, the beauty of nations, the shining-greatness and pride of the Babylonians, will be as when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.


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People will never live in it again, even all the people-to-come. No Arab will set up his tent there. No shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.


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But wild animals of the desert will lie down there. Their houses will be full of owls. Ostriches will live there, and wild goats will play there.


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Hyenas will make noise in their strong towers, and wild dogs in their beautiful houses. The end of her time is near. Her days will be few.


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The Lord will have loving-pity on Jacob and will again choose Israel. He will have them return to live in their own land. Then people from other countries will come and be with them, and will join themselves to the family of Jacob.


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Nations will take them and bring them to their place. The family of Israel will own them in the Lord's land as men and women servants. They will take those who had taken them away and they will rule over those who had made it hard for them.


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When the Lord gives you rest from your pain and trouble and the hard work which you were made to do,


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you will speak against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the one who made it hard for us has been stopped! How his anger has been stopped!


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which used to beat the people in anger without stopping. The nations were ruled in anger. It was very hard for the people and there was no pity shown to them.


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Even the cypress trees and the cedars of Lebanon are glad over you, and say, 'Since you were cut down no one comes to cut us down.'


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The world of the dead below wants to meet you when you come. It wakes up the spirits of the dead for you, all the leaders of the earth. It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.


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All of them will speak and say to you, 'Even you have become as weak as we. You have become like us.


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Your honor and power along with the music of your harps have been brought down to the place of the dead. Worms are spread out as your bed under you and worms cover you.'


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"How you have fallen from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have made the nations weak!


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You said in your heart, 'I will go up to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. And I will sit on the mount of meeting in the far north.


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Those who see you will look hard at you and think about you, and say, 'Is this the man who made the earth shake with fear, who shook nations?


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Is this the man who made the world like a desert and destroyed its cities, who did not let those whom he had put in prison go home?'


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But you have been thrown out of your grave like a hated part of the family. You are clothed with the dead who were killed with a sword, who go down to the stones of the grave, like a dead body crushed under foot.


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You will not be joined with them when you are buried, because you have destroyed your country. You have killed your people. May the children of sinners never be spoken about again!


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Make a place ready for his sons to be killed because of the sin of their fathers. They must not come into power and take the earth, and fill the world with cities."


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"I will come against them," says the Lord of All. "And I will cut off from Babylon its name and people, its children and their children," says the Lord.


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"I will turn it into a place for hedgehogs, full of pools of water. And I will go over it and destroy it," says the Lord of All.


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The Lord of All has promised, "It will happen just as I have planned it. As I have planned, so will it be.


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I will break Assyria in My land. I will crush him under foot on My mountains. Then his load will be taken from My people. His load will be taken from their shoulder."


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This is the plan made against the whole earth and this is the hand that is put out against all the nations.


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"Do not be glad, O Philistia, all of you, because the special stick that made it hard for you is broken. One snake dies and a worse one comes, a snake that can fly.


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The poor will eat. Those in need will lie down and be safe. I will destroy all of you with hunger and it will kill those who are left.


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Cry out, O gate. Cry, O city. All you Philistines are weak in heart. For smoke comes from the north, and everyone keeps his place in his army.


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What answer will be given to the men sent by the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and it will be a safe place for His people who are poor and troubled."


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The special word against Moab: Ar of Moab is destroyed and laid waste in a night. And in a night Kir of Moab is destroyed and laid waste.


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They have gone up to the house of worship and to Dibon. They have gone to the high places to cry. Moab cries over Nebo and Medeba. The hair has been cut from everyone's head and face.


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In their streets they have dressed themselves with cloth made from hair. On the tops of their houses and in their open spaces everyone is crying with many tears.


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Heshbon and Elealeh cry out also. Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz. So the soldiers of Moab cry out. Moab's soul shakes within him.


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My heart cries out for Moab. His men have run away as far as Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. For they go up the hill of Luhith crying. On the road to Horonaim they cry in sorrow over their being destroyed.


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For the waters of Nimrim have been laid waste. The grass is dried up. The new grass died out. There is no green thing.


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The cry of sorrow has gone around the land of Moab. Its noise is heard as far as Eglaim and Beer-elim.


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The waters of Dimon are full of blood. Yet I will bring more troubles to Dimon. I will bring a lion upon those of Moab who have run away, and upon the people of the land who are still alive.


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Send lambs as taxes to the ruler of the land, from Sela by the way of the desert to the mountain of the people of Zion.


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Then, like birds driven from their nest, the people of Moab will be where the Arnon River can be crossed.


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"Give us words of wisdom. Do what is right for us. Make your shadow like night at noonday. Hide those who have been sent away. Do not go against those who are running for their lives.


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Let those of Moab who have been sent away stay with you. Hide them from the one who destroys." For the one who uses sinful power has come to an end, and trouble has stopped. Those who make it hard for the people have gone from the land.


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A throne will be set up in loving-kindness. A faithful judge will sit on it from the family of David. He will be fair as he judges, and will be quick to do what is right and good.


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We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is. We have heard of how proud he is of himself and of his anger. His proud words are false.


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So Moab will cry out. Everyone of Moab will cry out. You will cry for the dried-grape cakes of Kir-hareseth, as if you were in the worst trouble.


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The fields of Heshbon and the vines of Sibmah have dried up. The lords of the nations have crushed under foot its best vines, which went as far as Jazer and the desert. They spread themselves out and passed over the sea.


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So I will cry with much sorrow for Jazer and for the vines of Sibmah. I will make you wet with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh, because there is nothing to gather from your summer fruits.


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Happiness and joy are taken away from the field that gives much fruit. No songs are sung in the grape-fields. No one crushes grapes to make wine, for I have stopped the cry of joy.


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When Moab goes to his high place, he will only become tired. When he goes to his holy place to pray, it will do him no good.


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But now the Lord says, "In three years, as a servant would count them, the shining-greatness of Moab and all his many people will be hated. And those left alive will be very few and weak."


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The special word about Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city. It will be destroyed and laid waste.


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The cities of Aroer are left empty. They will be for the flocks to lie down in, and no one will make them afraid.


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The strong city will be gone from Ephraim. Damascus will no longer rule. And those of Syria who are left alive will be like the shining-greatness of the sons of Israel," says the Lord of All.


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It will be like one who gathers the standing grain, taking the ears of grain with his arm or like one who gathers the ears of grain in the valley of Rephaim.


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Yet some good will be left in it, as when an olive tree is shaken. There will still be two or three olives on the highest branch, and four or five on the branches of a tree that gives much fruit, says the Lord God of Israel.


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He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands. He will not look to what his fingers have made, or to the false goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume.


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In that day their strong cities will be like places left empty among the trees, or like high branches which they left behind because of the sons of Israel. The land will be laid waste.


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For you have forgotten the God Who saves you. You have not remembered the rock where you are safe. So you plant beautiful plants, and put them with the vine-cuttings of a strange god.


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In the day that you plant it you fence it in, and in the morning your seed is growing. But its fruit will waste away in a day of sickness and pain which cannot be healed.


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Listen to the cry of sorrow of many people. They sound like the noise of the seas and the noise of nations! They sound like the rushing of powerful waters.


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The nations move on like the noise of many waters. But God will speak sharp words to them and they will run far away. They will be blown away like the part of grain that is of no worth by the wind in the mountains. They will be like dust blown around in a storm.


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At evening time there is much fear! Before morning, they are gone. This will be what will come to those who take what belongs to us. It will be what happens to those who rob us.


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Trouble will come to the land on the other side of the rivers of Cush where the sound of wings is heard.


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From that land men are sent by the sea in boats made from tall river-grass. Go, you fast men, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people who fill others with fear both near and far. Go to the powerful nation that rules over those who hate it, whose land is divided by rivers.


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All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, as soon as a flag is raised on the mountain, you will see it. As soon as the horn is sounded, you will hear it.


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For the Lord has said to me, "I will be quiet and watch from the place where I live, like shining heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of fog in the heat of gathering time."


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For before the gathering time, as soon as the bud blossoms and the grape is ready to eat, He will cut off the new branches with knives and will cut away the spreading branches.


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They will be left for the birds of the mountains and for the wild animals of the earth. The birds will spend the summer eating them. And all the wild animals of the earth will eat them during the winter.


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At that time tall people with smooth skin will bring gifts to the Lord of All. These people make others afraid both near and far. They are a strong and powerful nation who rule over others, whose land is divided by rivers. And they will go to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord of All.


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The special word about Egypt: See, the Lord is traveling on a fast cloud and is coming to Egypt. The false gods of Egypt shake in fear before Him. The hearts of the Egyptians become weak.


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"I will make Egyptians go against Egyptians. Each of them will fight against his brother, and each against his neighbor. City will fight against city, and nation against nation.


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Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become weak within them. And I will bring their plans to nothing. They will go to false gods and spirits of the dead for help, and to those who speak with spirits of the dead and use their secret ways.


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Then I will give the Egyptians into the hand of a bad ruler. An angry king will rule over them," says the Lord God of All.


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Manmade rivers will smell bad. The small rivers of Egypt will dry up. And the plants by the rivers will waste away.


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The grass by the side of the Nile and all that is planted by the Nile will become dry, will be driven away, and be no more.


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The fishermen will cry in sorrow. All those who fish for a living in the Nile River will be filled with sorrow. And those who put out nets on its waters will become weak.


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The king's sons of Zoan are very foolish. The words of Pharaoh's wisest men are foolish words. How can you men say to Pharaoh, "I am a son of the wise, a son of early kings"?


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Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you. And let them understand what the Lord of All has planned against Egypt.


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The king's sons of Zoan have become fools. The king's sons of Memphis have been fooled. The heads of her family groups have led Egypt from the right way.


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The Lord has mixed a troubled spirit within her. They have led Egypt the wrong way in all that it does, as a drunk man walks from side to side in what he has spit up.


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And there will be no work in Egypt and nothing can be done by anyone, its head or tail, its palm branch or river-grass.


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In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shake with fear because of the hand which the Lord of All is going to wave over them.


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The land of Judah will fill Egypt with fear. Whoever hears its name will be afraid of it, because of the plan which the Lord of All is making against them.


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In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and promising to follow the Lord of All. One will be called the City of Destruction.


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In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and an altar to the Lord by the side of its land.


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It will be something special to see, to make the Lord of All known in the land of Egypt. For they will cry to the Lord because of those who make it hard for them. And He will send a Powerful One to save them, and He will take them out of trouble.


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The Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and in that day the Egyptians will know the Lord. They will even worship with gifts on the altar. They will make promises to the Lord and keep them.


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And the Lord will punish Egypt, but then He will heal them. So they will return to the Lord, and He will answer their prayers and heal them.


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In that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. The Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.


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In that day Israel will be the third country with Egypt and Assyria, a good and respected nation on the earth,


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to whom the Lord of All has brought good, saying, "Good will come to Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My chosen people."


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In the year that Sargon the king of Assyria sent his head captain to fight against Ashdod, he took it in battle.


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At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and take off the clothes made from hair, and take your shoes off your feet." And he did so, going without clothes and shoes.


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The Lord said, "My servant Isaiah has gone without clothing and shoes for three years as something special to be seen against Egypt and Cush.


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So the king of Assyria will take away the people of Egypt and Cush, young and old, without clothes or shoes. Their bodies will not be covered, to the shame of Egypt.


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The people living on this island will say in that day, 'See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped, and to whom we ran for help to be saved from the king of Assyria. Now how can we get away?' "


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The special word about the place by the sea where no people live: As wind-storms in the Negev go rushing through, it comes from the desert, from a bad land.


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A hard special dream has been shown to me. The one who hurts still goes on hurting others, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, Elam. Gather your armies around, Media. I will bring an end to all the crying she has caused.


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For this reason my body is full of suffering. Pains have taken hold of me like the pains of a woman giving birth. I am so troubled that I cannot hear. I am so afraid that I cannot see.


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My mind turns. Fear has come over me. The evening I have waited so long for has been turned into a time of shaking with fear.


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They set the tables. They spread out the cloth. They eat and drink. Rise up, captains, oil the battle-coverings!


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When he sees men riding on horses, two by two, and men on donkeys, and men on camels, let him be very careful to watch."


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Then the watchman called out like a lion, "O Lord, I stand watching from the watch-tower at all times during the day. And I stand there every night.


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Now see, here comes an army of men riding on horses, two by two." One answered and said, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon. All the objects of her gods are broken to pieces on the ground."


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O my people of Israel, you were beaten and crushed like grain! What I have heard from the Lord of All, the God of Israel, I make known to you.


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The special word about Edom: One is calling to me from Seir, "Watchman, what is the time of night? Watchman, what is the time of night?"


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The watchman says, "The morning comes, but also the night. If you have questions to ask, ask them, and come back again."


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The special word about Arabia: You must stay the night among the trees of Arabia, O traveling people of Dedanim.


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Bring water for the thirsty. O people of the land of Tema, give bread to the one who is running from trouble.


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They are running from swords, from lifted swords, from bows that are ready to shoot, and from the trouble of battle.


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For the Lord said to me, "In a year, as the servant would count it, all the greatness of Kedar will come to an end.


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And the rest of the men who use the bow, the strong men of the sons of Kedar, will be few. For the Lord God of Israel has spoken."


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The special word about the Valley of Visions: What is wrong, that you have all gone up to the house tops,


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you who were full of noise, you loud town, you joy-filled city? Your dead were not killed with the sword. They did not die in battle.


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All your rulers have run away together, and were taken without using the bow. All of you who were found were taken away together, even though you had run far away.


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So I said, "Turn your eyes away from me. Let me cry with much sorrow. Do not try to comfort me about my people being destroyed."


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For the Lord God of All has a day of fear, crushing down, and trouble in the Valley of Vision. There is a breaking down of walls and a crying out to the mountain.


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Elam took up the arrows with the war-wagons, soldiers and horsemen. And Kir let the battle-covering be seen.


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Then God took away the safe-covering of Judah. In that day you trusted in the objects you had to fight with that were stored in the house among the trees.


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You saw that there were many broken places in the wall of the city of David. You stored water in the lower pool.


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You made a place to store water between the two walls for the waters of the old pool. But you did not trust in God Who made it. You did not think about Him Who planned it long ago.


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So in that day the Lord God of All called you to cry in sorrow, to cut off the hair from your head, and to wear cloth made from hair.


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But instead, there is joy and happiness, killing of cattle and sheep, eating of meat, and drinking of wine. You say, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."


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But the Lord of All has made Himself known to me. The Lord God of All says, "For sure you will not be forgiven for this sin until you die."


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The Lord God of All says, "Come, go to this person in Shebna who is taking care of the king's house. Say to him,


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'What right do you have here? Who told you that you could cut out a grave for yourself here? You cut out a grave on a high place! You cut a resting place for yourself in the rock!


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and roll you up like a ball to be thrown into a wide land. There you will die, and there your great war-wagons will be. You are a shame to your king's house.'


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I will clothe him with your coat, and tie your belt around him. I will give him the power you had. He will become a father to the people of Jerusalem and to the family of Judah.


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Then I will put on his shoulder the rule of the family of David. What he opens, no one will shut. What he shuts, no one will open.


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I will drive him like a nail in a hard place. He will become a throne of honor to his father's house.


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So they will put on him all the honor of his father's house, and of his children, and every little dish, from the cups to all the jars.


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"In that day," says the Lord of All, "the nail driven in a hard place will give way. It will break off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off. For the Lord has spoken."


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The special word about Tyre: Cry out in sorrow, O ships of Tarshish. For Tyre is destroyed, so that there is no house or safe place for ships. It is made known to them from the land of Cyprus.


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and go on many waters. The grain of the Nile, that was gathered beside that River, made money for Tyre who was the trader of the nations.


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Be ashamed, O Sidon, the strong-place of the sea. The sea speaks and says, "I have not suffered or given birth. I have not brought up young men or young women."


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Is this your joy-filled city, whose beginning was long ago, whose feet have taken her to live in places far away?


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Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose traders were princes and the honored of the earth?


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The Lord of All has planned it, to put to shame the pride of all beauty, and to take honor away from all the honored of the earth.


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Flow over your land like the Nile, O people of Tarshish. There is nothing holding you back any more.


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He has put out His hand over the sea. He has made the nations shake with fear. The Lord has said that the strong-places of Canaan must be destroyed.


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He has said, "You will not be filled with joy anymore, O pure crushed daughters of Sidon. Get up and go over to Cyprus. Even there you will not find any rest."


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It was the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who let the wild animals come upon Tyre. They built towers for their armies. They tore down her beautiful houses. They destroyed her.


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In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the woman who sells the use of her body:


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"Take your harp and walk through the city, O forgotten woman who sells the use of her body. Play the strings well. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered."


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At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre. Then she will return to her sinful woman's pay. She will be as a woman who sells the use of her body to all the nations on the earth.


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Her riches and her pay for selling the use of her body will be set apart to the Lord. It will not be stored up or saved. But what she receives will give much food and good clothes to those who live for the Lord.


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See, the Lord will lay the earth waste. He will destroy it, turn its ground up-side-down, and send its people everywhere.


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What happens to the people will happen to the religious leader. What happens to the man servant will happen to his owner. The woman servant will be like her owner. The buyer will be like the seller. The giver will be like the receiver. The one who lets another use his money will be like the one who uses it.


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The earth cries in sorrow and wastes away. The world becomes weak with sorrow and wastes away, together with the honored people of the earth.


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The earth has been made unclean by its people. They have sinned and not obeyed the laws, and have broken the agreement that was to be forever.


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So the earth is cursed and those who live in it suffer for their guilt. So the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left.


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The happiness of the music-makers stops. The noise of those filled with joy stops. The happiness of the harp stops.


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There is a crying out in the streets about the wine. All joy turns to darkness. The happiness of the earth is gone.


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For this is how it will be on the earth among the nations. It will be like the shaking of an olive tree, and like what is left after the grapes have been gathered.


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They raise their voices. They call out for joy. They cry out from the west about the wonderful power of the Lord.


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From the ends of the earth we hear songs: "Praise the One Who is right and good." But I say, "I waste away! I waste away! It is bad for me! The false ones are not faithful. Yes, their way is very false."


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He who runs from the news of trouble will fall into a deep hole. And he who comes out of the hole will be caught in a trap. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the earth shakes.


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The earth turns from one side to the other side like a drunk man. It shakes like a tent because its sin is heavy upon it. It will fall, never to rise again.


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They will be gathered together like those in a prison. They will be kept in a deep, dark prison, and after many days they will be punished.


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Then the moon will be dark and the sun will not shine, for the Lord of All will rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. And in front of His leaders, He will let His shining-greatness be seen.


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O Lord, You are my God. I will praise You. I will give thanks to Your name. For You have been faithful to do great things, plans that You made long ago.


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For You have laid waste a city. You have destroyed a strong city. The beautiful house of strangers is a city no more. And it will never be built again.


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For You have been a strong-place for those who could not help themselves and for those in need because of much trouble. You have been a safe place from the storm and a shadow from the heat. For the breath of the one who shows no pity is like a storm against a wall.


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Like heat in a dry place, You quiet the noise of the strangers. Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the one who shows no pity is made quiet.


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On this mountain the Lord of All will make a supper of good things ready for all people. It will be a supper of good wine, of the best foods, and of fine wine.


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And on this mountain He will destroy the covering which is over all people, the covering which is spread over all nations.


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He will take away death for all time. The Lord God will dry tears from all faces. He will take away the shame of His people from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken.


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It will be said in that day, "See, this is our God. We have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the Lord for Whom we have waited. Let us be glad and full of joy because He saves us."


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For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. And Moab will be crushed in his place, as straw is crushed down in animal waste.


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Moab will spread out his hands in it, as a man spreads out his hands to swim. But the Lord will put his pride to shame, together with the sinful work of his hands.


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And the Lord will bring down your high walls built for war and lay them low. He will throw them to the ground, even to the dust.


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In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city. The Lord saves us and puts up walls to keep us safe.


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For He has brought down low those who live on a high place, the high city. He lays it low. He lays it low to the ground. He throws it to the dust.


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It will be crushed under foot, under the feet of those who have suffered and the steps of those who cannot help themselves."


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The way of the man who is right with God is smooth. O Upright One, make the path straight of those who are right with You.


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While following in Your ways, O Lord, we have waited for You. To remember You and Your name is the desire of our souls.


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My soul has a desire for You in the night. Yes, my spirit within me looks for You in the morning. For when you punish the earth, the people of the world learn what is right and good.


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When favor is shown to the sinful, he does not learn what is right and good. He goes on doing what is wrong in the land of those who are right. He does not see the wonderful power of the Lord.


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O Lord, Your hand is lifted up but they do not see it. Let them see Your care for Your people and be ashamed. Let fire destroy those who hate You.


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They are dead, and will not live. Their spirits will not return. So You have punished and destroyed them. You have caused them all to be forgotten.


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You have made the nation great, O Lord. You have made the nation great. You have received much praise. You have made the land larger.


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O Lord, they looked for You in their trouble. They could only say a quiet prayer while You were punishing them.


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As the woman who is going to have a baby comes close to the time to give birth, she suffers and cries out in her pains. This is how we were before You, O Lord.


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We suffered in pain. We gave birth, as it were, only to wind. We could not bring the world out of its trouble. And no people of the earth were born.


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Your dead will live. Their dead bodies will rise. You who lie in the dust, wake up and call out for joy. For as the water on the grass in the morning brings new life, the earth will bring back to life those who have been dead.


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Come, my people, go into your rooms. Close your doors behind you. Hide for a little while until God's anger is past.


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For see, the Lord is about to come out from His place to punish the people of the earth for their sin. And the earth will let the blood be seen that has poured on her. She will no longer cover her dead.


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In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan, the large snake-like sea animal, with His sharp and great and powerful sword. He will punish Leviathan the turning snake, and kill the big snake-like animal that lives in the sea.


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I, the Lord, am its keeper. I water it all the time. I watch over it day and night so no one will hurt it.


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I am not angry. If someone were to give Me thistles and thorns in battle, I would step on them. I would burn them together.


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Or let him trust in Me to keep him safe. Let him make peace with Me. Yes, let him make peace with Me."


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In the days to come Jacob will take root. Israel will flower and begin to grow, and fill the whole world with fruit.


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Has the Lord punished Israel as He punished those who went against Israel? Or have as many people of Israel been killed as their killers were killed?


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You showed Your anger towards them by driving them out of the land. You moved them out with Your strong wind on the day of the east wind.


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So by this Jacob's sin will be forgiven. This will be the full price of taking his sin away: When he crushes all the altar stones into fine pieces, so the wooden female goddess Asherah and the altars of special perfume will not stand.


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The city made strong for battle is empty and alone, a place left alone like the desert. The calves eat there, and they lie down and eat from its branches.


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When its branches are dry, they are broken off. Women come and make a fire with them. They are not a people of understanding, so their Maker will not have pity on them. The One Who made them will not show kindness to them.


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In that day the Lord will beat out His grain from the flowing river of the Euphrates to the river of Egypt. And you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel.


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In that day a great horn will be blown. Those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were sent everywhere through the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.


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It is a time of trouble to the crown of pride and to the drunk men of Ephraim, whose shining beauty is a dying flower. It is at the head of the rich valley of those who have taken too much wine!


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See, the Lord has one who is strong and powerful, like a storm of hail, a destroying storm. As with a flood of powerful waters flowing over, He will bring them down to the earth with His hand.


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The dying flower of its shining beauty which is at the head of the rich valley will be like the first fig grown before the summer. When one sees it, he takes it in his hand and eats it.


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In that day the Lord of All will be a crown of shining-greatness, a beautiful crown to those who are left of His people.


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He will be a spirit of what is fair to him who judges the people. He will be a strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.


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These also walk from one side to the other side because of wine and strong drink. The religious leaders and the men who tell what will happen in the future make mistakes because of strong drink. They are troubled by wine. They walk from side to side because of strong drink. They make mistakes as they have special dreams. And they make mistakes when judging between right and wrong.


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"Who is it He is trying to teach? To whom will He tell what He has to say? Children finished with their nursing and just taken from the breast?


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He Who said to them, "This is rest, give rest to the tired and weak." And, 'This is the place to rest," but they would not listen.


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So the Word of the Lord to them will be, "Law on law, law on law, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there," that they may go and fall back, be broken, trapped, and taken away by those who hate them.


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You have said, "We have made an agreement with death. With the place of the dead we have made an agreement. The destroying flood will not touch us when it passes by. We have made lies our safe place. We have hidden ourselves with what is false."


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So the Lord God says, "See, I lay in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth to build upon, a tested Stone. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be afraid of what will happen.


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And I will use what is fair to decide about the base. And I will use what is right and good to make it straight. Then hail will take away all the lies you depend on, and the waters will flow over the place where you hide.


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Your agreement with death will come to an end. Your agreement with the place of the dead will be stopped. When a flood of trouble passes through, you will be beaten down by it.


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As often as it passes through, it will take you. And it will pass through morning after morning, anytime during the day or night. To understand what it means will bring much fear."


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For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, to do what He needs to do, His strange act, and to do His work, His different kind of work.


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So now do not laugh, or your chains will be made stronger. I have heard that the Lord God of All plans to destroy the whole earth.


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When he gets the ground ready to plant, does he not sow dill seeds and cummin seeds and wheat in rows? Does he not put barley in its place, and rye in the right place?


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Dill is not crushed with a crushing object. And the wagon wheel is not rolled over cummin. But dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a heavy stick.


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Grain for bread is crushed. He does not keep on crushing it forever. When he drives his wagon-wheel over it with his horses, it does not crush it.


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It is bad for Ariel, Ariel the city where David once set up his tents! Add year to year. Keep your special suppers at the right times.


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I will bring trouble to Ariel. She will be a city of sorrow and crying. She will be like an altar covered with blood to me.


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I will camp against you, all around you. And I will build battle walls against you, and towers from which to fight you.


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Then you will be brought low. From the earth you will speak. Your words will come from the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground. Your quiet speaking will come from the dust.


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But the many who hate you will become like fine dust. The many who show no pity will be like the part of the grain that is of no worth and blows away. It will happen all at once.


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You will be visited by the Lord of All, with thunder and earth-shaking and loud noise, and with wind and storm and a destroying fire.


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And the many nations that fight against Ariel, all who fight against her and her strong-place and bring trouble to her, will be like a dream. They will be like a special dream of the night.


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It will be as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, but when he wakes up, he is not filled. It will be as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, but when he wakes up, he is weak and still thirsty. This is how the many nations will be that fight against Mount Zion.


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Stop and wait. Blind yourselves and be blind. They are drunk, but not with wine. They walk from side to side, but not because of strong drink.


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For the Lord has given you a deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, you who speak for God. He has covered your heads, men of God.


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And the special dream of all this will be to you like the words of a locked book. When they give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is locked."


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Then they will give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this." And he will say, "I cannot read."


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The Lord said, "These people show respect to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Their worship of Me is worth nothing. They teach rules that men have made.


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So see, I will once again do great things with these people, great and wonderful things. And the wisdom of their wise men will be gone. The understanding of their wise men will be hidden."


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It is bad for those who try to hide their plans from the Lord, and whose works are done in a dark place. They say, "Who sees us?" or, "Who knows us?"


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You turn things up-side-down! Is the pot-maker the same as the clay? Should what is made say to its maker, "He did not make me"? Should what is made say to him who made it, "He has no understanding"?


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Is it not yet a very little while before Lebanon will be turned into a rich good field? The rich good field will be thought of as being full of many trees.


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In that day those who cannot hear will hear the words of a book. And the eyes of the blind will see out of the darkness.


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Those who have suffered will be happier in the Lord. Those who are in need will have joy in the Holy One of Israel.


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For those who show no pity will come to an end. And those who laugh at the truth will be stopped. All who want to be sinful will be cut off.


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Those who say something to make a man seem to be in the wrong, and who trap the one who acts as a judge at the gate, and who tell lies to cause a good man to be punished, will be cut off.


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So this is what the Lord, Who made Abraham free, said about the family of Jacob: "Jacob will not be ashamed. No more will their faces become white with fear.


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But when they see their children with them, the work of My hands, they will keep My Name holy, and will give honor to the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in wonder of the God of Israel.


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Those who do wrong in spirit will understand the truth. And those who complain will receive teaching."


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"It is bad for the children who will not obey!" says the Lord, "They act on a plan that is not Mine, and make an agreement that is not of My Spirit, and so add sin to sin.


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They go down to Egypt without asking Me. They want Pharaoh to keep them safe and they look for a safe place in the shadow of Egypt.


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So the safe place of Pharaoh will be your shame. You will be brought low in the safe place in the shadow of Egypt.


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Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot be of help to them. They do not bring help or riches, but only shame."


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The special word about the wild animals of the Negev: They go through a land of trouble and suffering, where there are male and female lions, deadly snakes and flying snakes. They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and camels, to a people who cannot be of help to them.


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Now go and write it down in front of them. And write it in a book, that it may be seen for all time to come.


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For these people will not obey. They are not true sons. They will not listen to the teaching of the Lord.


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They say to the men who tell what will happen in the future, "Do not see special dreams." They say to those who speak for God, "You must not tell to us what is right. Speak pleasing things to us, tell us what we like to hear.


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Get out of the way. Turn aside from the path. We do not want to hear any more about the Holy One of Israel."


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So the Holy One of Israel says, "Because you have turned away from this Word, and have put your trust in a power that makes it hard for others and fools them,


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Its fall is like the breaking of a pot-maker's jar. It is broken in so many pieces that a piece will not be found big enough to pick up hot coals from the fire or to get water from the well."


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The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In turning away from sin and in rest, you will be saved. Your strength will come by being quiet and by trusting." But you would not.


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You said, "No, we will go away fast on horses." So you will go away in a hurry! You say, "We will go on fast horses." So those who come to take you will be fast.


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One thousand will run away as one man stands up against them. You will all run away when five stand up against them, until you are like flags lifted up on a mountain top, like something special to see on a hill.


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So the Lord wants to show you kindness. He waits on high to have loving-pity on you. For the Lord is a God of what is right and fair. And good will come to all those who hope in Him.


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O people in Zion who live in Jerusalem, you will cry no more. For sure He will show loving-kindness to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you.


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The Lord has given you the bread of trouble and water of suffering. But He, your Teacher, will not hide Himself any more. Your eyes will see your Teacher.


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Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.


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You will take your sinful objects of worship, covered with silver and gold and will throw them away as an unclean cloth, and say to them, "Be gone!"


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Then He will give you rain for the seed you will plant in the ground. And He will give you bread from the grain from the ground. It will be good, and more than you need. In that day your cattle will eat in a large field.


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The oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted grain, which has been spread out with certain tools.


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On every high mountain and on every high hill there will be rivers flowing with water in the day when many will be killed, when the towers fall.


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The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord takes care of the hurts of His people and heals the sores He has given them.


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See, the name of the Lord comes from a far away place, with His anger burning, and with dark smoke rising. His lips are full of anger and His tongue is like a destroying fire.


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His breath is like a river flowing over, that comes up to the neck. It shakes the nations back and forth putting them through a test of pride. And it puts a piece of iron in the mouths of the people to lead them the wrong way.


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You will have a song as in the night when you have a special holy supper. You will be glad in your heart as when one steps to the sound of the horn going to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.


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The Lord will make His voice of great power heard. And He will let His arm be seen coming down in the destroying fire, hard rain, storm, and hailstones.


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The Assyrians will be filled with fear at the voice of the Lord, when He punishes them with His power.


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Every beat from the special stick of punishment which the Lord will give them will be to the sound of timbrels and of harps. He will fight them in battle with a strong arm.


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For a place of fire has long been ready. Yes, it has been made ready for the king. It has been made deep and wide, with fire and much wood. The breath of the Lord starts the fire and it is like a river of sulphur.


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It is bad for those who go down to Egypt for help, and trust in the many horses and war-wagons, and in the much strength of their horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel or ask the Lord for help.


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Yet He is wise and brings trouble, and does not take back His words. He will go against the house of wrong-doers, and against the helpers of those who sin.


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The Egyptians are men, and not God. Their horses are flesh and not spirit. The Lord puts out His hand, and the helper and the one who is helped will fall. All of them will be destroyed together.


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For the Lord has said to me, "As the lion or the young lion makes noise over the food he has killed, and when a group of shepherds go against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, or troubled by their noise. In the same way, the Lord of All will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill."


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Like flying birds, the Lord of All will keep Jerusalem safe. He will keep it safe and bring it out of trouble. He will pass over and save it.


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For in that day every man will throw away his silver and gold objects of worship, which his sinful hands have made.


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And the Assyrian will fall by a sword that is not of man, a sword that man has had no part of will destroy him. He will run from the sword, and his young men will be made to work hard.


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"His safe place will pass away because of fear. And his rulers will be afraid of the flags lifted up," says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion and Whose place of burning is in Jerusalem.


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Each will be like a safe place from the wind, and a covering from the storm. Each will be like rivers of water in a dry country, and like the shadow of a large rock in a waste land.


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The mind of those who act in a hurry will understand the truth. And the tongue of those who have trouble speaking will hurry to speak well.


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For a fool speaks foolish things. His mind plans wrong-doing, to sin and to say false things against the Lord, to keep the hungry person hungry, and to keep drink from the thirsty.


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The ways of the bad man are sinful. He makes sinful plans to destroy the suffering with lies, even when the one in need asks for what is right.


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In a little more than a year, you will be troubled. There will be no grapes to gather, the wine will not be made.


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Shake with fear, you women who live an easy life. Be troubled, you daughters, who feel safe. Take off your clothes and cover your bodies with cloth made from hair.


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and for the land of my people in which thorns and thistles will come up. Yes, be sorry for all the houses of joy, and for the happy city,


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because the king's house will be empty. The city full of people will be left empty. The hill and the watch-tower will become a place for wild animals forever, a happy place for wild donkeys, a field for flocks.


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It will be this way until the Spirit is poured out upon us from heaven, and the desert becomes a field giving so much fruit, that it seems as if it has many trees.


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Then what is right and fair will be in the desert. What is right and good will be in the field of much fruit.


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The work of being right and good will give peace. From the right and good work will come quiet trust forever.


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How happy will you be, you who plant seeds beside all waters, and let the cattle and donkeys eat in any field.


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It is bad for you, O destroyer, you who were not destroyed yourself! You cannot be trusted, but others have trusted you. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed. As soon as you stop lying, others will lie to you.


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O Lord, be kind to us. We have waited for You. Be our strength every morning. Save us in the time of trouble.


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He will be for you what is sure and faithful for your times, with much saving power, wisdom and learning. The fear of the Lord is worth much.


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See, their men with strength of heart cry in the streets. The men sent to bring peace cry many tears.


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The roads are empty. The traveler does not travel. He has broken the agreement. He has hated the cities. He does not care for man.


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The land is filled with sorrow and wastes away. Lebanon is put to shame and wastes away. Sharon is like a desert. And Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.


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You bring life to what is of no worth. You give birth to what is of no use. My breath will destroy you like a fire.


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Sinners in Zion are filled with fear. The sinful shake with fear. They cry, "Who among us can live with the fire that destroys? Who among us can live with the fire that burns forever?"


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He who walks with God, and whose words are good and honest, he who will not take money received from wrong-doing, and will not receive money given in secret for wrongdoing, he who stops his ears from hearing about killing, and shuts his eyes from looking at what is sinful,


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he will have a place on high. His safe place will be a rock that cannot be taken over. He will be given food and will have water for sure.


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Your heart will think about fear, asking, "Where is he who numbers? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who numbers the towers?"


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You will not see people who show no pity, people whose language no one knows, whose strange tongue you cannot understand.


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Look upon Zion, the city of our special suppers! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet resting place, a tent that will not be moved. Its tie-downs will never be pulled up, and none of its ropes will be broken.


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But there the Lord in His great power will be for us. It will be a place of rivers and wide waterways, where no rowboats can go, and where no powerful ships can pass.


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Your ropes are loose. They cannot hold the sail up in its place or spread it out. Then the many riches taken in battle will be divided. Even those who cannot walk will take the riches.


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And no one living there will say, "I am sick." The people who live there will be forgiven of their sin.


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Come near, O nations, to hear! Listen, O people! Let the earth and all that is in it listen, the world and all that comes from it.


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For the Lord's anger is against all the nations. And His anger is against all their armies. He has destroyed all of them. He has given them over to be killed.


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Their dead will be thrown out. Their dead bodies will give off a bad smell. The mountains will flow with their blood.


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All the stars of the heavens will waste away. And the sky will be rolled up like writings. All that are in them will waste away also, as a leaf dries up from the vine, or as one dries up from the fig tree.


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For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven. See, it will come down to punish Edom. It will come down upon the people whom I have given over to be destroyed.


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The sword of the Lord is covered with blood. It is filled with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, and with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a killing in Bozrah, and much killing in the land of Edom.


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Wild oxen will fall with them, and young bulls with strong ones. So their land will be filled with blood, and their dust will become rich with fat.


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Its fire will not be put out night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From one family to their children's children and on into the future, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.


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But the pelican and hedgehog will have it for their own. The owl and raven will live in it. The Lord will make it into an empty waste land.


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Thorns will grow in its strong towers. Thistles will grow in cities where battles were fought. It will be a place for wild dogs, and a home for ostriches.


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The desert animals will meet with the wolves. The wild goats will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-demon will stop there and find a resting place.


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The snake will make its nest and lay eggs there. Her young will be born from the eggs and she will gather them under her shadow. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, every one with its kind.


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Look in the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these will be missing. None will be without its mate. For the mouth of the Lord has said so, and His Spirit has gathered them.


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He will divide the land among them and give each of them a share. It will be theirs forever. From one family to their children's children and on into the future, they will live in it.


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The waste-land and the dry land will be glad. The desert will be full of joy and become like a rose.


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Many flowers will grow in it, and it will be filled with joy and singing. The greatness of Lebanon will be given to it, and the beauty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the shining-greatness of the Lord, the wonderful power of our God.


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Say to those whose heart is afraid, "Have strength of heart, and do not be afraid. See, your God will come ready to punish. He will come to make sinners pay for their sins, but He will save you."


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Then those who cannot walk will jump like a deer. And the tongue of those who cannot speak will call out for joy. For waters will break out in the place where no people live, and rivers in the desert.


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The burning sand will become a pool. The thirsty ground will become wells of water. The resting place of the wild dog will be filled with river-grasses.


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And a road will be there. It will be called the Holy Way. Those who are unclean will not travel on it. But it will be for those who walk in that way. Fools will not walk on it.


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No lion will be there. No angry and hungry animal will go up on it. They will not be found there. But those whose sin has been paid for will walk there.


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Those whom the Lord has paid for and set free will return. They will come to Zion with singing. Joy that lasts forever will crown their heads. They will be glad and full of joy. Sorrow and sad voices will be gone.


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In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the strong cities of Judah and took them.


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The king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a large army. And he stood by the ditch of the upper pool on the road of the Fuller's Field.


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was the head of the house, and Shebna the writer, and Joah the son of Asaph, who wrote down the things that happened, came out to him.


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Rabshakeh said to them, "Tell Hezekiah, 'The great king, the king of Syria, says, "What is the reason for this hope you have?


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Do you think that empty words are plans and strength for war? In whom do you trust, that you have turned against me?


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See, you are trusting in Egypt, whose power is like a broken piece of grass. If a man rests against it, it will cut into his hand. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.


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But if you tell me, 'We trust in the Lord our God,' is it not He whose high places and altars Hezekiah has taken away, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship at this altar'?


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So now come and make an agreement with my leader, the king of Assyria. And I will give you 2,000 horses, if you are able to put horsemen on them.


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How then can you turn away from one captain of the least of my king's servants, and trust in Egypt for war-wagons and horsemen?


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Have I now come up to destroy the land against the Lord's will? The Lord said to me, 'Go up against this land, and destroy it.' " ' "


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Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, "Speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it. Do not speak with us in the language of Judah so the people who are on the wall will hear."


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But Rabshakeh said, "Has my king sent me only to speak to your leader and to you, and not to the men who sit on the wall? They will have to eat and drink their own body waste with you."


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Then Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in the language of Judah, and said, "Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.


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The king says, 'Do not let Hezekiah lie to you. For he will not be able to bring you out of your trouble.


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And do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, "For sure the Lord will bring us out of our trouble. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."


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'Do not listen to Hezekiah.' For the king of Assyria says, 'Make your peace with me and come out to me. Each one of you should eat of his own vine and fig tree, and drink the water of his own well,


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until I come and take you away to a land like your own land. It is a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and grape-fields.


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Be careful not to let Hezekiah lead you the wrong way, saying, "The Lord will bring us out of our trouble." Has any of the gods of the nations saved his land from the power of the king of Assyria?


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Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? When have they taken Samaria out of my hand?


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Who among all the gods of these lands have taken their land out of my hand? So why should the Lord save Jerusalem from my hand?' "


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Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was the head of the house, and Shebna the writer, and Joah the son of Asaph, who wrote down the things that happened, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn. They told him the words of Rabshakeh.


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When King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes. He covered himself with cloth made from hair, and went into the house of the Lord.


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Then he sent Eliakim, the head of the house, and Shebna the writer, and the head religious leaders, covered with cloth made from hair, to Isaiah the man of God, the son of Amoz.


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They said to him, "Hezekiah says, 'This day is a day of trouble, pain, and shame. For children have come to birth, and there is no strength for them to be born.


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It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom his leader the king of Assyria has sent to try to bring shame upon the living God. The Lord your God may speak sharp words against what He has heard. So say a prayer for those who are left of His people.' "


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And Isaiah said to them, "Tell your king, 'This is what the Lord says. "Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have spoken against Me.


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See, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear some news and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land." ' "


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Then Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.


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Now the king had heard them say about King Tirhakah of Cush, "He has come out to fight against you." When he heard it, he sent men to Hezekiah, saying,


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"Tell Hezekiah king of Judah, 'Do not let your God in Whom you trust fool you, saying, "Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria."


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See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands. They have destroyed them all. So will you be kept from trouble?


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Did the gods of those nations which my fathers have destroyed take them out of trouble? Did they save Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?


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Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?' "


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Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the men from Assyria, and read it. He went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.


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"O Lord of All, the God of Israel, Who sits on the throne above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the nations of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.


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Listen, O Lord, and hear. Open Your eyes, O Lord, and see. Listen to all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to speak against the living God.


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They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, made of wood and stone. So they have destroyed them.


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Now, O Lord our God, take us out of his hand, that all the nations of the earth may know that You alone are the Lord."


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Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah, saying, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,


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this is the word the Lord has spoken against him: "She has hated you and made fun of you, the young daughter of Zion who has never had a man! She has shaken her head behind you, the people of Jerusalem!


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Whom have you put to shame and spoken against? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!


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Through your servants you have spoken against the Lord. You have said, 'I came up to the high mountains with my many war-wagons, to the farthest parts of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedar trees and its best cypress trees. I came to its highest mountain top, and to the place that has the most trees.


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I dug wells in strange lands and drank water there. With the bottom of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.'


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Have you not heard that I planned this long ago? From days of old I planned it. Now I have made it happen, that you should turn strong cities built for battles into waste lands.


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So their people did not have any more strength. They were troubled and put to shame. They were like the grass of the field and like the green plant. They were like grass on the housetops, dried up before it is grown.


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Because of your anger against Me, and because I have heard of your pride, I will put My hook in your nose, and My bit in your mouth. And I will make you return the way you came.


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"This will be the special thing for you to see: You will eat this year what grows of itself. In the second year you will eat what grows up from the same. Then in the third year you will plant and gather. You will plant grape-fields and eat their fruit.


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And those who are left of the family of Judah will again have their roots grow down and grow their fruit above.


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For My people who are left will go out from Jerusalem and from Mount Zion. This will be done by the work of the Lord of All." ' "


text:
So the Lord says about the king of Assyria, 'He will not come to this city or shoot an arrow there. He will not come before it with a battle-covering, or build a battle-wall against it.


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'For I will fight for this city to save it for My own good, and for the good of My servant David.' "


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Then the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. And when men got up early in the morning, they saw all these dead bodies.


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When he was worshiping in the house of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword. Then they ran away to the land of Ararat. And his son Esarhaddon became king in his place.


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In those days Hezekiah became sick and was near death. Isaiah the man of God, the son of Amoz, came to him and said, "The Lord says, 'Make those of your house ready, for you will die and not live.' "


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and said, "O Lord, I ask you from my heart to remember now how I have walked with You in truth and with a whole heart. I have done what is good in Your eyes." And Hezekiah cried with a bitter cry.


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"Go and tell Hezekiah, 'The Lord, the God of your father David, says, "I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. See, I will add fifteen years to your life.


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And I will take you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. I will fight for this city." '


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See the shadow on the steps, which has gone down with the sun on the steps of Ahaz. I will make it go back ten steps." So the sun's shadow went back the ten steps it had gone down.


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I said, "Half-way through my life I am to go through the gates of the place of the dead. The rest of my years have been kept from me."


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I said, "I will not see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living. I will not look upon man any more among the people of the world.


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My house is pulled up like a shepherd's tent and taken from me. I have rolled up my life like a clothmaker. He cuts me off from the cloth He is making. From day to night You make an end of me.


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I waited for help until morning. Like a lion He breaks all my bones. From day to night You make an end of me.


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I make noise like the birds. I cry like a dove. My eyes are tired from looking up. O Lord, I am having a hard time. Keep me safe.


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"But what can I say? For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it. I will walk with care all my years because my soul is bitter.


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O Lord, by these things men live. And in all these is the life of my spirit. O heal me, and let me live!


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See, it was for my own well-being that I was bitter. But You have kept my soul from the grave that destroys. You have put all my sins behind Your back.


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The place of the dead cannot thank You. Death cannot praise You. Those who go down to the grave cannot hope that You will be faithful.


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It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today. A father tells his sons about how faithful You are.


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The Lord will save me. And we will sing my songs with harps all the days of our life in the house of the Lord."


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Then Hezekiah had said, "What is the special thing to see, that I will go up to the house of the Lord?"


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At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah. He heard that he had been sick and had become well.


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Hezekiah was pleased and showed them all his store-house of riches. He showed them the silver, the gold, the spices, the oil of much worth, and all his objects used in battle. He showed them everything that was in his store-houses. There was nothing in his house or under his rule that Hezekiah did not show them.


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Then Isaiah the man of God came to King Hezekiah and said to him, "What did these men say? From where have they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon."


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Isaiah said, "What have they seen in your house?" Hezekiah answered, "They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing among my riches that I have not shown them."


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'See, the days are coming when everything in your house, and everything your fathers have stored up to this day, will be carried to Babylon. Nothing will be left,' says the Lord.


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'And some of your own sons who are born to you will be taken away. They will work in the house of the king of Babylon.' "


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Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The Word of the Lord which you have spoken is good." For he thought, "There will be peace and truth in my days."


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"Speak kind words to Jerusalem. Call out to her that her time of war has ended, that her sin has been taken away, and that she has received from the Lord's hand twice as much for all her sins."


text:
A voice is calling, "Make the way ready for the Lord in the desert. Make the road in the desert straight for our God.


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Every valley will be lifted up and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the bad places will be made smooth.


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Then the shining-greatness of the Lord will be seen. All flesh together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."


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A voice says, "Cry." And he said, "What should I cry?" All flesh is grass. All its beauty is like the flower of the field.


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The grass dries up and the flower loses its color when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. For sure the people are grass.


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O Zion, you who bring good news, go up on the high mountain! Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, you who bring good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!"


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See, the Lord God will come with power, and His arm will rule for Him. See, He is bringing the pay He will give to everyone for what he has done.


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He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His arms and carry them close to His heart. He will be gentle in leading those that are with young.


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Who knows how much water is in His hand? Who has used his hand to know how far the heavens reach? Who knows what the dust of the earth would fill? Who has weighed the mountains and the hills?


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From whom did He ask for wisdom, and who gave Him understanding? Who taught Him the right way, and taught Him much learning? Who showed Him the way of understanding?


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See, the nations are like a drop in a pail. Their weight is like a little piece of dust. See, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.


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An able workman makes a false god. A man who works with gold covers it with gold. And a man who works with silver makes silver chains for it.


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He who is too poor to give such a gift, picks out a tree that will not waste away. He finds an able workman to set up a false god that will not be moved.


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Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the beginning of the earth?


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It is God Who sits on the throne above the earth. The people living on the earth are like grasshoppers. He spreads out the heavens like a curtain. He spreads them out like a tent to live in.


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They have just been planted, and have begun to take root in the earth. But He only blows on them and they dry up, and the storm carries them away like dry grass.


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Lift up your eyes and see. Who has made these stars? It is the One Who leads them out by number. He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of His strength, and because He is strong in power, not one of them is missing.


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O Jacob and Israel, why do you say, "My way is hidden from the Lord. My God does not think about my cause"?


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Have you not known? Have you not heard? The God Who lives forever is the Lord, the One Who made the ends of the earth. He will not become weak or tired. His understanding is too great for us to begin to know.


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But they who wait upon the Lord will get new strength. They will rise up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weak.


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"Islands, be quiet and listen to Me. Let the people get new strength. Let them come near, then let them speak. Let us come together to be judged.


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Who has called this one from the east, one who is right at every step? He gives up nations in front of him and makes him ruler over kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, and like wind-blown dry grass with his bow.


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Who has done this, calling out all the people from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He."


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The able workman gives strength of heart to the one who works with gold. He who makes iron smooth gives strength of heart to the one who beats the iron, saying of his work, "It is good." And he puts it in its place with nails so that it cannot be moved.


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I have taken you from the ends of the earth. I have called you from its farthest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not turned away from you.'


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Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will give you strength, and for sure I will help you. Yes, I will hold you up with My right hand that is right and good.


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See, all those who are angry with you will be put to shame and troubled. Those who fight against you will be as nothing and will be lost.


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You will look for those who argue with you, but will not find them. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.


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For I am the Lord your God Who holds your right hand, and Who says to you, 'Do not be afraid. I will help you.'


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Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you," says the Lord. "The One Who bought you and sets you free is the Holy One of Israel.


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See, I have made you a new, sharp, crushing tool with teeth. You will beat the mountains and crush them. You will make the hills like dry grass.


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You will make the wind blow over them, and it will carry them away. The storm will send them everywhere. But you will have joy in the Lord. You will be glad in the Holy One of Israel.


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"The suffering and those in need look for water, but there is none. Their tongue is dry with thirst. I the Lord will answer them. I the God of Israel will not leave them alone.


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I will open rivers on the dry mountain tops, and give water in the valleys. I will make the desert a pool of water, and the dry land wells of water.


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I will put in the desert the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree. I will put the juniper tree in the desert, together with the box tree and the cypress.


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Then men will see and know and think about and understand that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has made it happen.


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"Let your cause be known," says the Lord. "Bring what you have to prove it," says the King of Jacob.


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Let them bring what they have, and tell us what is going to happen. Let them tell us what has happened in the past, that we may think about it and know what will happen in the future.


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Tell us what will happen after this, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or bad, that we may together be afraid and fear.


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"I have called one from the north, and he has come. From the rising of the sun he will call on My name. He will step hard on rulers as on builder's clay, as the pot-maker steps hard on clay."


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Who has said this from the beginning, that we might know, or from times long ago, that we might say, "He is right"? There was no one who said it, no one who made it known, no one who heard your words.


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"Before I had said to Zion, 'See, here they are,' and to Jerusalem, 'I will send someone to bring good news.'


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"See! My servant, My chosen one! My much Loved, in Whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit on Him. He will say to the nations what is right from wrong.


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He will not break a broken branch or put out a little fire. He will be faithful to make everything fair.


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He will not lose hope or be crushed, until He has made things right on the earth. And the islands will wait with hope in His Law."


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This is what God the Lord Who made the heavens and spread them out and Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it, says,


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"I am the Lord. I have called you to be right and good. I will hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will give you as an agreement to the people, as a light to the nations.


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You will open blind eyes. You will bring people out of prison, out of the prison where they live in darkness.


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I am the Lord. That is My name. I will not give My shining-greatness to another, or My praise to false gods.


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See, the things told about in the past have happened. Now I speak about new things. Before they happen I will tell you about them."


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Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing His praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands and those who live on them.


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Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the towns where Kedar lives. Let the people of Sela sing. Let them call out for joy from the tops of the mountains.


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The Lord will go out like a powerful soldier. He will be ready like a man of war. He will call out, yes, He will call out a war cry. He will be strong against those who hate Him.


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"I have been quiet for a long time. I have been quiet and have held Myself back. Now I will cry out like a woman giving birth. I will breathe hard and fast.


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I will lay waste the mountains and hills, and dry up all their plants. I will make the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.


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I will lead the blind by a way that they do not know. I will lead them in paths they do not know. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. And I will make the bad places smooth. These are the things I will do and I will not leave them."


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They will be turned back and be put to shame who trust in false gods, who say to these objects of worship, "You are our gods."


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Who is blind but My servant? Who does not hear, as the one whom I send with news? Who is so blind as he who is at peace with Me, or so blind as the servant of the Lord?


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But this is a people robbed of what they owned. All of them are trapped in deep holes, or hidden in prisons. They have been robbed of what they have, with no one to help them. They have been taken away, with no one to say, "Give them back!"


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Who let Jacob be taken? Who gave Israel to robbers? Was it not the Lord, Whom we have sinned against, in Whose ways we were not willing to walk, and Whose Law we did not obey?


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So He poured out upon Israel the heat of His anger and the power of battle. It set him on fire all around. Yet he did not understand. It burned him, but he did not think about it.


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But now the Lord Who made you, O Jacob, and He Who made you, O Israel, says, "Do not be afraid. For I have bought you and made you free. I have called you by name. You are Mine!


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When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you pass through the rivers, they will not flow over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The fire will not destroy you.


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For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, Who saves you. I have given Egypt as pay for your life, and have traded Cush and Seba for you.


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You are of great worth in My eyes. You are honored and I love you. I will give other men in your place. I will trade other people for your life.


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Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east, and I will gather you from the west.


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I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from far away, and My daughters from the ends of the earth.


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Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, and those who cannot hear, even though they have ears.


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All the nations have gathered together so the people may be together. Who among them can make this known, and tell us what has happened before? Let them bring people who can show us that they are right. Let them hear and say, "It is true."


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"You can speak for Me," says the Lord. "You are My servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. No God was made before Me, and there will be none after Me.


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I have spoken and saved and have made things known, and there was no strange god among you. You can speak for Me," says the Lord, "and I am God.


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I am God and always will be. No one is able to take anything out of My hand. I do something, and who can change it?"


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The Lord Who bought you and sets you free, the Holy One of Israel, says, "Because of you I have sent to Babylon, and will bring down all their leaders, even the Babylonians, into the ships in which they find joy.


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Who brings out the war-wagon and the horse, the army and the strong man, <n>(They will lie down together and will not rise again. They are destroyed, put out like the fire of a little light)</n>:


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See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now. Will you not know about it? I will even make a road in the place where no people live, and rivers in the desert.


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The wild animals will honor Me, the wild dogs and the ostriches. For I give waters in the place where no people live, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.


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You have not brought the sheep of your burnt gifts to Me in worship. You have not honored Me with your gifts on the altar. I have not made you bring gifts or special perfume to Me.


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You have not bought Me any sweet smelling plants with money. And you have not given Me the fat of your gifts on the altar. Instead you have put the weight of your sins upon Me. You have made Me tired with your wrong-doing.


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"I, even I, am the One Who takes away your sins because of Who I am. And I will not remember your sins.


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Make Me remember, and let us talk together. Make your cause known, that you may be shown not to be guilty.


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So I will make unclean the leaders of the holy place. I will give Jacob over to be destroyed, and Israel to sharp words of shame.


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This is what the Lord Who made you, Who put you together before you were born, Who will help you, says, 'Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.


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For I will pour water on the thirsty land and rivers on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your children, and will bring good to your children's children.


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This one will say, 'I am the Lord's.' And that one will call on the name of Jacob. Another will write on his hand, 'I belong to the Lord,' and will name Israel's name with honor."


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The Lord, the King of Israel and the One Who saves and frees from sin, the Lord of All, says, "I am the first and I am the last. There is no God besides Me.


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Who is like Me? Let him make it known. Yes, let him tell Me what happened from the time I made people long ago. And let him tell the things that are coming and what is going to happen.


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Do not fear. Do not be afraid. Have I not made it known to you from long ago? And you have heard Me. Is there a God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock. I know of none."


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All who make objects to worship are for nothing. The things they think are worth much are worth nothing. Those who speak for them do not see or know, so they will be put to shame.


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See, all his friends will be put to shame, for the workmen themselves are only men. Let them all gather, let them stand up, let them shake with fear, and let them together be put to shame.


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The one who works with iron makes a sharp tool for cutting, working over a fire. He makes it by beating it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry and has no strength. He drinks no water and becomes tired.


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One works with wood, he marks it, and draws on it with a red marker. He makes it smooth and makes it like a man, like the beauty of a man, so that it may sit in a house.


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He cuts down cedar trees, and takes a cypress or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow.


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Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself. He makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it. He makes an object of worship and bows down in front of it.


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He burns half of it in the fire. Over this half he eats meat as he makes it ready, and is filled. He also warms himself and says, "O, I am warm. I see the fire."


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But he makes the rest of it into a god, his object of worship. He bows down in front of it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Bring me out of my trouble, for you are my god."


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They do not know, and they do not understand. For the Lord has covered their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot understand.


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And no one remembers about it, or knows or understands enough to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire, and have baked bread over the fire. I have cooked the meat over a fire and have eaten it. Should I make the rest of it into an object the Lord hates? Should I bow down in front of a block of wood?"


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He eats ashes! A false idea in his heart has led him the wrong way. And he cannot save himself or say, "Is not what I have here in my right hand a lie?"


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"Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant. I have made you, you are My servant. O Israel, I will not forget you.


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I have taken away your wrong-doing like a dark cloud, and your sins like a fog. Return to Me, for I have bought you and set you free."


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Call out for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Call out for joy, you deep places of the earth. Break out into singing, you mountains and every tree. For the Lord has bought Jacob and set him free and has shown His shining-greatness in Israel!


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The Lord, Who makes you, bought you and saves you, and the One Who put you together before you were born, says, "I am the Lord, Who made all things. I alone spread out the heavens, and I alone spread out the earth.


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I allow trouble to come on the special things done by men who lie and speak in pride. I make fools out of those who tell the future using their secret ways. I turn back wise men, and make their learning foolish.


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I make the word of My servant sure, and act upon the words of the men who speak for Me. It is I Who says of Jerusalem, 'She will have people living in her,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be built.' And I will build her up again.


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It is I Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, and he will do all that I want him to do,' even saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,' and of the house of God, 'Your first stones will be laid again.' "


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This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, whom He has chosen, whose right hand He has held, "I send him to put nations under his power, and to take away the power of kings. And I will open doors in front of him so that gates will not be shut.


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I will go before you and make the hard places smooth. I will break the brass doors to pieces, and cut through their iron gates.


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I will give you riches hidden in the darkness and things of great worth that are hidden in secret places. Then you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.


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For the good of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I called you by your name. I gave you a name of honor, when you had not known Me.


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I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no God besides Me. I will give you strength, even though you have not known Me.


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Then men may know from sunrise to sunset that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.


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I make light and I make darkness. I bring good and I make trouble. I am the Lord Who does all these things.


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"Send down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down what is right and good. Let the earth open up and bring the fruit of saving power. And let what is right and good grow with it. I the Lord have made it.


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"It is bad for the one who works against His Maker. He is just a clay pot among the other pots of earth. Will the clay say to the pot-maker, 'What are you doing?' or, your work say, 'He has no hands'?


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It is bad for him who says to his father, 'To what are you giving life?' or to a woman, 'To what are you giving birth?' "


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The Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, says, "Will you ask Me about the things to come for My children? Will you tell Me about the work of My hands?


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I made the earth, and made man upon it. I spread out the heavens with My hands, and put all the stars in their places.


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I have sent Cyrus to do what is right and good. And I will make all his ways smooth. He will build My city and without any money will set My people free who were taken away," says the Lord of All.


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The Lord says, "The riches of Egypt and the good things of Cush and the tall Sabeans will come over to you and be yours. They will walk behind you in chains and bow down to you. They will beg you, saying, 'For sure God is with you, and there is no other God. There is none other.' "


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All of them will be put to shame and troubled. Those who make false gods will go away together in shame.


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This is what the Lord Who made the heavens, the God Who planned and made the earth, and everything in it and did not make it a waste place, but made it a place for people to live in, says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other.


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I have not spoken in secret in some dark land. I did not say to the children of Jacob, 'Look for Me for nothing.' I the Lord speak the truth. I say what is right.


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"Gather together and come. Come near together, you who are left of the nations. They have no learning, who carry around their false god made of wood and pray to a god who cannot save.


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Make your need known. Yes, let them talk it over together. Who said this would happen from long ago? Who has been saying it for a long time? Is it not I, the Lord? There is no other God besides Me, a God Who is right and good, a God Who saves. There is none except Me.


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By Myself I have sworn. The Word has gone out from My mouth in truth, and will not turn back: 'Every knee will bow down before Me. And every tongue will say that I am God.'


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They will say of Me, 'Strength and what is right and good are only found in the Lord.' Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.


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The false gods, Bel and Nebo, bow down. Their objects of worship were put on animals and cattle and the wagons had heavy loads making it hard for the tired animals.


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They get down, they bow down together. They could not save the heavy load, but are themselves carried away to another land.


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"Listen to Me, O family of Jacob, and all who are left of the family of Israel. You have been helped by Me before you were born and carried since you were born.


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Even when you are old I will be the same. And even when your hair turns white, I will help you. I will take care of what I have made. I will carry you, and will save you.


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"To whom will you compare Me? With whom will you make Me the same and compare Me, that we should be alike?


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Those who take much gold from the money bag and weigh silver hire one who works with gold, and he makes it into a god. Then they bow down and worship it.


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They lift it upon their shoulders and carry it. They set it in its place and it stands there. It does not move from its place. When one cries to it, it cannot answer. It cannot take him away from his trouble.


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Remember the things of long ago. For I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is no one like Me.


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I tell from the beginning what will happen in the end. And from times long ago I tell of things which have not been done, saying, 'My Word will stand. And I will do all that pleases Me.'


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I call a strong and hungry bird from the east, the man from a far country who will do what I have planned. I have spoken, and I will make it happen. I have planned it, and I will do it.


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I bring near what is right and good. It is not far away. And My saving power is ready now. I will save Zion, and will bring My great power to Israel.


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"Come down and sit in the dust, O pure daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O people of the Babylonians. For you will no longer be called soft and gentle.


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Take the heavy stones and grind grain. Take off your face-covering and your clothing. Take the covering off your legs, and cross the rivers.


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Your body will not be covered, and your shame will be seen. I will punish, and will not show pity to any man."


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"Sit and be quiet, and go into darkness, O people of the Babylonians. For you will no more be called the queen of nations.


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I was angry with My people. I made My chosen nation unclean, and gave them into your hand. You did not show loving-kindness to them. On the older people you made your load very heavy.


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You said, 'I will be a queen forever.' So you did not think about these things, or remember what might happen.


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"So now hear this, you who love the desires of the body, who live without fear of danger. You say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a woman whose husband has died, and I will not lose my children.'


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But these two things will come upon you all at once in one day. You will lose your children and your husband. All this trouble will come to you, even with all your witchcraft and the strong power of your sinful secret ways.


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You trusted in your sin and said, 'No one sees me.' Your wisdom and learning have led you the wrong way, for you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'


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Much trouble will come upon you, and you will not know how to get away from it. Trouble will fall on you, and there will be no way for you to pay that it might go away. You will not know it but all at once you will be destroyed.


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"Keep on with your sinful secret ways and all your witchcraft that you have used since you were young. It might be that you will get something from it. Maybe you can cause fear.


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You are tired with your many wise men. Now call the star watchers, those who tell by the stars what will happen in the future, those who tell the future by the new moons. Have them stand up and save you from what will come upon you.


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See, they have become like dry grass. Fire burns them. They cannot take themselves away from the power of the fire. This is no fire for making one warm, or fire to sit by!


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This is how those are to you, with whom you have worked since you were young. Each one has gone on in his own wrong way. There is no one who can save you.


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"Hear this, O family of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who come from the seed of Judah. They make promises in the name of the Lord, and call upon the God of Israel, but not in truth or by what is right and good.


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For they call themselves people of the holy city, and trust in the God of Israel. The Lord of All is His name.


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I made known the things that would happen long ago. From My mouth My words went out. Then all at once I did what I said I would, and they came to pass.


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So I made them known to you long ago. I told you before they happened, or else you might say, 'My false god has done them. My objects of worship have made them happen.'


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You have heard, now look at all this. And will you say that you will not tell about it? I tell you new things from this time on, even hidden things which you have not known.


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They are made now, not long ago. Before today you have never heard of them, or you would say, 'See, I knew them.'


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You have not heard. You have not known. Even from long ago your ear has not been open, because I knew that you could not be trusted. You have been known to fight against the law and not obey from birth.


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For My own good, for My own good, I will do this. For why should I allow My name to be put to shame? I will not give My shining-greatness to another.


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My hand put the earth in its place. And My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call to them, they stand together.


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Gather together, all of you, and listen! Who among them has made these things known? The Lord loves him. He will do to Babylon what pleases him, and his arm will be against the Babylonians.


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Come near to Me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret. From the time it came to be, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit."


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The Lord Who bought you and saves you, the Holy One of Israel, says, "I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to do well, Who leads you in the way you should go.


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If only you had listened to My Laws! Then your peace would have been like a river and your right-standing with God would have been like the waves of the sea.


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Your children's children would have been like the sand. Those born to you would have been like the sand. Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before Me."


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Go out from Babylon! Run from the Babylonians! Call out for joy and let this be known to the end of the earth, saying, "The Lord has bought and set free His servant Jacob!"


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They were not thirsty when He led them through the deserts. He made water flow out of the rock for them. He broke the rock, and the water flowed out.


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Listen to Me, O islands. Listen, you people from far away. The Lord called Me before I was born. From the body of My mother he said My name.


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He has made My mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden Me in the shadow of His hand. He has made Me a shining arrow, keeping Me in His secret place.


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But I said, "My work has been for nothing. I have spent My strength for nothing. Yet for sure what should come to Me is with the Lord, and My pay is with My God."


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And now the Lord speaks, Who made Me before I was born to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him. For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and My God is My strength.


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He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the family groups of Jacob, and to bring back those of Israel I have kept safe. I will also make You a light to the nations, so that men over all the earth can be saved from the punishment of their sins."


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This is what the Lord, the One Who saves Israel, and its Holy One, says to the hated One, to the One hated by the nations, to the Servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise up. Rulers will also bow down, because of the Lord Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel Who has chosen You."


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The Lord says, "I have answered You at the right time. I have helped You in a day when people are saved. I will keep You and give You for an agreement to the people, to make the land good again, and to give them their land which had been destroyed.


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I will say to those in prison, 'Come out,' and to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They will eat along the roads, and find grass on all the hills.


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They will not be hungry or thirsty. The burning heat of the sun will not trouble them. For He Who has loving-pity on them will lead them. He will lead them to wells of water.


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See, these will come from far away. See, these will come from the north and from the west, and from the land of Sinim."


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Sing for joy, O heavens! Be glad, O earth! Break out into songs of joy, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people. He will have loving-pity on His suffering people.


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"Can a woman forget her nursing child? Can she have no pity on the son to whom she gave birth? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.


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Lift up your eyes and look around. All of them gather together and come to you. As I live," says the Lord, "you will put them on like objects of beauty. You will tie them on as a bride does.


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For your waste places and your destroyed land will now be too small for the people. And those who destroyed you will be far away.


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The children born to you during the time of your sorrow will say for you to hear, 'The place is too small for us. Make a bigger place for us to live in.'


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Then you will say in your heart, 'Who has given birth to these for me? My children were taken from me, and I could not give birth. I was sent away and had no place of my own. Who has brought up these children? See, I was left alone. Where have these come from?' "


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The Lord God says, "See, I will lift up My hand to the nations. I will raise My flag to the people. And they will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.


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Kings will take care of you as fathers. And their queens will be your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground, and kiss the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who wait for Me with hope will not be put to shame.


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"Can that which was taken by a strong man in battle be taken from him? Can those taken away to prison by a powerful ruler be saved?"


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The Lord says, "Even those taken away by the strong man will be taken from him. Those taken by the powerful ruler will be saved. For I will fight with the one who fights with you, and I will save your sons.


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I will feed those who make it hard for you with their own flesh. They will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am the One Who saves you, and the One Who bought you, the Powerful One of Jacob."


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The Lord says, "Where is the writing of your mother's divorce, by which I have sent her away? To whom of those who owed Me money did I sell you? See, you were sold for your sins. For your wrong-doing your mother was sent away.


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Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot pay for your life? Have I no power to take you out of trouble? See, I dry up the sea with My sharp words. I make the rivers a desert. Their fish smell bad because they do not have enough water, and die of thirst.


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The Lord God has given Me the tongue of those who follow Him, that I may know how to give strength when I speak to one who is tired. He wakes Me up morning by morning. He wakes up My ear to listen as a follower.


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I gave My back to those who hit Me, and My face to those who pull out the hair on my face. I did not cover My face from shame and spit.


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For the Lord God helps Me, so I am not put to shame. I have set My face like hard stone, and know that I will not be ashamed.


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He Who shows I am right is near. Who will fight with Me? Let us stand up to each other. Who has something against Me? Let him come near to Me.


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See, the Lord God helps Me. Who will say that I am guilty? See, they will all wear out like a piece of clothing. The moth will eat them.


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Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His Servant, yet walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and have faith in his God.


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See, all you who start a fire and put fire all around you! Walk in the light of your fire and among the pieces of wood you have started to burn. You will receive this from My hand: You will lie down in much suffering.


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"Listen to me, you who are following what is right and good, and who are looking for the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut out, and to the hole from which you were dug.


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Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain. When he was but one, I called him. Then I brought good to him and made him many."


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For the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her desert like Eden, like the garden of the Lord. Joy and happiness will be found in her. There will be much giving of thanks and much singing.


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"Listen to Me, O My people. Hear Me, O My nation. The Law will go out from Me and My Law will be a light to the people.


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My being right and good is near. My saving power has gone out, and My arms will judge the people. The islands will wait for Me. They will trust with hope for My arm.


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Lift up your eyes to the sky, and look to the earth below. For the sky will go away like smoke. And the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing and those who live in it will die like flies. But My saving power will be forever. My being right and good will not come to an end.


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Listen to Me, you who know what is right and good, you people who have My Law in your hearts. Do not fear the shame of strong words from man. Do not be troubled when they speak against you.


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For the moth will eat them like a piece of clothing. And the worm will eat them like wool. But My being right and good will be forever. My saving power will be to all children's children to come."


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Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake as in the days of old, as You did with the people who lived long ago. Was it not You Who cut Rahab in pieces, and Who cut through the big snake-like animal?


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Was it not You Who dried up the sea, the deep waters, and Who made a path through the deep sea for Your saved people to cross over?


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So the people, for whom the Lord paid the price to be saved, will return. They will come with songs of joy to Zion. Joy that lasts forever will be on their heads. They will receive joy and happiness, and sorrow and sad voices will hurry away.


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"I, even I, am He Who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of a man who dies? Why are you afraid of the sons of men who are made like grass,


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that you have forgotten the Lord Who made you? He spread out the heavens and put the earth in its place. Why do you live in fear all day long because of the anger of the one who makes it hard for you as he makes ready to destroy? But where is his anger?


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The one in chains will soon be set free, and will not die in prison. And he will always have enough bread.


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For I am the Lord your God, Who fills the sea with action so that its waves sound: The Lord of All is His name.


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I have put My words in your mouth, and have covered you with the shadow of My hand. I spread out the heavens and put the earth in its place, and say to Zion, 'You are My people.' "


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Awake! awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the Lord's hand the cup of His anger. You drank it down, and you had trouble walking.


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These two things have come upon you: Being laid waste and destroyed, hunger and the sword. Who will have sorrow for you?


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Your sons have become weak and have fallen down. They cannot help themselves and they lie at the top of every street, like a deer in a net.


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Your Lord, the Lord your God Who fights for His people, says, "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that makes you have trouble walking. You will never drink from the cup of My anger again.


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I will put it into the hand of those who make it hard for you, who have said to you, 'Lie down that we may walk over you.' You have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to walk over."


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Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For those who have not gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew and those who are unclean will not come into you any more.


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Shake off the dust. Rise up, O Jerusalem, who has been taken into prison. Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O chained people of Zion who are in prison.


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For the Lord God says, "My people went down at first to Egypt to live there. Then the Assyrian made it hard for them without a reason.


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So now what do I have here," says the Lord, "Seeing that My people have been taken away for no reason?" The Lord says, "Those who rule over them call out in a loud voice and My name is spoken against all day long.


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How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who tells of peace and brings good news of happiness, who tells of saving power, and says to Zion, "Your God rules!"


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Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices. They call out together for joy, for they will see with their own eyes the return of the Lord to Zion.


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Break out together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord has comforted His people. He has saved Jerusalem.


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The Lord has shown His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see that our God saves.


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Leave, leave, go from them. Touch nothing that is unclean. Leave and make yourselves pure, you who carry the holy objects of the Lord.


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But you will not go out in a hurry. You will not leave as if you were running for your lives. For the Lord will go before you. And the God of Israel will keep watch behind you.


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Just as many looked in wonder at you, My people, so His face was marked worse than any man, and His body more than the sons of men.


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He will surprise many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. What they had never been told about Him, they will see. And what they had never heard about Him, they will understand.


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He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground. He has no beautiful body and when we see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him.


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He was hated and men would have nothing to do with Him, a man of sorrows and suffering, knowing sadness well. We hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was hated, and we did not think well of Him.


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For sure He took on Himself our troubles and carried our sorrows. Yet we thought of Him as being punished and hurt by God, and made to suffer.


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But He was hurt for our wrongdoing. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so we would have peace. He was beaten so we would be healed.


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All of us like sheep have gone the wrong way. Each of us has turned to his own way. And the Lord has put on Him the sin of us all.


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Men made it very hard for Him and caused Him to suffer, yet He did not open His mouth. He was taken like a lamb to be put to death. A sheep does not make a sound while its wool is cut and He did not open His mouth.


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He was taken away as a prisoner and then judged. Who among the people of that day cared that His life was taken away from the earth? He was hurt because of the sin of the people who should have been punished.


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They gave Him a grave with the sinful, but with the rich at His death, for He had done no wrong, and there was nothing false in His mouth.


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But it was the will of the Lord to crush Him, causing Him to suffer. Because He gives His life as a gift on the altar for sin, He will see His children. Days will be added to His life, and the will of the Lord will do well in His hand.


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He will see what the suffering of His soul brings, and will be pleased. By what He knows, the One Who is right and good, My Servant, will carry the punishment of many and He will carry their sins.


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So I will give Him a share among the great. He will divide the riches with the strong, because He gave up His life. They thought of Him as One Who broke the Law. Yet He Himself carried the sin of many, and prayed for the sinners.


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"Woman, be happy, you who have had no children. Cry for joy, you who have never had the pains of having a child, for you will have many children. Yes, you will have more children than the one who has a husband," says the Lord.


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"Make your tent bigger. Spread out the curtains of your home, and do not hold back. Make your ropes longer and your tie-downs stronger.


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For you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your children will own nations, and they will fill the destroyed cities with people.


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"Fear not, for you will not be ashamed. Do not be troubled, for you will not be put to shame. You will forget how you were ashamed when you were young. You will not remember the sorrow of being without a husband any more.


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Your Maker is your husband. His name is the Lord of All. And the One Who saves you is the Holy One of Israel. He is called the God of All the earth.


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For the Lord has called you like a wife left alone and filled with sorrow, like a wife who married when young and is left," says your God.


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When I was very angry I hid My face from you for a short time. But with lovingkindness that lasts forever I will have pity on you," says the Lord Who bought you and saves you.


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"For this is like the days of Noah to Me. As I promised that the waters of Noah should not flood the earth again, so I have promised that I will not be angry with you or speak sharp words to you.


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The mountains may be taken away and the hills may shake, but My loving-kindness will not be taken from you. And My agreement of peace will not be shaken," says the Lord who has loving-pity on you.


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"O suffering one, shaken by the storm and not comforted, see, I will set your stones in beautiful colors. You will stand upon blue stones of much worth.


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I will make your towers of bright red stones. Your gates will be made of shining stones, and all your walls will be made of stones of great worth.


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All will be right and good for you. No one over you will make it hard for you, and you will not be afraid. You will be far from trouble, for it will not come near you.


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If anyone brings trouble against you, it will not be from Me. Whoever comes against you will fall because of you.


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See, I Myself have made the workman who blows on the fire to give it more heat and makes a sword for its work. I have made the destroyer to destroy.


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No tool that is made to fight against you will do well. And you will prove wrong every tongue that says you are guilty. This is the gift given to the servants of the Lord. I take away their guilt and make them right," says the Lord.


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"Listen! Every one who is thirsty, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.


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Why do you spend money for what is not bread? Why spend your pay for what you do not enjoy? Listen well to Me, and eat what is good. Find joy in the best food.


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Listen and come to Me. Hear, so you may live. And I will make an agreement with you that lasts forever, because of the faithful love promised to David.


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See, I made him one who told of what he had seen and heard to the nations, a leader and ruler of the people.


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See, you will call nations that you do not know. And nations that did not know you will run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. For He has given shining-greatness to you."


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Let the sinful turn from his way, and the one who does not know God turn from his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have loving-pity on him. Let him turn to our God, for He will for sure forgive all his sins.


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"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.


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The rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without giving water to the earth. This makes plants grow on the earth, and gives seeds to the planter and bread to the eater.


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So My Word which goes from My mouth will not return to Me empty. It will do what I want it to do, and will carry out My plan well.


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You will go out with joy, and be led out in peace. The mountains and the hills will break out into sounds of joy before you. And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.


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Instead of the thorn bush, the cypress tree will come up. Instead of the thistle, the myrtle tree will come up. It will cause you to remember the Lord, something special to see that will last forever."


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The Lord says, "Hold on to what is right and fair. Do what is right and good. My saving power will soon come, and I will show what is right.


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How happy is the man who does this, and the son of man who takes hold of it! How happy is he who keeps the Day of Rest holy, and keeps his hand from doing wrong."


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Let not the man from a strange land who has joined the Lord say, "For sure the Lord will keep me away from His people." Let not the man who had been made so that he could not have children say, "See, I am a dry tree."


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To these the Lord says, "If these servants keep My Days of Rest and choose what pleases Me, and hold on to My agreement,


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I will give them something in My house and within My walls to be remembered. I will give them a name better than that of sons and daughters, a name that will be forever and never be cut off.


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"And those from a strange land who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him and to love His name, to be His servants, and keep the Day of Rest holy, and keep My agreement,


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even those I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and gifts will be received on My altar. For My house will be called a house of prayer for all people."


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The Lord God Who gathers the people of Israel from other lands says, "I will gather yet others to them, besides those already gathered."


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The men of Israel who keep watch are blind to trouble. They know very little. They are all dogs that cannot make noise. They dream and lie down, and love to sleep.


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The dogs are hungry and never have enough. The shepherds have no understanding. They have all turned to their own way, each one wanting to get things for himself that are not his.


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"Come," they say, "let us get wine. Let us drink much strong drink. And tomorrow will be even better than today."


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"The man who is right and good dies, and no one cares. Very good men are taken away, while no one understands. But the man who is right with God is taken away from what is sinful,


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and goes where there is peace. They have rest in their graves, each one who walked in the right way.


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But come here, you sons of a witch, children of a man who does sex sins and a woman who sells the use of her body.


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Against whom are you making fun? Against whom do you open your mouth wide and put out your tongue? Are you not children of sin, the young ones of lies?


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You burn with desire with your false gods under every green tree. You put your children on the altar of your false gods in the valleys under high rocks that hang over.


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Your part is among the smooth stones of the valley. They are what you get. You have poured out drink gifts to them and given grain gifts. Should I be pleased about these things?


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You have put up your false gods behind the door on the other side. You have turned away from Me and have taken the covering off yourself. You have gone up and made your bed wide. You have made an agreement for yourselves with them. You have loved their bed, and have looked upon their bodies.


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You have traveled to the king with oil and much perfume. You have sent your men with gifts a very long way, and made them go down to the place of the dead.


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You were tired because your road was so long, yet you did not say, 'There is no hope.' You found new strength, so you did not become weak.


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"Of whom were you afraid, when you lied, and did not remember Me or think about Me? Have I not been quiet for a long time, so you are not afraid of Me?


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When you cry out, let the false gods that you have take you out of trouble. The wind will carry them away. A breath will take them away. But he who comes to Me to be safe will receive the land. My holy mountain will be his."


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It will be said, "Build up, build up, make the way ready. Take everything out of the way of My people."


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For the high and honored One Who lives forever, Whose name is Holy, says, "I live in the high and holy place. And I also live with those who are sorry for their sins and have turned from them and are not proud. I give new strength to the spirit of those without pride, and also to those whose hearts are sorry for their sins.


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I will keep on fighting against you, and will not always be angry, for then your spirit would become weak before Me, the ones to whom I gave life.


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Because of the sin of his desire to get more of everything, I was angry. I punished him and hid My face in anger. He went on sinning, following the way of his own heart.


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I have seen his ways and will heal him. I will lead him and give comfort to him and to those who have sorrow for him.


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I will make the lips to praise. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near," says the Lord, "and I will heal him."


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"Cry with a loud voice. Do not hold back. Raise your voice like a horn, and show My people their wrong-doing and the family of Jacob their sins.


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Yet they look for Me day by day, and are happy to know My ways, as a nation that has done what is right and good, and has not turned away from the Law of their God. They ask Me to be fair in what I decide, and they are happy to come near to God.


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They say, 'Why have we gone without food, and You do not see it? Why have we put away our pride, and You do not know it?' See, on the day you do not eat, you do what you want to do, and make it hard for all your workers.


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See, while you go without food you argue and fight and hit with a sinful hand. Going without food as you do today will not help your voice to be heard on high.


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Is it a time without eating like this that I choose, a day for a man to put away his pride? Is it for bowing his head like a piece of grass, and to spread ashes and cloth made from hair for his bed? Will you call this time without eating a day that pleases the Lord?


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Is not the time without eating which I choose, a time to take off the chains of sin, and to take the heavy load of sin off the neck? Is it not a time to let those who suffer under a sinful power go free, and to break every load from their neck?


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Is it not a time to share your food with the hungry, and bring the poor man into your house who has no home of his own? Is it not a time to give clothes to the person you see who has no clothes, and a time not to hide yourself from your own family?


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Then your light will break out like the early morning, and you will soon be healed. Your right and good works will go before you. And the shining-greatness of the Lord will keep watch behind you.


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Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take the weight of sin away, and stop putting the blame on others and stop speaking sinful things,


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and if you give what you have to the hungry, and fill the needs of those who suffer, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be like the brightest time of day.


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The Lord will always lead you. He will meet the needs of your soul in the dry times and give strength to your body. You will be like a garden that has enough water, like a well of water that never dries up.


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And your cities which were destroyed long ago will be built again. You will set up the stones of the bases of the old buildings. You will be called the one who builds again the broken walls, and who makes the streets on which people live like new.


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"If you keep from doing what pleases you on the Day of Rest, on My holy day and call the Day of Rest a happy time, and respect the holy day of the Lord, and if you honor it by turning from your own ways, and from following your own desire and by not talking in a foolish way,


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then you will have joy in the Lord. I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth. And I will feed you with the best from the land given to your father Jacob. The mouth of the Lord has spoken."


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See, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save, and His ear is not closed that it cannot hear.


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But your wrong-doings have kept you away from your God. Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.


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For your hands are sinful with blood, your fingers with wrong-doing, your lips have lied, and your tongue talks about sin.


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No one wants what is right and fair in court. And no one argues his cause with the truth. They trust in what is false, and speak lies. They plan to make trouble and do what is sinful.


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They bring young ones from the eggs of deadly snakes and make traps as a spider does. He who eats of their eggs dies, and a snake comes out of the egg that is crushed.


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Clothing cannot be made from the work of the spider, so they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of sin. They hurt others with their hands.


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And they are quick to sin and to kill people who are not guilty. Their thoughts are thoughts of sin. Wherever they go, they destroy and cause suffering.


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They know nothing about peace, and there is nothing fair in their paths. Their roads are not straight. Whoever walks on them does not know peace.


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So what is right and fair is far from us. What is right and good does not come to us. We hope for light, but see darkness. We hope for bright light, but we walk in the dark.


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We feel for the wall like blind men. We feel our way like those who have no eyes. We trip at noon as in the night. Among those who are strong, we are like dead men.


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All of us make noise like bears, and cry inside ourselves like doves. We hope for what is right and fair, but it is not there. We hope to be saved, but it is far from us.


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For we have done much wrong before You, and our sins speak against us. Our wrong-doing is with us, and we know our sins.


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We have gone against the Lord and have acted as if we do not know Him. We have turned away from our God. We have made it hard for others. We have thought and spoken lying words from the heart.


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What is right and fair is turned back. What is right and good stands far away. Truth has fallen in the street, and what is right cannot come in.


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Yes, truth is not there. And he who turns away from sin comes under the anger of sinners. Now the Lord saw this, and it did not please Him to see that what is right and fair was not being done.


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He saw and wondered that there was no man to speak up for what is right. Then His own arm brought saving power, and what is right with Him gave Him strength.


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Being right and good was His covering for His breast, saving power was His headcovering, clothing of anger was his covering, and His strong desires were like a coat.


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He will pay them back for their works. He will send anger upon those who are against Him, and will punish those who hate Him. He will send punishment on the islands.


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They will fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His shining-greatness from the rising of the sun. When the one who hates us comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a wall against him.


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"The One Who saves from the punishment of sin will come to Zion, and He will come to those of Jacob who turn from their sinful ways," says the Lord.


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"And as for Me, this is My agreement with them," says the Lord. "My Spirit which is upon you, and My Words which I have put in your mouth, will not leave your mouth, or the mouth of your children, or the mouth of your children's children." says the Lord, "from now and forever."


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For see, darkness will cover the earth. Much darkness will cover the people. But the Lord will rise upon you, and His shining-greatness will be seen upon you.


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"Lift up your eyes and look around you, and see. They all gather together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in the arms.


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Then you will see and shine with joy. Your heart will be glad and full of joy, because the riches of the sea will be turned to you. And the riches of the nations will come to you.


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Many camels will cover your land, the young camels of Midian and Ephah. All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and special perfume, and will carry good news of the praises of the Lord.


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All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you. The male sheep of Nebaioth will be ready for your need. They will be received on My altar. And I will make My house beautiful.


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For sure the islands will wait for Me. And the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from far away, and their silver and gold with them. They will come because of the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for He has brought great honor to you.


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"People from strange lands will build up your walls, and their kings will help you. For I destroyed you in My anger, but in My favor I have had loving-pity on you.


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Your gates will always be open. They will not be closed day or night, so that men may bring the riches of the nations to you with the kings leading the way.


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The beauty of Lebanon will come to you. The juniper, the box tree and the cypress will be brought to make My holy place beautiful. I will make the place of My feet a beautiful place.


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The sons of those who made it hard for you will come bowing to you. All those who hated you will bow down at your feet. And they will call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.


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"You have been left and hated, with no one passing through. But I will make you a pride forever, a joy for all your children's children.


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You will drink the milk of nations. You will drink from the breast of kings. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am the One Who saves you, and the One Who bought you and made you free, the Powerful One of Jacob.


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Instead of brass, I will bring gold. Instead of iron, I will bring silver. Instead of wood, I will bring brass. And instead of stones, I will bring iron. I will make peace your leader, and what is right and good will be your boss.


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Fighting will not be heard again in your land. Nothing within your land will be destroyed. You will call your walls Saving Power and your gates Praise.


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No more will the sun be your light during the day, and the moon during the night. But the Lord will be your light forever and your God will be your shining-greatness.


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Your sun will set no more, and your moon will not become less. For the Lord will be your light forever and ever, and the days of your sorrow will end.


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Then all your people will be right with God. They will have the land forever. They are the branch I planted, the work of My hands, that I may be honored.


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The smallest one will become a family of a thousand. And the least one will become a powerful nation. I, the Lord, will make it happen in its time."


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The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has chosen me to bring good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent me to tell those who are being held and those in prison that they can go free.


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He has sent me to tell about the year of the Lord's favor, and the day our God will bring punishment. He has sent me to comfort all who are filled with sorrow.


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To those who have sorrow in Zion I will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I will give them the oil of joy instead of sorrow, and a spirit of praise instead of a spirit of no hope. Then they will be called oaks that are right with God, planted by the Lord, that He may be honored.


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They will build the cities again that were destroyed long ago. They will raise up what had been torn down, and will build the cities that were destroyed, and have lain waste through the years of many families and their children's children.


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Strangers will stand and feed your flocks. Men from other lands will be your farmers and care for your vines.


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But you will be called the religious leaders of the Lord. Men will speak of you as servants of our God. You will eat the riches of the nations, and in their riches you will speak with pride.


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Instead of your shame you will have a share that is twice as much. Instead of being without honor, they will sing for joy over all you receive. So they will have twice as much in their land, and joy that lasts forever will be theirs.


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For I, the Lord, love what is right and fair. I hate stealing and what is wrong. I will be faithful to pay them what they should have. And I will make an agreement with them that will last forever.


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Their children will be known among the nations. Their children's children will be known among the people. All who see them will know them, because they are the people to whom the Lord has brought honor.


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I will have much joy in the Lord. My soul will have joy in my God, for He has clothed me with the clothes of His saving power. He has put around me a coat of what is right and good, as a man at his own wedding wears something special on his head, and as a bride makes herself beautiful with stones of great worth.


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As the earth lets its new plants grow, and as a garden causes the things planted in it to grow, in the same way, the Lord God will cause what is right and good and words of praise to grow up in front of all the nations.


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Because of Zion I will not keep quiet. Because of Jerusalem I will not rest, until her being right with God shines like a bright light, and her being saved shines like fire.


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The nations will see that you are right and good. All kings will see your shining-greatness. And you will be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give.


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You will no longer be called "Left Alone." Your land will no longer be called "Forgotten." But you will be called "My joy is in her," and your land "Married." For the Lord finds joy in you, and to Him your land will be married.


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For as a young man marries a young woman who has never had a man, your sons will marry you. And as the man to be married finds joy in his bride, so your God will find joy in you.


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On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have put men to keep watch. All day and all night they will never be quiet. You who help the Lord remember, do not rest.


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The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, "I will never again give your grain to be food for those who hate you. And strangers will never again drink your new wine that you have worked hard to make.


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But those who have worked on it will eat it and praise the Lord. And those who gather it will drink it in the open spaces inside My holy house."


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Go through, go through the gates. Open the way for the people. Build up, build up the road. Take away the stones, and raise the flag over the people.


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See, the Lord has made it known to the end of the earth: Say to the people of Zion, "Look, the One Who saves you is coming! See, He is bringing His reward that He will give."


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And they will call them "The holy people, the people who have been saved and set free by the Lord." And you will be called "A city looked for, a city that God has not forgotten."


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Who is this Who comes from Edom, with dark red clothing from Bozrah? Who is this One Who is beautiful in His clothing, walking in the greatness of His strength? "It is I, Who speaks what is right and good, powerful to save."


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"I have crushed the grapes alone. From the people there was no man with Me. I crushed them in My anger. I was angry as I stepped on them. And their life blood is on My clothing, and all My clothing is red.


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For the day of punishment was in My heart. And My year to save My people and make them free has come.


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I looked, and there was no one to help. I wondered that there was no one to help. So My own arm brought saving power to Me, and My anger helped Me.


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I crushed the nations in My anger and I made them drunk in My anger. I poured out their life blood on the earth."


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I will tell of the loving-kindness of the Lord, and praise Him for all He has done. I will tell of all the Lord has given us, the great goodness He has shown to the family of Israel and given to them because of His lovingpity and His great loving-kindness.


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For He said, "For sure they are My people, sons who will not be false to Me." So He saved them from the punishment of sin.


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He suffered with them in all their troubles, and the angel of the Lord saved them. In His loving-kindness He paid the price and made them free. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of long ago.


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But they turned against Him and made His Holy Spirit have sorrow. So He turned Himself and hated them, and fought against them.


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Then His people remembered the days long ago, the days of Moses. Where is He Who brought them through the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He Who put His Holy Spirit among them?


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Where is He Who caused His great arm to be at the right hand of Moses? Where is He Who divided the waters in front of them to make for Himself a name that lasts forever.


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Like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a great and honored name.


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Look down from heaven, and see from Your holy and beautiful house. Where are Your strong desires and Your powerful works? Your kindness and Your loving-pity are kept from me.


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For You are our Father. Even though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not see who we are, You, O Lord, are our Father. The One Who bought us and made us free from long ago is Your name.


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O Lord, why do You make us turn aside from Your ways and make our hearts hard so we do not fear You? Return because of Your servants, the families of Your promised land.


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Your holy people kept Your holy house for a little while. But those who hate us have broken it under their feet.


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We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, like those who were not called by Your name.


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as when fire burns the wood and causes the water to boil. Come and make Your name known to those who are against you, that the nations may shake in fear before You!


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When You did powerful things which we did not expect, You came down, and the mountains shook before You.


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From long ago no ear has heard and no eye has seen any God besides You, Who works for those who wait for Him.


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You meet him who finds joy in doing what is right and good, who remembers You in Your ways. See, You were angry because we sinned. We have been sinning for a long time, and will we be saved?


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All of us have become like one who is unclean. All our right and good works are like dirty pieces of cloth. And all of us dry up like a leaf. Our sins take us away like the wind.


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There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us, and have given us over to the power of our sins.


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But now, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, and You are our pot maker. All of us are the work of Your hand.


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Your holy cities have become a waste place. Zion has become a waste place. Jerusalem lies destroyed.


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Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised You, has been burned by fire. And all our things of great worth have been destroyed.


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Will You do nothing after seeing these things, O Lord? Will You keep quiet and make us suffer even more?


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"I let Myself be looked for by those who did not ask for Me. I let Myself be found by those who did not look for Me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation that did not call on My name.


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All day long I held out My hand to a people who would not obey Me and who worked against Me. They walk in a way that is not good, following their own thoughts.


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These people always make Me angry, giving gifts of worship in gardens and burning special perfume on altars of clay blocks.


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They sit among graves, and spend the night in secret places. They eat the flesh of pigs, and have boiled meat that is unclean in their pots.


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They say, 'Keep to yourself. Do not come near me. For I am holier than you.' These are smoke in My nose, a fire that burns all the day.


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See, it is written before Me: 'I will not keep quiet, but I will pay them back. I will pay them back into their breast,


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for both their own sins and the sins of their fathers,' " says the Lord. "Because they have burned special perfume on the mountains and have spoken against Me on the hills, I will give them into their breasts the full pay for what they have done."


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The Lord says, "New wine is found in the grapes, and one says, 'Do not destroy them, for there is still some good in them.' I will act in the same way for My servants, and not destroy them all.


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I will bring children from Jacob, and one out of Judah who will have My mountains for a gift. They will be given to My chosen ones, and My servants will live there.


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Sharon will become a field for flocks. And the valley of Achor will be a resting place for herds, for My people who look for Me.


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But you who turn away from the Lord, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for the false god, Gad, and who fill cups of mixed wine for the false female goddess, Meni,


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I will have your future be the sword. All of you will bow down to be killed. Because when I called, you did not answer. I spoke, but you did not hear. You did what was sinful in My eyes, and chose what did not please Me."


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So the Lord God says, "See, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. See, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. See, My servants will be glad, but you will be put to shame.


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See, My servants will call out for joy with a glad heart. But you will cry out with pain in your heart and with a broken spirit.


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And you will leave your name as a curse for My chosen ones. The Lord God will kill you, but My servants will be called by another name.


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Anyone who has good things come to him in the land will have good things come to him by the God of truth. And he who makes a promise in the land will promise by the God of truth. The troubles of the past are forgotten, and are hidden from My eyes.


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"For, see, I will make new heavens and a new earth. The past things will not be remembered or come to mind.


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But be glad and have joy forever in what I make. For see, I make Jerusalem for joy, and her people for happiness.


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I will have joy in Jerusalem and be glad in My people. The voice of crying will no longer be heard in it, or the cry of trouble.


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No more will there be in it a child who lives only a few days, or an old man who does not live many years. For the child will live to be a hundred years old. And the one who does not live a hundred years will be thought to be cursed.


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They will not build a house and another live in it. They will not plant and another eat. For My people will live a long time, like the days of a tree. And for a long time My chosen ones will enjoy the work of their hands.


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They will not work for nothing, or give birth to children and have trouble. For they will be the children of those who receive good from the Lord, and their children with them.


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The wolf and the lamb will eat together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And dust will be the snake's food. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain," says the Lord.


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My hands made all these things, and so all these things came into being," says the Lord. "But I will look to the one who has no pride and is broken in spirit, and who shakes with fear at My Word.


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"He who kills an ox is like one who kills a man. He who kills a lamb on the altar in worship is like one who breaks a dog's neck. He who gives a grain gift is like one who gives pig's blood. He who burns special perfume is like the one who gives honor and thanks to a false god. They have chosen their own ways, and their soul finds joy in the sinful things they do.


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So I will choose their punishments, and will bring on them what they are most afraid of. I called, but no one answered, and spoke, but they did not listen. They did what was sinful in My eyes, and chose what did not please Me."


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Hear the word of the Lord, you who shake in fear at His word: "Your brothers who hate you and have nothing to do with you because of Me have said, 'Let the Lord be honored, that we may see your joy.' But they will be put to shame.


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Listen! A noise from the city! A voice from the house of God! It is the voice of the Lord Who is giving punishment to those who hate Him.


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Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be born all at once? As soon as Zion's pains came, she gave birth to her sons.


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Will I bring a child to birth, and not let him be born?" says the Lord. "Will I, Who gives birth, stop it?" says your God.


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Be glad with Jerusalem and have joy in her, all you who love her. Be filled with joy for her, all you who have sorrow for her.


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Then you will nurse and be filled with her comforting breasts. You will drink and be happy with her greatness."


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For the Lord says, "See, I will give peace to her like a river, and the greatness of the nations like a river flowing over. And you will be nursed. You will be carried at the side and given lovingkindness on the knees.


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When you see this, your heart will be glad. Your bones will get new strength like the new grass. And the hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants. But He will be angry with those who hate Him.


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For see, the Lord will come in fire. His war-wagons will be like a very strong wind. And He will show His anger with fire.


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The Lord will punish by fire and by His sword on all flesh. And those killed by the Lord will be many.


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Those who set themselves apart and make themselves pure to go to the gardens, following one in the center, who eat pig's flesh, hated things, and mice, will come to an end together," says the Lord.


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"For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they will come and see My shining-greatness.


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I will put something special among them. And I will send some of them who are left alive to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Mashech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the far islands that have not heard of My name or seen My greatness. And they will make My greatness known among the nations.


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Then they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain gift to the Lord, on horses, in war-wagons, on beds pulled by animals, on donkeys, and on camels. They will be brought to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the Lord, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain gift in a clean pot to the house of the Lord.


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"As the new heavens and the new earth which I make will last before Me," says the Lord, "in the same way, your children's children and your name will last.


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From a new moon to another new moon, and from one Day of Rest to another Day of Rest, all people will come to bow down before Me," says the Lord.


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"Then they will go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have sinned against Me. For their worm will not die, and their fire will not be put out. And they will be a hated thing to all people."


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These are the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the religious leaders at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.


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The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his rule.


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It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem were taken away.


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"Before I started to put you together in your mother, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart as holy. I chose you to speak to the nations for Me."


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But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy.' You must go everywhere I send you. And you must say whatever I tell you.


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Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth, and said to me, "See, I have put My words in your mouth.


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I have chosen you this day to be over the nations and the kings, to dig up and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant."


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And the Word of the Lord came to me saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."


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The Word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, with its face turned away from the north."


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For, see, I am calling all the families of the nations of the north," says the Lord. "And they will come. Then every one will set up his throne at the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls around it, and against all the cities of Judah.


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And I will tell how they are to be punished for all their sin. For they have turned away from Me and have given gifts to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.


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Now get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I tell you. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make trouble for you in front of them.


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Today I have made you as a strong city ready for war, as a pillar of iron and as walls of brass against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, the rulers, its religious leaders, and the people of the land.


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And they will fight against you. But they will not have power over you, for I am with you to take you out of trouble," says the Lord.


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"Go and speak so those in Jerusalem will hear, 'This is what the Lord says: "I remember how you loved Me when you were young. Your love was as a bride. I remember how you followed Me in the desert, through a land that had not been planted.


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Israel was holy to the Lord, the first-fruits of His gathering. All who ate of it <n>(Israel)</n> were guilty, and trouble came upon them," says the Lord.' "


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The Lord says, "What wrong did your fathers find in Me, that they turned so far from Me and followed false gods?


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They did not say, 'Where is the Lord Who brought us up from the land of Egypt? Where is He Who led us through the place where no people live, through a land of deserts and deep holes, through a land without water and with much trouble, through a land that no one traveled and where no man lived?'


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And I brought you into a rich land to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and made My land unclean. You made the land I gave you sinful and hated.


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The religious leaders did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' And those who worked with the Law did not know Me. The rulers sinned against Me. And the men of God spoke by the false god of Baal, and went after things that did not help.


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Go over to the land of Cyprus and see. Or send men to Kedar to watch with care. And see if there has been such a thing as this!


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Has a nation changed its gods, even when they are not gods? But My people have changed their greatness for that which does not help them.


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"For My people have done two sinful things: They have turned away from Me, the well of living waters. And they have cut out of the rock wells for water for themselves. They are broken wells that cannot hold water.


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The young lions have made noise against him. They have made a loud noise. And they have made his land a waste. His cities have been destroyed, and have no people.


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Have you not brought this upon yourself, by turning away from the Lord your God, when He led you in the way?


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Now why are you going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? Or why are you going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates?


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Your own sin will punish you. Your turning away from the Lord will punish you. So know and see that it is sinful and bitter for you to leave the Lord your God. You have no fear of Me," says the Lord God of All.


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"Long ago I broke the load from your neck and tore off your chains. But you said, 'I will not serve!' For on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a woman who sells the use of her body.


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Yet I planted you as a vine of much worth, in every way a true seed. How then have you turned away from Me and become a wild vine?


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Even when you wash yourself with much strong soap, the mark of your sin is still before Me," says the Lord God.


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"How can you say, 'I am clean. I have not gone after the false gods of Baal'? Look at what you did in the valley! Know what you have done! You are like a wild young camel wanting to mate.


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You are a wild donkey used to the desert, that smells the wind in her desire. In the time of her mating who can turn her away? All who look for her will not become tired. In her month of mating they will find her.


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Do not run until your shoes wear out or until your mouth is dry. But you said, 'It is of no use, for I love strange gods, and I will go after them.'


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"As a robber is put to shame when he is caught, so the family of Israel is put to shame: they, their kings, their rulers, their religious leaders, and their men of God.


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They say to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.' For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Rise up and save us.'


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But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as cities, O Judah.


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"I have punished your children for nothing, for they would not learn from it. Your sword has destroyed your men of God like a destroying lion.


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O people of this day, listen to the Word of the Lord. Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of much darkness? Why do My people say, 'We are free to go, and we will come to You no more'?


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Can a young woman forget the beautiful objects she wears? Can a bride forget her clothing? Yet My people have forgotten Me too many days to number.


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On your clothing is found the blood of the poor who could not be blamed. You did not find them breaking in. But even with all these things,


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you say, 'I am not guilty. For sure He has turned His anger away from me.' See, I will punish you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'


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Why do you go around so much changing your way? You will be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.


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From Egypt also you will go out with your hands on your head. For the Lord has turned against those in whom you trust, and as you are with them, it will not go well for you."


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God says, "If a husband divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be made unclean? But you are like a sinful woman with many lovers, yet would you return to Me?" says the Lord.


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"Lift up your eyes to the open hill-tops and see. Is there any place you have not lain with your lovers? You have sat by the roads waiting for them like an Arab in the desert. And you have made the land unclean with your sinful ways and your wrong-doing.


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So the rains have been held back. There has been no spring rain. You look like a woman who sells the use of her body, and would not be ashamed.


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Have you not just now called to Me? You said, 'My Father, You have been my friend since I was young.


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Will You be angry forever? Will You be angry to the end?' See, this is how you talk, but you do all the sinful things you can."


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The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, "Have you seen what Israel did, and what little faith she has? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, like one who sells the use of her body.


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And I thought, 'After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.' But she did not return, and her sister Judah, who has not been faithful, saw it.


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She saw that for all of Israel's sins and how she had not been faithful, I had sent her away and given her a paper of divorce. Yet her sister Judah had no fear, but she went and sold the use of her body also.


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Even with all this, her sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but in a false way," says the Lord.


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And the Lord said to me, "Israel, who has not been faithful, has shown herself more right and good than Judah who could not be trusted.


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Go and make these words known to the north, saying, 'Return, Israel, who has not been faithful,' says the Lord. 'I will not look on you in anger. For I show loving-kindness,' says the Lord. 'I will not be angry forever.


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Only know and tell of your guilt, that you have sinned against the Lord your God and have given your favors to the strangers under every green tree. Know that you have not obeyed My voice,' says the Lord.


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'Return, O sons who are not faithful,' says the Lord. 'For you belong to Me. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.'


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Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with much learning and understanding.


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And in those days when you have become many in the land," says the Lord, "they will no more say, 'The special box with the Law of the Lord.' It will not come to mind, and they will not remember it. They will not miss it, and it will not be made again.


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At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The throne of the Lord.' And all the nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. They will not follow the strong-will of their sinful heart any more.


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In those days the people of Judah will walk with the people of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as a gift.


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"Then I said, 'How I would like to make you My sons and give you a pleasing land, the most beautiful land of the nations!' And I said, 'You will call Me, "My Father," and not turn away from following Me.'


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For sure, as a woman is not faithful and leaves her husband, so you have not been faithful to Me, O people of Israel," says the Lord.


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A voice is heard on the open hill-tops, the cries and prayers of the sons of Israel, because they have made their way sinful. They have forgotten the Lord their God.


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"Return, O sons who are not faithful. I will heal you and make you faithful." "See, we come to You, for You are the Lord our God.


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For sure the hills are a false hope, a noise on the mountains. In truth, the saving of Israel is in the Lord our God.


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But false gods have brought us shame and have destroyed what our fathers worked for since we were young, their flocks and cattle, their sons and their daughters.


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Let us lie down in our shame, and let our shame cover us. For we and our fathers have sinned against the Lord our God ever since we were young. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God."


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"If you will return, O Israel," says the Lord, "return to Me. If you will put away your false gods from Me and be faithful to Me,


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and promise, 'As the Lord lives,' by what is true and right and good, then the nations will be happy in Him. And in Him they will have honor."


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For the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Break up your ground which has not been planted, and do not plant seeds among thorns.


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Set yourselves apart to the Lord, and put away the flesh from your heart, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Or My anger will go out like fire and burn with no one to stop it, because of the sinful things you do."


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Make it known in Judah and Jerusalem, and say, "Sound the horns in the land." Cry out and say, "Gather together, and let us go into the strong cities made ready for battle."


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Lift up a flag toward Zion! Run to a safe place, do not stand still. For I am bringing much trouble from the north that will destroy much.


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A lion has gone up from his secret place. A destroyer of nations has begun to move. He has gone out from his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be destroyed and no people will live in them.


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Cover yourselves with cloth made from hair because of this. Cry out in sorrow. For the burning anger of the Lord has not turned away from us.


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"In that day," says the Lord, "the heart of the king and the hearts of the rulers will become weak. The religious leaders will be filled with fear. And the men of God will be troubled and filled with wonder."


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Then I said, "O Lord God, for sure You have fooled these people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You will have peace,' when in truth a sword brings danger to their lives."


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At that time it will be said to these people and Jerusalem, "A hot wind from the open hill-tops in the desert will come toward My people, but not to blow away what is of no worth, and not to make clean.


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See, he comes up like clouds. His war-wagons come like the strong-wind. His horses are faster than eagles. It is bad for us, for we are destroyed!


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Wash your heart from sin, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your sinful thoughts stay within you?


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"Tell it to the nations now! Make it known over all Jerusalem, saying, 'An army is coming from a far country, and they lift up their voices against the cities of Judah.


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They are against her all around, like watchmen of a field, because she has turned against Me,' says the Lord.


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"Your ways and what you do have brought these things to you. This is your sin. How bitter it is! It has touched your very heart!"


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My soul, my soul! I am in pain! O, my heart! My heart is beating so hard! It cannot be quiet, for I hear the sound of the horn, telling of the coming war.


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News of much trouble comes again and again, for the whole land is laid waste. All at once my tents and my curtains are destroyed.


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"For My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are children who do not think, and they have no understanding. They know a lot about how to do sinful things, but they do not know how to do good."


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I looked on the earth and saw that it was an empty waste. I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.


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I looked and saw that the rich land was a desert. All its cities were laid waste before the Lord and His burning anger.


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For the earth will be filled with sorrow and the heavens above will be dark, because I have spoken. I have planned it, and will not change My mind or turn back."


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Every city runs as they hear the sound of the horseman and the one who fights with arrows. They go among the trees and the rocks. Every city is left empty, and no one lives in them.


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And you, O destroyed one, what will you do? Even when you dress in red, and wear objects of gold, and color your eyes to make them look bigger, you make yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers hate you, and want to kill you.


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I heard a cry as of a woman in pain, as if she were giving birth to her first child. It was the cry of the people of Zion, working hard to breathe, holding out hands, and saying, "O, it is bad for me! I am losing strength in front of those who want to kill me."


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"Go up and down through the streets of Jerusalem, and look and learn. Look in her open places to see if you can find just one man who does what is right and looks for the truth. Then I will forgive this city.


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O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have punished them, but they were not sorry. You have destroyed them, but they would not change. They have made their faces harder than rock. They would not be sorry for their sins and turn from them.


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Then I said, "They are only the poor. They are foolish. For they do not know the way of the Lord or the Law of their God.


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I will go to the great men and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, and the Law of their God." But they too have broken the load from their neck and have broken the chains.


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So a lion from among the trees will kill them. A wolf of the deserts will destroy them. A leopard is watching their cities. Every one who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, because they have done many sins. They have turned away from the Lord in many ways.


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"Why should I forgive you? Your sons have left Me and have sworn by those who are not gods. When I gave them everything they needed, they did sex sins and met at the house of the woman who sells the use of her body.


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Should I not punish these people?" says the Lord. "Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins?


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"Go up through her grape-fields and destroy, but do not destroy all of them. Cut away her branches, for they are not the Lord's.


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"They have lied about the Lord and said, 'He will do nothing. Nothing bad will happen to us, and we will not see sword or hunger.


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The men who speak for God are only wind. The word is not in them. So let what they say be done to them!' ''


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So the Lord, the God of All, says, "Because you have said this, I am making My words in your mouth a fire and I am making these people wood so they will be burned up.


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See, I am bringing a nation that is far away against you, O people of Israel," says the Lord. "It is a strong nation and an old nation, a nation whose language you do not know. You cannot understand what they say.


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They will eat up your food that you gather from your fields. They will eat the food your sons and your daughters should eat. They will eat up your flocks and your cattle. They will destroy your grape-fields and your fig trees. They will destroy with the sword your strong cities in which you trust.


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"When your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' then you will say to them, 'As you have left Me and served strange gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'


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'Hear this, O foolish people without understanding, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.


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Do you not fear Me?' says the Lord. 'Do you not shake in fear before Me? For I have placed the sand to be on one side of the sea, a lasting wall that it cannot cross. Even if there are waves, they cannot pass. Even if they make much noise, they cannot cross over it.


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But these people have a strong-will and a heart that has turned against Me. They have turned aside and gone away.


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They do not say in their heart, "Let us fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain in its time, both the fall rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us the weeks for gathering food."


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For sinful men are found among My people. They watch like men lying in wait watching for birds. They set a trap, and they catch men.


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Like a basket full of birds, their houses are full of lies and false ways. So they have become important and rich.


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They are fat and smooth, and have done many sinful acts. They do not do what is right for those whose parents have died so that they may do well. And they do not help fight for the rights of the poor.


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The men of God say things that are not true, and the religious leaders rule by their own thoughts. And My people love to have it this way! But what will you do in the end?


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"Run away to be safe, O sons of Benjamin! Run from Jerusalem! Blow the horn in Tekoa, and light a fire in Beth-haccerem. For a sinful power is coming down from the north, that will destroy much.


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Shepherds and their flocks will come to her. They will set up their tents around her and feed their flocks there, each in his place.


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Make war against her. Rise up, let us go and fight her at noon. It is bad for us, for the day is passing! The shadows of the evening are longer!


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For the Lord of All says, "Cut down her trees, and build a battle-wall against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished. There is nothing but a sinful power that makes hard times for others within her.


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As a well keeps its water good for drinking, so Jerusalem keeps going on in her sin. The sounds of those who fight and those who destroy are heard in her. Sickness and sorrow are always before Me.


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Listen about the danger, O Jerusalem, or I will become a stranger to you. I will make you a waste, a land with no people."


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The Lord of All says, "They will gather all the people of Israel who are left like gathering from the vine. Pass your hand over the branches again like one who gathers grapes."


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Whom should I tell of the danger, that they may hear? See, their ears are closed and they cannot listen. They have become ashamed of the Word of the Lord. They have no joy in it.


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But I am full of the anger of the Lord. I am tired of holding it in. "Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the young men gathered together. For both husband and wife will be taken, the old and those who have lived a very long time.


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Their houses, their fields and their wives will be given to others. I will put out My hand against the people of the land," says the Lord.


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"For from the least to the greatest of them, every one is always wanting something. And from the man of God to the religious leader, every one lies to get what he wants.


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They have healed the hurt of My people only a little, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.


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Were they ashamed because of the sinful things they had done? No, they were not ashamed at all. They did not even know how to turn red. So they will fall among those who fall. When I punish them, they will be brought down," says the Lord.


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The Lord says, "Stand by where the roads cross, and look. Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'


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I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the horn!' But they said, 'We will not listen.'


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Hear, O earth. See, I am bringing much trouble upon these people. It is the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words. And they have turned away from My law.


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Why does special perfume come to Me from Sheba, or sweet spices from a far away land? I will not receive your burnt gifts on the altar in worship. The gifts you give on the altar are not pleasing to Me."


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So the Lord says, "See, I am laying things in front of these people, and they will fall over them. Fathers and sons will fall together, and neighbor and friend will die."


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The Lord says, "See, a people is coming from the north country. A great nation is being raised up from the farthest parts of the earth.


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They take hold of bow and spear. They are hard on people and have no pity. Their voice sounds like the sea. They ride on horses, dressed as a man for battle against you, O people of Zion!"


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We have heard about it. Our hands fall weak. Suffering has taken hold of us, like the pain of a woman giving birth.


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Do not go out into the field, and do not walk on the road. For the one who hates us has a sword. Fear is all around us.


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O daughter of my people, dress in cloth made from hair and roll in ashes. Have sorrow as if you lost your only son. Cry with a bitter cry. For all at once the destroyer will come upon us.


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All of them are strongwilled in turning to their own way, going about telling stories to hurt people. They are brass and iron. All of them are sinful.


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Air is blown hard on the fire to burn up the lead. It is of no use because the sinful ones are not taken away.


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"Stand in the gate of the Lord's house and make this word known: 'Hear the Word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who go through these gates to worship the Lord!' ''


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The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, "Change your ways and your works for the better, and I will let you live in this place.


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Do not trust the lies that say, 'This is the house of the Lord, the house of the Lord, the house of the Lord.'


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For if you for sure change your ways and what you do for the better, if you are fair as you judge between a man and his neighbor,


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if you do not make it hard for the stranger from another land, or the child whose parents have died, or the woman whose husband has died, and do not kill those who are not guilty in this place, and stop going after other gods, for that will destroy you,


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Will you steal, kill, do sex sins, make false promises, give gifts to the false god Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,


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and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are safe and free!' and still do all these hated sins?


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Has this house which is called by My name become a place of robbers in your eyes? See, I Myself have seen it," says the Lord.


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"But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a place for My name. And see what I did to it because of the sin of My people Israel.


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Now you have done all these things," says the Lord. "I spoke to you again and again, but you did not hear. I called you but you did not answer.


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So as I did to Shiloh, I will do to the house that is called by My name and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave you and your fathers.


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I will send you away from My eyes, as I have sent away all your brothers, all the children of Ephraim.


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"As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. Do not speak with Me about them, for I do not hear you.


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The children gather wood. The fathers make the fire. And the women make bread and cakes for the queen of heaven. They pour out drink gifts to other gods to make Me angry.


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So the Lord God says, "See, My anger will be poured out on this place, on man and animal, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn and not be stopped."


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The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, "Add your burnt gifts to the animals you kill on the altar, and eat the flesh.


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For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or tell them what to do about burnt gifts and animals killed on the altar.


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But I did tell them, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. Walk in all the way that I tell you, that it may be well with you.'


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Yet they did not obey or listen, but walked in the way they wanted to and in the strong-will of their sinful heart. They only stepped back and did not go on.


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Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants who speak for Me. I have risen up early and sent them day after day.


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Yet they did not listen to Me or turn their ear to Me, but made their neck hard. They sinned more than their fathers.


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"You will speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You will call to them, but they will not answer you.


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And you will say to them, 'This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or receive His strong teaching. They have lost the truth. It has been cut off from their mouth.


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Cut off your hair and throw it away. And cry in sorrow on the open hill-tops. For the Lord has turned away and left the people who made Him angry.'


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For the sons of Judah have done what is sinful in My eyes," says the Lord. "They have put their hated things in the house that is called by My name, to make it unclean.


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And they have built the high places of Topheth, in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I did not tell them to do this. It did not come into My mind.


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So the days are coming," says the Lord, "when it will not be called Topheth any more, or the valley of the son of Hinnom. But it will be called the valley of Killing. For they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.


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The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth. And no one will send them away in fear.


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Then in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, I will put an end to the voice of joy and the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride. For the land will become a waste.


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"At that time," says the Lord, "they will bring out the bones of the kings and leaders of Judah, the bones of the religious leaders, the bones of the men of God, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem from their graves.


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And they will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the stars of heaven. For these they have loved, and served, and followed, and looked for, and worshiped. The bones will not be gathered or buried. They will be as animal waste on top of the ground.


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And death will be chosen instead of life by all those who are left of this sinful family in all the places where I have driven them," says the Lord of All.


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"You will say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: "Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not return?


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Why then have the people of Jerusalem always turned away from Me? They hold on to what is false, and will not return.


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I have listened and heard, but they have not said what is right. No man turned from his sinful way, saying, 'What have I done?' Every one turns to his own way like a horse running into battle.


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Even the stork in the sky knows her times. And the turtle-dove, crane, and swallow keep the time of their coming. But My people do not know the Law of the Lord.


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"How can you say, 'We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us'? See, the lying hand of the writers has made it into a lie.


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The wise men are put to shame. They are troubled and taken. See, they have turned away from the Word of the Lord, and what kind of wisdom do they have?


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So I will give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Because from the least to the greatest, every one is always wanting much. From the man of God to the religious leader, no one can be trusted in what he does.


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Were they ashamed because of the hated sin they had done? They were not ashamed at all. They did not even know how to turn red. So they will fall among those who fall. When I punish them, they will be put down," says the Lord.


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"For sure I will take them away," says the Lord. "There will be no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaves will dry up. What I have given them will pass away."


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Why are we sitting here? Gather together, and let us go into the strong cities and die there. For the Lord our God has given us up to die. He has given us poison in our water to drink, for we have sinned against Him.


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We waited for peace, but no good came. We waited for a time of healing, but see, there is much trouble.


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The noise of his horses is heard from Dan. The whole land shakes at the sound of his war horses. For they come and destroy the land and everything that is in it, the city and those who live in it.


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"For see, I am sending the worst of snakes against you, poison snakes which cannot be stopped. And they will bite you," says the Lord.


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Listen! It is the cry of my people from a far away land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they made Me angry with their objects of worship, and with strange gods?"


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Is there no healing oil in Gilead? Is there no doctor there? Why then have my people not been healed?


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If only my head were a well of water, and my eyes a well of tears, that I might cry day and night for my people who have been killed!


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If only I had a place in the desert for travelers to stay, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For none of them are faithful. They are a gathering of men who cannot be trusted.


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"They use their tongue like their bow. Lies, and not truth, rule the land. For they go from sin to sin, and they do not know Me," says the Lord.


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"Let every one watch his neighbor. Do not trust any brother. Because every brother sets traps, and every neighbor goes about hurting people with his talk.


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Every one fools his neighbor, and does not tell the truth. They have taught their tongue to tell lies. They become tired doing so many sins.


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You live in the center of false ways. In their false ways they are not willing to know Me," says the Lord.


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So the Lord of All says, "See, I will make them pure and test them. For what else can I do with My people?


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Their tongue is an arrow that kills. It lies. A man speaks peace to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he plans to trap him.


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Should I not punish them for these things?" says the Lord. "Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins?


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"I will cry with a loud voice for the mountains. I will cry out in sorrow for the fields, because they are laid waste. No one passes through them. The sound of the cattle is not heard. The birds of the sky and the wild animals have run away. They are gone.


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I will break down Jerusalem into pieces, a place where wild dogs live. And I will lay waste the cities of Judah. No people will live there."


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Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may make it known? Why is the land destroyed and laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?


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And the Lord said, "They have turned away from My Law that I have given them. They have not obeyed My voice and would not be led by it.


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But they have followed the strongwill of their own hearts, and have gone after the false gods of Baal, as their fathers taught them."


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So the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, "See, I will feed these people with wormwood and put poison in their drinking water.


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I will spread them out among the nations whom they and their fathers have not known. And I will go after them with the sword until I have put an end to them."


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The Lord of All says, "Take thought and call for the women who are filled with sorrow, that they may come. Call for the women who cry for the dead, that they may come.


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Let them hurry and cry in a loud voice for us, that tears may come from our eyes, and that our eyes will flow with water.


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For a sound of loud crying is heard from Zion: 'How we are destroyed! We are filled with shame, for we have left the land because they have broken down our houses.' "


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Now hear the Word of the Lord, O you women. Let your ear receive the Word of His mouth. Teach your daughters a song of sorrow. Every one teach her neighbor a song for the dead.


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For death has come in through our windows. It has come into our beautiful houses of kings. It has cut off the children from the streets, and the young men from the open spaces of the city.


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Say, "This is what the Lord says: 'The dead bodies of men will fall like animal waste on the open field, and like grain after the gatherer. But no one will gather them.' "


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The Lord says, "Let not a wise man speak with pride about his wisdom. Let not the strong man speak with pride about his strength. And let not a rich man speak with pride about his riches.


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But let him who speaks with pride speak about this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who shows lovingkindness and does what is fair and right and good on earth. For I find joy in these things," says the Lord.


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"See, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will punish all who have gone through the religious act of the Jews, but have not had the sin cut from their heart.


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I will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert. For none of these nations have had their flesh cut. And none of the people of Israel have had the sin cut from their heart."


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The Lord says, "Do not learn the way of the nations. And do not be afraid of the things seen in the heavens, even if the nations are afraid of them.


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For the ways of the people are of no use. They cut wood from the trees. A workman cuts it with an ax.


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They make it beautiful with silver and gold. They put it together with nails so that it cannot fall apart.


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Their false gods are like a wooden man set up in a vegetable field to make birds be afraid and stay away. They cannot speak. They must be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot hurt you. And they cannot help you."


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Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For You should be honored with fear. Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their lands, there is no one like You.


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Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of an able workman and of one who works with gold. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of able workmen.


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But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the King Who lives forever. The earth shakes at His anger. And the nations cannot last when He is angry.


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This is what you should say to them: "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens."


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It is He Who made the earth by His power, and the world by His wisdom. By His understanding He has spread out the heavens.


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When He speaks, there is a storm of waters in the heavens. He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouses.


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Every man is a poor thinker and without learning. Every one who works with gold is put to shame by his false gods. For his objects of worship fool people. There is no breath in them.


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They are without worth, and make fun of the truth. In the time of their punishment, they will be destroyed.


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He Who is the God of Jacob is not like these, for He has made all things. And Israel is His chosen family. The Lord of All is His name.


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For the Lord says, "See, I am throwing out the people of the land at this time. And I will trouble them, that they may feel it."


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It is bad for me because I am hurt! My sore cannot be healed. But I said, "For sure this sickness is mine, and I must suffer with it."


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My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to put up my tent again or to set up my curtains.


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For the shepherds are poor thinkers and have not asked for the Lord's help. So they have not done well, and all their flock is sent different places.


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Listen, the sound of news! See, it comes! Much noise of moving is coming out of the land of the north to destroy the cities of Judah, and to make it a place where wild dogs live.


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Punish me when I need it, O Lord, but be fair. Do not punish me in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.


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Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have destroyed Jacob. They have destroyed him and have laid waste his land.


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Say to them, 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "Cursed is the man who does not listen to the words of this agreement


text:
which I told to your fathers before you when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I brought them from the land that was like an iron stove. I said to them, 'Listen to My voice, and do all that I tell you. Then you will be My people and I will be your God.'


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And so I will keep the promise I made to your fathers before you, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day." ' '' Then I answered and said, "Let it be so, O Lord."


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The Lord said to me, "Make these words known in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, 'Hear the words of this agreement and do them.


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For by My strong words I told your fathers of the danger when I brought them up from the land of Egypt. I kept telling them even to this day, saying, "Listen to My voice."


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Yet they did not obey or listen. Every one walked in his own strong-will because of his sinful heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this agreement, which I told them to do, but they did not.' "


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Then the Lord said to me, "Sinful plans have been made by the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem.


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They have returned to the sins of their fathers before them who would not listen to My words. And they have gone to serve other gods. The people of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their fathers."


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So the Lord says, "See, I am bringing much trouble on them. They will not be able to get away from it. Even when they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.


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Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn special perfume. But they cannot save them in the time of their trouble.


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For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah. And your altars you have set up to burn special perfume to the false god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.


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"So do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not listen when they call to Me because of their trouble.


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What right has My loved one to be in My house when she has done many sinful acts? Can animals killed on My altar take your trouble away from you? Can you then find joy?"


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The Lord called you, "A green olive tree, beautiful and with good fruit." But with a noise like thunder He set fire to it, and its branches were destroyed.


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The Lord of All, Who planted you, has said that bad will come to you because of the sin of the people of Israel and of the people of Judah. They have done wrong to make Me angry by burning special perfume to the false god Baal.


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But I was like a gentle lamb led to be killed. I did not know that they had made plans against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit. Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more."


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But, O Lord of All, Who is right as He judges, Who tests the heart and the mind, let me see You punish them. For I have put my cause before You.


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So the Lord speaks about the men of Anathoth who want to kill you. These men say, "Do not speak in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand."


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So the Lord of All says, "See, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword. And their sons and daughters will die from hunger.


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None of them will be left. For I will bring much trouble to the men of Anathoth, in the year of their punishment."


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You are right and good, O Lord, when I complain to You about my trouble. Yet I would like to talk with You about what is fair. Why does the way of the sinful go well? Why do all those who cannot be trusted have it so easy?


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You have planted them, and they have taken root. They grow and have given fruit. You are near on their lips but far from their heart.


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But You know me, O Lord. You see me. And You test how my heart is with You. Take them off like sheep to be killed. Set them apart for the day of killing.


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How long will the land be filled with sorrow? How long will the grass of every field dry up? For the sin of those who live in it, animals and birds have been taken away, because men have said, "He will not see what happens to us."


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"If you have run with men on foot and they have made you tired, then how can you run as fast as horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do among all the trees beside the Jordan?


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For even your brothers and those of your father's house have not been faithful to you. They have cried to you in a loud voice. Do not believe them, even if they say pleasing things to you."


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"I have left My house. I have left My chosen nation. I have given the loved one of My soul into the hand of those who hate her.


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My chosen nation has become to Me like a lion among the trees. She has raised her voice against Me, so I hate her.


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Is My chosen nation like a spot-covered, flesh-eating bird to Me? Are the flesh-eating birds against her on every side? Go, gather all the wild animals of the field, and bring them to eat.


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Many shepherds have destroyed My grape-field. They have crushed My field under foot. They have turned My good field to an empty desert.


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It has been laid waste. Destroyed and empty, it cries with sorrow before Me. The whole land has been laid waste, because no one cares.


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On all the open hill-tops in the desert, destroyers have come. For the sword of the Lord destroys from one end of the land to the other. There is no peace for anyone.


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They have planted grain and have gathered thorns. They have worked hard, but have nothing. Be ashamed of what you gather because of the burning anger of the Lord."


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This is what the Lord says about all My sinful neighbors who take the gift I have given to My people Israel: "See, I am about to pull them up by the roots from their land. And I will pull up the people of Judah by the roots from among them.


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But after I have pulled them up by the roots, I will have loving-pity on them again, and will bring them back. I will return each one to what he has been given and to his land.


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Then if they will for sure learn the ways of My people, and promise by My name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught My people to promise by Baal, then they will be built up among My people.


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But if they will not listen, then I will pull that nation up by the roots and destroy it," says the Lord.


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The Lord said to me, "Go and buy a linen belt, and put it around yourself. But do not put it in water."


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"Take the belt that you have bought and are wearing, get up, and go to the Euphrates. Hide it there in a hole in the rock."


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After many days the Lord said to me, "Get up and go to the Euphrates and get the belt which I told you to hide there."


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Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the belt from the place where I had hidden it. And I saw that the belt was worth nothing.


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"This is what the Lord says: 'In this way I will destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.


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These sinful people would not listen to My words. They walk in the strong-will of their own hearts and have gone to serve and worship other gods. So let them be just like this linen belt, which is good for nothing.


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For as the belt holds on to a man's body, so I made the whole family of Israel and the whole family of Judah hold on to Me,' says the Lord. 'This was so that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and an honor. But they would not listen.'


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"So you are to tell this to them: 'The Lord, the God of Israel, says, "Every jar is to be filled with wine." ' And when they say to you, 'Do we not know very well that every jar is to be filled with wine?'


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then tell them, 'The Lord says, "I am about to fill all the people of this land, the kings who sit on David's throne, the religious leaders, the men of God, and all the people of Jerusalem with too much drink.


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And I will throw them against each other, both the fathers and sons together," says the Lord. "I will not let pity or sorrow or lovingkindness keep Me from destroying them." ' '' Pride Comes Before Punishment


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Give honor to the Lord your God before He brings darkness and before you slip and fall on the dark mountains. You hope for light, but He will turn it into darkness and it will be very dark.


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But if you will not listen, my soul will cry in secret because of your pride. My eyes will cry with a bitter cry and tears will flow down, because the Lord's people have been taken away in chains.


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Say to the king and the queen mother, "Come down from your throne. Your beautiful crown has been taken from your head."


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The cities of the Negev have been locked up, and there is no one to open them. All Judah has been taken away. All the people of Judah have been taken to another land.


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"Look up and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful sheep?


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What will you say when He sets over you those whom you have taught and who were your friends? Will not pain take hold of you, like a woman giving birth?


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And if you say in your heart, 'Why have these things happened to me?' It is because of your many sins that your clothing has been torn off and you suffer punishment.


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Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are used to doing wrong.


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This is what you get, the share given to you from Me," says the Lord, "because you have forgotten Me and trusted in lies.


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As for your sex sins and cries of desire, your sinful sex acts on the hills in the field, I have seen your hated sins. It is bad for you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?" No Water - No Food


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"Judah is full of sorrow and her gates are weak. Her people sit on the ground in sorrow, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.


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Their men of honor have sent their servants for water. They have come to the wells and found no water, and returned with their jars empty. They have been put to shame and troubled, and covered their heads.


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The ground is dried up because there has been no rain on the land. The farmers have been put to shame and have covered their heads.


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Even the deer in the field leaves her young one which has just been born, because there is no grass.


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The wild donkeys stand on the open hill-tops. They breathe hard for air like wild dogs. Their eyes become weak because there is nothing to eat.


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"Even when our sins speak against us, O Lord, do something for the good of Your name. For we have fallen away from You many times. We have sinned against You.


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You are the Hope of Israel, the One Who saves it in time of trouble. Why are You like a stranger in the land? Why are You like a traveler who has set up his tent for the night?


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Why are You like a man surprised, like a strong man who cannot save? Yet You are among us, O Lord, and we are called by Your name. Do not leave us!"


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The Lord says this about these people, "They have loved to go their own way. They have not held their feet back. So the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wrong-doing and punish their sins."


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When they go without food, I will not listen to their cry. And when they give burnt gifts and grain gifts, I will not receive them. But I will destroy them by the sword, hunger and disease."


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Then I said, "O Lord God, the ones who speak in Your name are telling them, 'You will not see the sword and you will not go hungry. But I will give you lasting peace in this place.' "


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Then the Lord said to me, "Those men are speaking lies in My name. I have not sent them, or told them, or spoken to them. They are telling you a false dream of a false future that means nothing. They are speaking the lies of their own hearts.


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So this is what the Lord says about those men who tell what is going to happen in the future using My name. I did not send them, yet they keep saying, 'There will be no sword or hunger in this land.' So by the sword and by hunger those false teachers will be destroyed!


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And the people they tell these things to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of hunger and the sword. There will be no one to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. For I will pour out their own sin upon them.


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You will say to them, 'Let my eyes flow with tears without stopping night and day. For my people have been crushed with a very hard beating.


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If I go out to the country, I see those killed by the sword! Or if I go into the city, I see diseases because of hunger! For both the man who speaks for God and the religious leader have gone around and around in the land they do not know.' "


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Have You nothing at all to do with Judah any more? Do You hate Zion? Why have You punished us so that we cannot be healed? We waited for peace, but nothing good came. We waited for a time of healing, but there is much trouble.


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We know that we are sinful, O Lord, and we know the sin of our fathers. For we have sinned against You.


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For the good of Your name do not hate us. Do not put to shame the throne of Your shining-greatness. Remember and do not break Your agreement with us.


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Are there any among the false gods of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens give rain? Is it not You, O Lord our God? So we hope in You. For You are the One Who has done all these things.


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Then the Lord said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with these people. Send them away from Me and let them go!


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And when they ask you, 'Where should we go?' then tell them, 'The Lord says, "Those who are to die, to death, and those who are to be killed by the sword, to the sword. Those who are to go hungry, to hunger, and those who are to be taken away as prisoners, to be taken away.'


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I will set over them four kinds of destroyers," says the Lord: "The sword to kill, the dogs to take away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth to eat and destroy.


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I will make them an object of much fear and hate among all the nations of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.


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"Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will have sorrow for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?


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You have turned away from Me," says the Lord. "You keep going back into sin. So I will put out My hand against you and destroy you. I am tired of having pity on you!


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I will throw them to the wind like straw at the gates of the land. I will take their children from them. I will destroy My people. For they did not turn from their ways.


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Their women whose husbands have died will be as many as the sand of the seas. At noon I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will bring suffering and fear to them all at once.


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She who gave birth to seven sons will become weak and die. Her sun will set while it is still day, and she will be put to shame. I will give the rest of them to the sword in front of those who hate them," says the Lord.


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It is bad for me, my mother, that you have given birth to me! I am a man of trouble and fighting to all the land. No one owes money to me, and I do not owe money to others, yet every one curses me.


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The Lord said, "For sure I will set you free for a good reason. For sure I will make those who hate you ask of you in times of trouble and suffering.


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I will give your money and riches to those who fight against you, without a price, because of all your sins in all your land.


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I will make those who hate you bring your riches into a land you do not know. For My anger has started a fire that will burn you."


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O Lord, You understand. Remember me and visit me. And punish those who make it hard for me. Do not take me away, for You are slow to be angry. Know that because of You I suffer and am put to shame.


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Your words were found and I ate them. And Your words became a joy to me and the happiness of my heart. For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of All.


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I did not sit with those who were having fun, and I was not full of joy. I sat alone because Your hand was upon me. For You had filled me with hate for their sin.


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Why is there no end to my pain? And why will my hurt not be healed? Will You be to me like a river that flows with water some of the time and is dry at other times? The Lord's Answer


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So the Lord says, "If you return, then I will let you take your place again, standing before Me. And if you take out what is of worth from what is of no worth, then you will speak for Me. Let these people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.


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Then I will make you like a strong wall of brass to these people. Even if they fight against you, they will not get power over you. For I am with you to save you and bring you out of trouble," says the Lord.


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"I will take you from the hand of the sinful. And I will free you from the hand of those who would hurt you."


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For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land, and about their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who gave them life in this land:


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"They will die of bad diseases. No one will cry for them or bury them. They will be as animal waste on the ground, destroyed by sword and hunger. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth."


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For the Lord says, "Do not go into a house where the people have lost a loved one. Do not go to cry or to comfort them. For I have taken My peace, My loving-kindness and My pity from these people," says the Lord.


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"Both great men and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. No one will cry for them. And no one will cut himself or cut off his hair for them.


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No one will give food to comfort those who sorrow for the dead. And no one will give them the cup of comfort to drink even for the death of their father or mother.


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For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, "Before your eyes and in your time, I am going to bring an end to the voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride in this place.


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"When you tell these people all these words, they will say to you, 'Why has the Lord said all these bad things will happen to us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?'


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Then you tell them, 'It is because your fathers before you have turned away from Me,' says the Lord. 'They have followed other gods and served them and worshiped them. But they have left Me and have not kept My Law.


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And you have sinned even more than your fathers before you. For see, each one of you is following the strong-will of his own sinful heart instead of listening to Me.


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So I will throw you out of this land into a land which you and your fathers have not known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.'


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"So the days are coming," says the Lord, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives, Who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.'


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But it will be said, 'As the Lord lives, Who brought the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had sent them.' For I will return them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.


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"See, I am going to send for many fishermen," says the Lord, "and they will fish for them. After this I will send for many men who hunt. And they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes in the rocks.


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For I see all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their sin is not hidden from My eyes.


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And I will pay them back twice as much for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have made My land unclean. They have filled My land with the bodies of their hated false gods and with sinful things offered to them."


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O Lord, my strength and my strong-place, my safe place in the day of trouble, nations will come to You from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have received nothing but lies, only things that have no worth and do not help them."


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"So I am going to make them know. This time I will make them know My power and My strength. And they will know that My name is the Lord."


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The sin of Judah is written down with pen of iron and with a sharp diamond. It is written on their hearts and on the horns of their altars.


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Even their children remember their altars and their wooden female goddesses of Asherah by green trees and on the high hills.


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O My mountain in the country, I will give your money and all your riches to those who fight against you. I will give your high places as the price of your sin through all your land.


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And you yourself will let your land go that I gave you. I will make you serve those who hate you in a land which you do not know. For you have made My an-ger start a fire which will burn forever.


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The Lord says, "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who trusts in the flesh for his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.


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For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when good comes. He will live in dry wastes in the desert, in a land of salt where no other people live.


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He will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the river. It will not be afraid when the heat comes but its leaves will be green. It will not be troubled in a dry year, or stop giving fruit.


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I the Lord look into the heart, and test the mind. I give to each man what he should have because of his ways and because of the fruit that comes from his works.


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As a bird that sits on eggs which it has not laid, so is he who gets rich by doing wrong. When his life is half over, they will leave him, and in the end he will be a fool."


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O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who leave You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the earth, because they have left the Lord, the well of living water.


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But as for me, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows You. And I have not been hoping for the day of trouble. You know what I said was spoken in front of You.


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Let those who make it hard for me be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be afraid, but do not let me be afraid. Bring on them a day of trouble, and destroy them with twice as much!


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The Lord said to me, "Go and stand in the people's gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and also in all the gates of Jerusalem.


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And say to them, 'Listen to the Word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all people of Jerusalem who come in through these gates.


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The Lord says, "Be careful for your lives. Do not carry any load on the Day of Rest or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.


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Do not bring a load out of your houses on the Day of Rest or do any work. But keep the Day of Rest holy, as I told your fathers before you.


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"Listen to Me," says the Lord, "and bring no load through the city gates on the Day of Rest. Keep the Day of Rest holy by doing no work on it.


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Then kings and their sons will come through the city gates who will sit on the throne of David. They will come in war-wagons and on horses, with the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. And people will live in this city forever.


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People will come in from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem. They will come from the land of Benjamin, from the valleys, from the hill country, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt gifts, animals to kill on the altar in worship, grain gifts, special perfume, and gifts of thanks to the house of the Lord.


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But if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Day of Rest holy by not carrying a load when coming through the gates of Jerusalem on the Day of Rest, then I will start a fire in its gates. And it will burn up the beautiful houses of the kings of Jerusalem and will not be stopped." ' ''


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But the pot he was making of clay did not come out like he wanted it. So the pot-maker used the clay to make another pot that pleased him.


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"O people of Israel, can I not do with you as this potmaker has done?" says the Lord. "Like the clay in the pot-maker's hand, so are you in My hand, O people of Israel.


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and if that nation I spoke against turns from its sin, then I will change My mind about the trouble I planned to bring upon it.


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and if it does what is sinful in My eyes by not obeying My voice, then I will change My mind about the good I had promised to bring to it.


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So now speak to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. Tell them, 'The Lord says, "See, I am making trouble for you and making a plan against you. So each of you turn from your sinful way. Change your ways and your works." '


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But they will say, 'There is no hope! For we are going to follow our own plans. Each of us will act in the strong-will of his sinful heart.'


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"So the Lord says, 'Ask now among the nations: Who has heard such things? Pure Israel has done a very sinful thing.


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Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave its rocky mountains? Does the cold flowing water of other lands ever dry up?


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But My people have forgotten Me. They burn special perfume to false gods of no worth. They have fallen in their ways, from the old paths, and have gone on side roads, not on the straight road.


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They make their land a waste, a thing that is spoken against forever. Everyone who passes by it will be surprised and shake his head.


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I will send them out everywhere like an east wind in front of those who hate them. I will show them My back and not My face in the day of their trouble.' "


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They said, "Come and let us make plans against Jeremiah. For the Law is not going to be lost to the religious leader, or wise words to the wise man, or the Word of God to the man of God! Come and let us hurt him with our tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words."


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Should bad be given in return for good? Yet they have dug a deep hole for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good for them, to turn Your anger away from them.


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So give their children over to hunger. Give them up to the power of the sword. Let their wives lose their children and husbands. Let their men be put to death. And let their young men be killed by the sword in battle.


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May a cry be heard from their houses when You bring an army upon them by surprise. For they have dug a deep hole to take me, and have hidden traps for my feet.


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Yet You, O Lord, know all their plans to kill me. Do not forgive their wrong-doing or cover their sin from Your eyes. Let them be taken down before You. Punish them in the time of Your anger.


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The Lord says, "Go and buy a pot-maker's clay jar, and take some of the leaders of the people and some of the older religious leaders.


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Then go out to the valley of Ben Hinnom, by the Potsherd Gate, and there say the words that I will tell you.


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Say, 'Hear the Word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, "See, I am about to bring much trouble to this place. The ears of everyone that hears of it will hurt.


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The people have left Me and have made this a strange place. They have burned special perfume in it to other gods that they and their fathers and the kings of Judah had never known. They have filled this place with the blood of those who were not guilty.


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They have built the high places of the false god Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt gifts to Baal. This is a thing which I never told them to do or spoke of. It did not even come to My mind.


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So see, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead it will be called the Valley of Killing.


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I will make the plans of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place. I will cause them to fall by the sword in front of those who hate them and by the hand of those who want to kill them. And I will feed their dead bodies to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth.


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I will make this city a waste place, and people will make sounds of hate. Everyone who passes by it will be surprised and make strange noises because of all its troubles.


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I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. And they will eat each other's flesh when the armies shut them in, and when those who want to kill them bring much trouble to them." '


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And say to them, 'The Lord of All says, "In this way I will break these people and this city, even as one breaks a pot-maker's jar, which cannot be put back together. Men will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no place left to bury.


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This is what I will do to this place and its people," says the Lord. "I will make this city like Topheth.


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The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be made unclean like Topheth. This will be because of all the houses on whose roofs they burned special perfume to all the false gods of the heavens and poured out drink gifts to other gods." ' ''


text:
Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to tell what would happen. And he stood in the open space of the Lord's house and said to all the people,


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"The Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, 'See, I am about to bring to this city and to all its towns all the trouble that I have spoken about, because they have made their necks hard and would not listen to My Words.' "


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Now Pashhur the religious leader, the son of Immer, was the head leader in the house of the Lord. When he heard Jeremiah saying these things,


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Pashhur had Jeremiah the man of God beaten. Then he put him in chains at the upper Benjamin Gate by the house of the Lord.


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On the next day, when Pashhur set Jeremiah free from the chains, Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Fear Everywhere.


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For the Lord says, 'See, I am going to make you a fear to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of those who hate them while you look on. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will carry them away in chains to Babylon and will kill them with the sword.


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I will give over all the riches of this city, all that its people have worked for, and all its things of much worth. Even all the riches of the kings of Judah I will give to those who hate them. They will take their things, and take hold of them, and carry them to Babylon.


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And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will be taken away in chains. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have told lies.' "


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O Lord, You have lied to me and I was fooled. You are stronger than I, and have had power over me. I have been laughed at all day. Everyone makes fun of me.


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For whenever I speak, I cry out. I tell of fighters and destroyers. For the Word of the Lord has become a shame and a cause of laughing at me all day long.


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But if I say, "I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name," then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that.


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For I have heard many speaking in secret, saying, "Fear and trouble is on every side! Speak against him! Yes, let us speak against him!" All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say, "It may be that he will be fooled. Then we can get power over him and punish him."


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But the Lord is with me like a powerful one who causes fear. So those who make it hard for me will fall and not have power over me. They will be put to much shame, because their plans have not gone well. Their shame will last forever and will not be forgotten.


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O Lord of All, You test those who are right and good. You see the mind and the heart. Let me see You punish them, for I have given my cause to You.


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Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has taken the soul of the one in need from the hand of the sinful.


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Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, "A baby boy has been born to you!" and made him very happy.


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Let that man be like the cities which the Lord destroyed without pity. Let him hear a cry in the morning and a call of danger at noon.


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This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the religious leader, the son of Maaseiah, saying,


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"Will you speak to the Lord about us? For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. It may be that the Lord will do something for us like He did in times past, and make him leave us."


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'The Lord God of Israel says, "See, I will turn against you the objects of war you are using to fight with against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are gathered outside the wall to shut you in. And I will bring them into the center of this city.


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After this," says the Lord, "I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people who were not killed in this city by the disease, the sword, and hunger. I will give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of those who hate them, and into the hand of those who want to kill them. And he will kill them with the sword. He will not let them live or have pity for them." '


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He who lives in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes out and gives himself up to the Babylonians whose armies shut you in will live, he will at least have his life.


