# verses

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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As the vine tree among the trees of the forest which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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 And I will set My face against them: they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.


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 and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem: Thy birth and thy nativity are of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hittite.


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 And as for thy nativity, on the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to soothe thee. Thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.


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 No eye pitied thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person on the day that thou wast born.


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 "`And when I passed by thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, "Live"; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, "Live."


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 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxed great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments. Thy breasts are fashioned and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.


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 "`Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over thee and covered thy nakedness. Yea, I swore unto thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine.


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 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.


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 I clothed thee also with embroidered work and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.


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 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.


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 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered work. Thou didst eat fine flour and honey and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.


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 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty; for it was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.


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 "`But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and played the harlot because of thy renown, and poured out thy fornications on every one that passed by: his it was.


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 And of thy garments thou didst take, and decked thy high places with divers colors and played the harlot thereupon. The like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.


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 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of My gold and of My silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thyself images of men and didst commit whoredom with them,


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 and tookest thy embroidered garments and covered them; and thou hast set Mine oil and Mine incense before them.


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 My meat also which I gave thee -- fine flour and oil and honey, wherewith I fed thee -- thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.


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 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this thy whoredoms a small matter,


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 that thou hast slain My children and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?


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 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare and wast polluted in thy blood.


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 that thou hast also built unto thee a brothel house, and hast made thee a high place in every street.


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 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.


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 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbors, great of flesh, and hast increased thy whoredoms to provoke Me to anger.


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 Behold, therefore I have stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of thy lewd way.


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 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them and yet couldest not be satisfied.


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 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea, and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith.


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 "`How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman,


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 in that thou buildest thine eminent place at the head of every way and makest thine high place in every street, and hast not been as a harlot in that thou scornest hire,


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 Gifts are given to all whores, but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.


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 And it is the contrary in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms; and in that thou givest a reward and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy filthiness was poured out and thy nakedness uncovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children which thou didst give unto them,


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 behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated. I will even gather them round about against thee and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.


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 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.


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 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place and shall break down thy high places. They shall strip thee also of thy clothes and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.


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 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones and thrust thee through with their swords.


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 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.


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 So will I make My fury toward thee to rest, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet and will be no more angry.


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 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast made Me fret in all these things, behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD; and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.


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 "`Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, "As is the mother, so is her daughter."


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 Thou art thy mother's daughter, who loatheth her husband and her children, and thou art the sister of thy sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.


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 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, who dwell at thy left hand; and thy younger sister, who dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.


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 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done according to their abominations, but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.


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 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.


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 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy;


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 and they were haughty and committed abomination before Me. Therefore I took them away as I saw good.


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 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.


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 Thou also, who hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou. Yea, be thou confounded also and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.


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 "`When I shall bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring back the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them,


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 that thou mayest bear thine own shame and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.


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 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.


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 before thy wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria and all who are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, who despise thee round about.


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 "`For thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.


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 Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.


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 Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.


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 that thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.'"


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 and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers which had divers colors, came unto Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar.


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 He cropped off the top of it young twigs and carried it into a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.


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 He took also of the seed of the land and planted it in a fruitful field. He placed it by great waters and set it as a willow tree.


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 And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him and the roots thereof were under him. So it became a vine, and brought forth branches and shot forth sprigs.


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 "`There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her planting.


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 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.'


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 Say thou, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up the roots thereof and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? It shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.


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 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither when the east wind toucheth it? It shall wither in the furrows where it grew.'"


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 "Say now to the rebellious house: `Know ye not what these things mean?' Tell them: `Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;


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 and hath taken of the king's seed and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath from him. He hath also taken the mighty of the land,


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 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.


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 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape that doeth such things? Or shall he break the covenant and be delivered?


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 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.


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 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, by casting up siege mounds and building forts to cut off many persons.


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 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.


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 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely Mine oath that he hath despised and My covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.


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 And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against Me.


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 And all his fugitives with all his troops shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds; and ye shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it.


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 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent.


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 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs and bear fruit and be a goodly cedar, and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.


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 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken and have done it.'"


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 "What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: `The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?


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 Behold, all souls are Mine. As the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is Mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.


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 and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbor's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,


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 and hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath despoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;


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 he that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,


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 hath walked in My statutes and hath kept My judgments to deal truly -- he is just: he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.


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 "If he beget a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who doeth the like to any one of these things,


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 and who doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains and defiled his neighbor's wife,


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 hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath despoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,


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 hath given forth upon usury and hath taken increase -- shall he then live? He shall not live. He hath done all these abominations: he shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him.


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 "Now, lo, if he beget a son who seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth and doeth not the like,


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 who hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's wife,


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 neither hath oppressed any, hath not withheld the pledge, neither hath despoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry and hath covered the naked with a garment;


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 who hath taken off his hand from the poor, who hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed My judgments, hath walked in My statutes -- he shall not die for the iniquity of his father: he shall surely live.


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 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, despoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.


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 "Yet say ye, `Why? Doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?' When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all My statutes and hath done them, he shall surely live.


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 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.


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 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all My statutes and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live: he shall not die.


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 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him. In his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.


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 "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, saith the Lord GOD, and not that he should return from his ways and live?


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 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.


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 "Yet ye say, `The way of the Lord is not equal.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not My way equal? Are not your ways unequal?


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 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity and dieth in it, for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.


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 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.


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 Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live: he shall not die.


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 Yet saith the house of Israel, `The way of the Lord is not equal.' O house of Israel, are not My ways equal? Are not your ways unequal?


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 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.


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 Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby ye have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why will ye die, O house of Israel?


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 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD. Therefore turn yourselves, and live ye.


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 and say: "`What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions; she nourished her whelps among young lions.


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 And she brought up one of her whelps; it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.


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 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.


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 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.


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 And he went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey and devoured men.


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 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate and the fullness thereof by the noise of his roaring.


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 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.


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 And they put him under guard in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon. They brought him into prison, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.


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 "`Thy mother is like a vine in thy likeness, planted by the waters; she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.


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 And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bore rule; and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.


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 But she was plucked up in fury; she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit. Her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.


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 And fire has gone out from a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a scepter to rule.' This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation."


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 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.


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 "Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Have ye come to inquire of Me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.'


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 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;


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 and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: On the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up Mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up Mine hand unto them, saying, "I am the LORD your God"--


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 on the day that I lifted up Mine hand unto them to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands,


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 then said I unto them: "Cast away every man of ye the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God."


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 But they rebelled against Me and would not hearken unto Me. They did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "`Then I said, "I will pour out My fury upon them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt."


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 But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.


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 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.


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 Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctify them.


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 But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They walked not in My statutes and they despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted. "`Then I said I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness to consume them.


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 But I wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.


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 Yet also I lifted up My hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands,


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 because they despised My judgments and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.


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 Nevertheless Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.


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 "`But I said unto their children in the wilderness: "Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.


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 and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."


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 Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me. They walked not in My statutes, neither kept My judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted My Sabbaths. "`Then I said I would pour out My fury upon them to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.


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 Nevertheless I withdrew Mine hand and wrought for My name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.


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 I lifted up Mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen and disperse them through the countries,


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 because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes and had polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.


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 and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all who openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.'


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 "Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me, in that they have committed a trespass against Me.


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 For when I had brought them into the land for which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink offerings.


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 Then I said unto them: What is the high place whereunto ye go?'" (And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.)


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 "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? And commit ye whoredom after their abominations?


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 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.


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 "`And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all: in that ye say, "We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone."


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 "`As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm and with fury poured out, will I rule over you.


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 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out;


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 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.


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 As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.


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 and I will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgress against Me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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 "`As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD: Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto Me; but pollute ye My holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.


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 For in Mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve Me. There will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.


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 I will accept you with your sweet savor when I bring you out from the people and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.


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 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up Mine hand to give it to your fathers.


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 And there shall ye remember your ways and all your doings wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.


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 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for My name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.'"


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 "Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the southland.


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 And say to the forest of the south: `Hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee and every dry tree. The flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.


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 "Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;


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 and say to the land of Israel, `Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth My sword out of his sheath and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.


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 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north,


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 that all flesh may know that I, the LORD, have drawn forth My sword out of his sheath. It shall not return any more.'


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 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.


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 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, `Why sighest thou?' that thou shalt answer, `For the tidings, because it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water.' Behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD."


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 "Son of man, prophesy and say, `Thus saith the LORD. Say: "`A sword, a sword is sharpened and also furbished!


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 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter. Should we then make mirth? It contemneth the rod of My son, as every tree.


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 "`And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled; this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer.


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 Cry and howl, son of man! For it shall be upon My people; it shall be upon all the princes of Israel. Terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon My people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.


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 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? It shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.'


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 "Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain. It is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their secret chambers.


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 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint and their ruins be multiplied. Ah! It is made bright; it is sharpened for the slaughter.


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 I will also smite Mine hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest. I, the LORD, have said it."


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 "Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; both shall come forth out of one land. And choose thou a place; choose it at the head of the way to the city.


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 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah in Jerusalem, the fortified.


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 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked at the liver.


text:
 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem: to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a siege mound, and to build a fort.


text:
 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.


text:
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: `Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear -- because, I say, that ye have come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.


text:
 thus saith the Lord GOD: "`Remove the diadem and take off the crown; this shall not be the same. Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high;


text:
 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. And it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it to Him.'


text:
 "And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; even say thou: "`The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter it is furbished to consume because of the glittering"


text:
 while they see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked whose day is come when their iniquity shall have an end.


text:
 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.


text:
 And I will pour out Mine indignation upon thee; I will blow against thee in the fire of My wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.


text:
 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land. Thou shalt be no more remembered; for I the LORD have spoken it.'"


text:
 "Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? Yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations.


text:
 Then say thou, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself.


text:
 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed, and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years. Therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen and a mocking to all countries.


text:
 Those that are near and those that are far from thee shall mock thee, who art infamous and much vexed.


text:
 In thee have they made light of father and mother. In the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger. In thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.


text:
 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood, and in thee they eat upon the mountains. In the midst of thee they commit lewdness.


text:
 In thee have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness. In thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.


text:
 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor's wife, and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law, and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.


text:
 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood. Thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained from thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "`Behold, therefore I have smitten Mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.


text:
 Can thine heart endure or can thine hands be strong in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, the LORD, have spoken it, and will do it.


text:
 And I will scatter thee among the heathen and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.


text:
 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.'"


text:
 "Son of man, the house of Israel has to Me become dross. All they are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: `Because ye have all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.


text:
 As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it to melt it, so will I gather you in Mine anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.


text:
 Yea, I will gather you and blow upon you in the fire of My wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.


text:
 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury upon you.'"


text:
 "Son of man, say unto her: `Thou art the land that is not cleansed nor rained upon in the day of indignation.'


text:
 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.


text:
 Her priests have violated My law and have profaned Mine holy things. They have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.


text:
 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.


text:
 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, `Thus saith the Lord GOD,' when the LORD hath not spoken.


text:
 The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.


text:
 And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.


text:
 Therefore have I poured out Mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD."


text:
 and they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth. There were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.


text:
 And the names of them were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; and they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. Thus were their names: Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem, Oholibah.


text:
 "And Oholah played the harlot when she was Mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,


text:
 who were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.


text:
 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria and with all on whom she doted. With all their idols she defiled herself.


text:
 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt; for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity and poured their whoredom upon her.


text:
 Therefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.


text:
 These uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and her daughters and slew her with the sword; and she became notorious among women, for they had executed judgment upon her.


text:
 "And when her sister Oholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.


text:
 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbors, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.


text:
 and that she increased her whoredoms. For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,


text:
 girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, in the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity--


text:
 and as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.


text:
 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.


text:
 So she uncovered her whoredoms and uncovered her nakedness. Then My mind was alienated from her, as My mind was alienated from her sister.


text:
 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.


text:
 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses and whose issue is like the issue of horses.


text:
 Thus thou called to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth."


text:
 "Therefore, O Oholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side:


text:
 the Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.


text:
 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, who shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about; and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.


text:
 And I will set My jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee. They shall take away thy nose and thine ears, and thy remnant shall fall by the sword. They shall take thy sons and thy daughters, and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.


text:
 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt, so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.


text:
 For thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of those whom thou hatest, into the hand of those from whom thy mind is alienated.


text:
 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labor and shall leave thee naked and bare; and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be uncovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.


text:
 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: "Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and held in derision; it containeth much.


text:
 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of dismay and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.


text:
 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the shards thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts. For I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast forgotten Me and cast Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms."


text:
 The LORD said moreover unto me: "Son of man, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholibah? Yea, declare unto them their abominations,


text:
 that they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; and with their idols have they committed adultery and have also caused their sons, whom they bore unto Me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.


text:
 Moreover this they have done unto Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My Sabbaths.


text:
 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into My sanctuary to profane it; and lo, thus have they done in the midst of Mine house.


text:
 And furthermore, ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came, for whom thou didst wash thyself, painted thy eyes, and decked thyself with ornaments,


text:
 and sattest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set Mine incense and Mine oil.


text:
 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her; and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, who put bracelets upon their hands and beautiful crowns upon their heads.


text:
 "Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries: `Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?'


text:
 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot; so went they in unto Oholah and unto Oholibah, the lewd women.


text:
 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses and after the manner of women that shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is in their hands.


text:
 "For thus saith the Lord GOD: I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and despoiled.


text:
 And the company shall stone them with stones and dispatch them with their swords. They shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.


text:
 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do according to your lewdness.


text:
 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD."


text:
 Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,


text:
 "Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: The king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.


text:
 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it.


text:
 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece -- the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice bones.


text:
 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones under it; and make it boil well, and let them boil the bones of it therein.


text:
 "`Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum is therein and whose scum is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.


text:
 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.


text:
 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.


text:
 "`Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire great.


text:
 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.


text:
 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her; her scum shall be in the fire.


text:
 In thy filthiness is lewdness. Because I have purged thee and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused My fury to rest upon thee.


text:
 I, the LORD, have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it. I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent. According to thy ways and according to thy doings shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.'"


text:
 "Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.


text:
 Forbear to cry. Make no mourning for the dead. Bind the attire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men."


text:
 So I spoke unto the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.


text:
 And the people said unto me, "Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?"


text:
 Speak unto the house of Israel, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.


text:
 And your attires shall be upon your heads and your shoes upon your feet. Ye shall not mourn nor weep, but ye shall pine away for your iniquities and mourn one toward another.


text:
 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do. And when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'


text:
 "Also, thou son of man, shall it not be on the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,


text:
 On that day shall thy mouth be opened to him who has escaped, and thou shalt speak and be no more dumb. And thou shalt be a sign unto them, and they shall know that I am the LORD."


text:
 and say unto the Ammonites, `Hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou saidst, "Aha," against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity,


text:
 behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the East as a possession; and they shall set their palaces in thee and make their dwellings in thee. They shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.


text:
 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a couching place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 For thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast clapped thine hands and stamped with the feet and rejoiced in heart with all thy contemptuous hate against the land of Israel,


text:
 behold, therefore I will stretch out Mine hand upon thee and will deliver thee as spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries. I will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.'


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: `Because Moab and Seir do say, "Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen,"


text:
 therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country -- Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim--


text:
 unto the men of the East with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: `Because Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended and revenged himself upon them,


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I will also stretch out Mine hand upon Edom and will cut off man and beast from it, and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.


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


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: `Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge and have taken vengeance with a scornful heart to destroy it for the old hatred,


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will stretch out Mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.


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


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


text:
 "Son of man, because Tyre hath said against Jerusalem, `Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people; she is turned unto me; I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste,'


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.


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


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


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


text:
 "For thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings from the north, with horses and with chariots and with horsemen and companies, and many people.


text:
 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field; and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a siege mound against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.


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


text:
 By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust shall cover thee. Thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wheels and of the chariots when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.


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


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


text:
 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease, and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.


text:
 And I will make thee like the top of a rock; thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon. Thou shalt be built no more; for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyre: Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?


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


text:
 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee and say to thee: "`How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!


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


text:
 "For thus saith the Lord GOD: When I shall make thee a desolate city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I shall bring up the deep upon thee and great waters shall cover thee,


text:
 when I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit with the people of olden times, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited, and I shall set glory in the land of the living"


text:
 I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more. Though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord GOD."


text:
 and say unto Tyre, `O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, who art a merchant of the people for many isles, thus saith the Lord GOD: "`O Tyre, thou hast said, "I am of perfect beauty."


text:
 They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir; they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.


text:
 Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Cyprus.


text:
 Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.


text:
 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were thy mariners; thy wise men, O Tyre, that were in thee, were thy pilots.


text:
 The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy caulkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to trade for thy merchandise.


text:
 "`They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war. They hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.


text:
 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers. They hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.


text:
 "`Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.


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


text:
 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand; they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.


text:
 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making; they traded in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.


text:
 Judah and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants; they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.


text:
 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches, in the wine of Helbon and white wool.


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


text:
 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they traded with thee in lambs and rams and goats; in these were they thy merchants.


text:
 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants; they traded in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.


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


text:
 The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market, and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.


text:
 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters; the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.


text:
 Thy riches and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy caulkers, and the traders of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.


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


text:
 and shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly and shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes.


text:
 And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird themselves with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.


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


text:
 When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filled many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.


text:
 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.


text:
 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid; they shall be troubled in their countenance.


text:
 The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.'"


text:
 "Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: "`Because thine heart is lifted up and thou hast said, "I am a god, I sit in the seat of God in the midst of the seas," yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.


text:
 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasuries.


text:
 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches.


text:
 behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.


text:
 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.


text:
 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, "I am God"? But thou shalt be a man, and no god in the hand of him that slayeth thee.


text:
 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.'"


text:
 "Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say unto him, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: "`Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.


text:
 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold; the workmanship of thy taborets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.


text:
 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.


text:
 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.


text:
 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned; therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.


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 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground; I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.


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 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic. Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee; it shall devour thee; and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.


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 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.'"


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 "Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.


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 Speak, and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: "`Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, "My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself."


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


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 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers; thou shalt fall upon the open fields. Thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered. I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.


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


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 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break and rend all their shoulder; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brokest and madest all their loins to be at a halt.


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 "`Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.


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


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 "`Behold, therefore I am against thee and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.


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


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


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 "`Yet thus saith the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered.


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


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


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 And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance when they shall look after them; but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.'"


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 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,


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 "Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a hard service against Tyre: every head was made bald and every shoulder was peeled; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre for the service that he had served against it.


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


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 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor for which he served against it, because they wrought for Me, saith the Lord GOD.


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


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


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


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


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 "`Thus saith the LORD: They also that uphold Egypt shall fall, and the pride of her power shall come down; from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.


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


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


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 "`In that day shall messengers go forth from Me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt; for lo, it cometh.


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 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.


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


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


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


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 And I will set fire in Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily.


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 The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword; and these cities shall go into captivity.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 "Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: "`Whom art thou like in thy greatness?


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


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


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


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


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 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches, for his root was by great waters.


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


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


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 "`Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height,


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


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


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


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 to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height--all that drink water. For they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.


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


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 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.


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 They also went down into hell with him unto them that are slain with the sword, and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.


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 To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth. Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword. "`This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.'"


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


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 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say unto him, "`Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas; and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubled the waters with thy feet and fouled their rivers.


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 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will therefore spread out My net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in My net.


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 Then will I leave thee upon the land; I will cast thee forth upon the open field and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.


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 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.


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


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 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.


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 "`I will also vex the hearts of many people when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.


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


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 by the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them. And they shall despoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.


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


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 When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.'


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 "This is the lamentation wherewith they shall lament her. The daughters of the nations shall lament her; they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith the Lord GOD."


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


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 "Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt and cast them down, even her and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth with them that go down into the pit.


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 They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword. She is delivered to the sword; draw her and all her multitudes.


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 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: `They are gone down; they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'


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 "Assyria is there and all her company; his graves are about him, all of them slain, fallen by the sword,


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


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


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 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude. Her graves are round about him, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword. Though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. He is put in the midst of them that are slain.


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


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


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 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.


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


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


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


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 For I have caused My terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD."


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 "Son of man, speak to the children of thy people and say unto them: `When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man from their borders and set him as their watchman, and


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 then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.


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 He heard the sound of the trumpet and took not warning: his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.


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


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 "So thou, O son of man, I have set thee as a watchman unto the house of Israel. Therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth and warn them from Me.


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 When I say unto the wicked, `O wicked man, thou shalt surely die,' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand


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 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.


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 "Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel: `Thus ye speak, saying, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us and we pine away in them, how should we then live?"'


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


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 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people: `The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression. As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness, neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.'


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


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 Again, when I say unto the wicked, `Thou shalt surely die,' if he turn from his sin and do that which is lawful and right,


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 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back that which he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.


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 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him. He hath done that which is lawful and right: he shall surely live.


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 "Yet the children of thy people say, `The way of the Lord is not equal.' But as for them, their way is not equal.


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 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.


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


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


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


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


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 "Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes in the land of Israel speak, saying, `Abraham was one, and he inherited the land. But we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.'


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 Therefore say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Ye eat meat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. And shall ye possess the land?


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 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbor's wife. And shall ye possess the land?'


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 Say thou thus unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: As I live, surely they that are in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to be devoured, and they that are in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.


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


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


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


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 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.


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 And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not.


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 And when this cometh to pass -- lo, it will come -- then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them."


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 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?


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 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool, ye kill the ones that are fed; but ye feed not the flock.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 "`And as for you, O My flock, thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the hegoats.


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 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? And to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?


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 And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.


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 "`Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them: Behold I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.


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


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


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 And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David. He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 and say unto it, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out Mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.


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 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end,


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 therefore, as I live, saith the LORD GOD, I will prepare thee for blood, and blood shall pursue thee. Since thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.


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 Thus will I make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth.


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 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men; in thy hills and in thy valleys and in all thy rivers shall they fall that are slain with the sword.


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 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


text:
 "`Because thou hast said, "These two nations and these two countries shall be mine and we will possess it," though the LORD was there,


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 therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I have judged thee.


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 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, "They are laid desolate. They are given us to consume."


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 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against Me and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.


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 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee. Thou shalt be desolate, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, even all of it; and they shall know that I am the LORD.'"


text:
 "Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel and say, `Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.


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 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because the enemy hath said against you, "Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession,"'


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 therefore prophesy and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because they have made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up on the lips of talkers and are an infamy of the people,


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 therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about"


text:
 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen and against all Edom, who have appointed My land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out as a prey.'


text:
 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I have lifted up Mine hand. Surely the heathen who are about you, they shall bear their shame.


text:
 "`But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people of Israel, for they are at hand to come.


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


text:
 And I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and bring fruit. And I will settle you according to your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.


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


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because they say unto you, "Thou, land, devourest up men and hast bereaved thy nations,"


text:
 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.'"


text:
 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings; their way was before Me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.


text:
 Therefore I poured My fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it.


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


text:
 And when they entered unto the heathen whither they went, they profaned My holy name, when they said to them, `These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of His land.'


text:
 But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went.


text:
 "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went.


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


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


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


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


text:
 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them.


text:
 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.


text:
 "`I will also save you from all your uncleannesses; and I will call for the corn and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.


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


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


text:
 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be rebuilt.


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


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


text:
 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them. I will increase them with men like a flock.


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


text:
 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,


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


text:
 And He said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, Thou knowest."


text:
 Again He said unto me, "Prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, `O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live.


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


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


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


text:
 Then said He unto me, "Prophesy unto the wind. Prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'"


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


text:
 Then He said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, `Our bones are dried and our hope is lost. We are cut off from our parts.'


text:
 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.


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


text:
 and shall put My Spirit in you and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it, saith the LORD.'"


text:
 "Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, `For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write upon it, `For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.'


text:
 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, `Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these?'


text:
 say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in Mine hand.'


text:
 "And say unto them, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whither they have gone, and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land.


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


text:
 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places wherein they have sinned and will cleanse them. So shall they be My people, and I will be their God.


text:
 "`And David My servant shall be King over them, and they all shall have one Shepherd. They shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them.


text:
 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob My servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children and their children's children for ever. And My servant David shall be their Prince for ever.


text:
 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.


text:
 And the heathen shall know that I, the LORD, do sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.'"


text:
 "Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him


text:
 and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.


text:
 And I will turn thee back and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords;


text:
 Gomer and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters and all his bands -- and many people with thee.


text:
 "`Be thou prepared and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.


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


text:
 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm. Thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy troops, and many people with thee.


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: It shall also come to pass that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought;


text:
 and thou shalt say, "I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates"--


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


text:
 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, "Art thou come to despoil us? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?"'


text:
 "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: On that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?


text:
 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army.


text:
 And thou shalt come up against My people of Israel as a cloud to cover the land. It shall be in the latter days; and I will bring thee against My land, that the heathen may know Me when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old times by My servants the prophets of Israel who prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?


text:
 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that My fury shall come upon My face.


text:
 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken: Surely on that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel,


text:
 so that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence; and the mountains shall be thrown down and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.


text:
 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, saith the Lord GOD. Every man's sword shall be against his brother.


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


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


text:
 "Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.


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


text:
 and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.


text:
 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy forces and the people that are with thee. I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.


text:
 And I will send a fire on Magog and among them that dwell confidently in the isles; and they shall know that I am the LORD.


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


text:
 "`And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the javelins and the spears; and they shall burn them with fire seven years,


text:
 so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests. For they shall burn the weapons with fire, and they shall despoil those that despoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "`And it shall come to pass on that day that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passersby on the east of the sea; and it shall stop the noses of the passersby. And there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it the Valley of Hamongog [that is, The multitude of Gog].


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


text:
 And they shall separate out men for continual employment, passing through the land, to bury with the passersby those who remain upon the face of the earth to cleanse it. At the end of seven months shall they search.


text:
 And the passersby who pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamongog.


text:
 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah [that is, The multitude]. Thus shall they cleanse the land.'


text:
 "And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: Speak unto every feathered fowl and to every beast of the field: `Assemble yourselves and come. Gather yourselves on every side to My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.


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


text:
 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full and drink blood till ye be drunken of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.


text:
 Thus ye shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots, with mighty men and with all men of war,' saith the Lord GOD.


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


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


text:
 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid My face from them.


text:
 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name


text:
 after they have borne their shame and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against Me, when they dwelt safely in their land and none made them afraid.


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


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


text:
 neither will I hide My face any more from them, for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD."


text:
 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was smitten, on the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.


text:
 In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel and set me upon a very high mountain, by which there was, as it were, the form of a city on the south.


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


text:
 And the man said unto me, "Son of man, behold with thine eyes and hear with thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall show thee; for with the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare all that thou seest to the house of Israel."


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


text:
 Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad, and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.


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


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


text:
 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement.


text:
 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court from outside, a hundred cubits eastward and northward.


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


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


text:
 And their windows and their arches and their palm trees were the same measure as the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps, and the arches thereof were before them.


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 And he brought me to the inner court by the South Gate. And he measured the South Gate according to these measures,


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 And at the side outside, as one goeth up to the entry of the North Gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables.


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


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


text:
 And within were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened round about; and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.


text:
 And outside the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the North Gate, and their prospect was toward the south, one at the side of the East Gate having the prospect toward the north.


text:
 And he said unto me, "This chamber whose prospect is toward the south is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.


text:
 And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, who come near to the LORD to minister unto Him."


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple. And he said unto me, "This is the Most Holy Place."


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


text:
 And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have support, but they had no support in the wall of the house.


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 also the breadth of the face of the house and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits.


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


text:
 the doorposts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories opposite the door, ceiled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows (and the windows were covered),


text:
 to the space above the door, even unto the inner house and outside, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure.


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


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


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


text:
 The posts of the temple were squared, and also the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 Now the upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries were higher than these -- than the lower and than the middlemost of the building.


text:
 For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper building was narrowed more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground.


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 And according to the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the walk, the passage directly before the wall toward the east as one entereth into them.


text:
 Then said he unto me, "The north chambers and the south chambers, which are in front of the separate place, they are holy chambers where the priests who approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things. There shall they lay the most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.


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


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


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


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


text:
 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and His voice was like a noise of many waters, and the earth shined with His glory.


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


text:
 And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.


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


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


text:
 In their setting of their threshold by My thresholds, and their post by My posts, and the wall between Me and them, they have even defiled My holy name by their abominations that they have committed. Therefore I have consumed them in Mine anger.


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


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


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


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


text:
 "And these are the mesurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): even the bottom shall be a cubit and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span; and this shall be the higher place of the altar.


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


text:
 And the ledge shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit, and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east."


text:
 And He said unto me, "Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances of the altar on the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon and to sprinkle blood thereon.


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 And thou shalt give to the priests, the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister unto Me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.


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 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the border round about; thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.


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


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


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 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish and a ram out of the flock without blemish.


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


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


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


text:
 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary which looketh toward the east, and it was shut.


text:
 Then said the LORD unto me, "This gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened and no man shall enter in by it, because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut.


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


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


text:
 And the LORD said unto me, "Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.


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 And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, `Thus saith the Lord GOD: O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,


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


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 And ye have not kept charge of Mine holy things; but ye have set keepers of My charge in My sanctuary for yourselves.


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary, or any stranger that is among the children of Israel.


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


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


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


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 And they shall not come near unto Me to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things in the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.


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


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 But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok that kept the charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near to Me to minister unto Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer unto Me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD.


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 They shall enter into My sanctuary, and they shall come near to My table to minister unto Me, and they shall keep My charge.


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


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 They shall have linen headdresses upon their heads and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.


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


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 Neither shall they shave their heads nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only trim the hair of their heads.


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


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


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 And in controversy they shall stand in judgment, and they shall judge it according to My judgments; and they shall keep My laws and My statutes in all Mine assemblies, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.


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


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 And on the day that he goeth into the sanctuary unto the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord GOD.


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 "`And it shall be unto them for an inheritance. I am their inheritance, and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.


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


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 And the first of all the firstfruits of all things and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest's. Ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house.


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 The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.


text:
 "`Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the LORD, a holy portion of the land. The length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand; this shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about.


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


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 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand and the breadth of ten thousand; and in it shall be the sanctuary and the Most Holy Place.


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


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


text:
 "`And ye shall appoint as the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, opposite the oblation of the holy portion; it shall be for the whole house of Israel.


text:
 "`And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the oblation of the holy portion and of the possession of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward and from the east side eastward; and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border.


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


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel. Remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice. Take away your exactions from My people, saith the Lord GOD.


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


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


text:
 "`This is the oblation that ye shall offer: a sixth part of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give a sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley.


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


text:
 And one lamb out of the flock of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel, for a meat offering and for a burnt offering and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 And it shall be the prince's part to give burnt offerings and meat offerings and drink offerings, in the feasts and in the new moons and in the Sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering and the meat offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the first month, on the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary.


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


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 And so thou shalt do the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple; so shall ye reconcile the house.


text:
 "`In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days. Unleavened bread shall be eaten.


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


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


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


text:
 In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like at the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.


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 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days, but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.


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


text:
 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.


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


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


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


text:
 And he shall prepare a meat offering: an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


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


text:
 "`But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD at the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the North Gate to worship shall go out by the way of the South Gate, and he that entereth by the way of the South Gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth opposite it.


text:
 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in, and when they go forth, shall go forth.


text:
 "`And at the feasts and at the solemnities, the meat offering shall be an ephah to a bullock and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.


text:
 Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go forth, and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.


text:
 "`Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a lamb of the first year without blemish; thou shalt prepare it every morning.


text:
 And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, a sixth part of an ephah and a third part of a hin of oil to temper with the fine flour -- a meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD.


text:
 Thus shall they prepare the lamb and the meat offering and the oil every morning for a continual burnt offering.


text:
 "`Thus saith the Lord GOD: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance.


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 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year of liberty; afterward it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall be his sons' for them.


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


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


text:
 Then said he unto me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering, that they bear them not out into the outer court, to sanctify the people."


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


text:
 In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad. These four corners were of one measure.


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


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


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


text:
 Then he brought me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way outside unto the outer gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.


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


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


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


text:
 And he said unto me, "Son of man, hast thou seen this?" Then he brought me and caused me to return to the brink of the river.


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


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


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 And it shall come to pass that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither; for they shall be healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets. Their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.


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


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 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed. It shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters issued out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat and the leaf thereof for medicine."


text:
 Thus saith the Lord GOD: "This shall be the border whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.


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


text:
 "And this shall be the border of the land: toward the north side, from the Great Sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad,


text:
 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath, Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.


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


text:
 "And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by the Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.


text:
 "And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the Waters of Strife in Kadesh, the river to the Great Sea. And this is the south side southward.


text:
 "The west side also shall be the Great Sea from the border till a man come opposite Hamath. This is the west side.


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


text:
 And it shall come to pass that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west: a portion for Dan.


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


text:
 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.


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


text:
 It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept My charge, who went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.


text:
 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.


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


text:
 And they shall not sell any of it, neither exchange nor alienate the firstfruits of the land; for it is holy unto the LORD.


text:
 "And the five thousand that are left in the breadth opposite the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.


text:
 And these shall be the measurements thereof: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.


text:
 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.


text:
 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward and ten thousand westward; and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion, and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.


text:
 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand. Ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.


text:
 "And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions: for the prince. And it shall be the holy oblation, and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.


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


text:
 "As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.


text:
 And by the border of Gad at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the Waters of Strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the Great Sea.


text:
 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions," saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "And these are the exits out of the city: On the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures,


text:
 and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.


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


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


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


text:
 It was round about eighteen thousand measures. "And the name of the city from that day shall be: The LORD Is There."


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


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


text:
 And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the king's seed and of the princes,


text:
 youths in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.


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


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


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


text:
 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink. For why should he see your faces sadder than the youths who are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head before the king."


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


text:
 "Test thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink.


text:
 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths who eat of the portion of the king's meat. And as thou seest, deal with thy servants."


text:
 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the portion of the king's meat.


text:
 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.


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


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


text:
 And the king communed with them, and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king.


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


text:
 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled and his sleep departed from him.


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


text:
 And the king said unto them, "I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream."


text:
 Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, "O king, live for ever! Tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."


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


text:
 But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof."


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


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


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


text:
 The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, "There is not a man upon the earth who can show the king's matter. Therefore there is no king, lord, or ruler who asked such things of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.


text:
 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."


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


text:
 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain, and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.


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


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


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


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


text:
 that they would desire mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


text:
 Daniel answered and said, "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.


text:
 And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings and setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.


text:
 He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.


text:
 I thank Thee and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter."


text:
 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus unto him: "Destroy not the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation."


text:
 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, "I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known unto the king the interpretation."


text:
 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?"


text:
 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, "The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot show unto the king.


text:
 But there is a God in heaven who revealeth secrets, and maketh known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these:


text:
 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.


text:
 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than anyone living, but for their sakes who shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.


text:
 "Thou, O king, sawest; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.


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


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 Thou sawest until a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.


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


text:
 Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.


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 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.


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


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 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.


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 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, inasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.


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


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 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.


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


text:
 Inasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof sure."


text:
 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet incense unto him.


text:
 The king answered unto Daniel and said, "In truth it is, that your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret."


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


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


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


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


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


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 that at the time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.


text:
 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."


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


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


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 and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.


text:
 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded thee. They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."


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


text:
 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye do not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?


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


text:
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not fear to answer thee in this matter.


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


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 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spoke and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth and come hither." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire.


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


text:
 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not servenor worship any god except their own God.


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


text:
 "Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.


text:
 How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 "`I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven.


text:
 He cried aloud and said thus: "Hew down the tree and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.


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


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


text:
 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, with the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men."


text:
 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, inasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation; but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.'"


text:
 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stunned for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, "Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation thereof trouble thee." Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, the dream is for those who hate thee, and the interpretation thereof for thine enemies.


text:
 The tree that thou sawest, which grew and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven and the sight thereof to all the earth,


text:
 whose leaves were fair and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation--


text:
 it is thou, O king, who art grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.


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


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


text:
 that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen; and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.


text:
 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee after thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.


text:
 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee; and break off thy sins by righteousness and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, that it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility."


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


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


text:
 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen. And seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will."


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


text:
 "And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom is from generation to generation.


text:
 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand or say unto Him, `What doest Thou?'


text:
 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me. And my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.


text:
 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways judgment. And those that walk in pride He is able to abase."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


text:
 Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were dismayed.


text:
 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house. And the queen spoke and said, "O king, live for ever! Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.


text:
 There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him whom King Nebuchadnezzar thy father -- the king, I say, thy father -- made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.


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


text:
 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, "Art thou that Daniel who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?


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


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


text:
 And I have heard of thee that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if thou canst read the writing and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom."


text:
 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.


text:
 O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty and glory and honor.


text:
 And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he would he slew; and whomever he would he kept alive; and whomever he would he set up; and whomever he would he put down.


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


text:
 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appointeth over it whomsoever He will.


text:
 but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven. And they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not nor hear nor know. And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.


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


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


text:
 and over these, three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the princes might give account unto them and the king should have no damage.


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


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


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


text:
 Then these presidents and princes assembled together before the king, and said thus unto him, "King Darius, live for ever!


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


text:
 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not."


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


text:
 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree: "Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, except of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king answered and said, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not."


text:
 Then answered they and said before the king, "That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day."


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


text:
 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is: that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed."


text:
 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee."


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


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


text:
 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel; and the king spoke and said to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?"


text:
 My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me, inasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt."


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


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


text:
 Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: "Peace be multiplied unto you.


text:
 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and steadfast for ever, and His Kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.


text:
 He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."


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


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


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


text:
 And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear. And it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it; and they said thus unto it, `Arise, devour much flesh.'


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


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


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


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 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days sat down, whose garment was white as snow and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.


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 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.


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


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


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 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.


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 And there was given Him dominion and glory and a Kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.


text:
 "I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.


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


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 But the saints of the Most High shall take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.'


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 "Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass, which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;


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


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 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom.


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


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


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


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


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


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 "Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart."


text:
 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.


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


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


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


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 And as I was considering, behold, a hegoat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.


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


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


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 Therefore the hegoat waxed very great; and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.


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 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the pleasant land.


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


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 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.


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 And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.


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


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 And he said unto me, "Until two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 Now that one being broken, in whose place four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.


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


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 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wondrously, and shall prosper and perform, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.


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


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 "And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true. Therefore shut thou up the vision, for it shall be for many days."


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 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick several days. Afterward I rose up and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.


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


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 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, came to understand by books the number of the years, according to the word of the LORD as it came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would spend seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.


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 And I set my face unto the Lord God, seeking by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.


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 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession and said, "O Lord, the great and fearsome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him and to them that keep His commandments,


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 we have sinned and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments.


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


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 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day: to the men of Judah and to theinhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel who are near and who are far off, through all the countries whither Thou hast driven them, because of theirtrespass that they have trespassed against Thee.


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


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 neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.


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


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 And He hath confirmed His words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.


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 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us. Yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Thy truth.


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 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth, for we obeyed not His voice.


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 "And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought Thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made Thee a name, as at this day -- we have sinned, we have done wickedly.


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 O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain; because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people have become a reproach to all who are about us.


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


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 O my God, incline Thine ear and hear. Open Thine eyes and behold our desolations and the city which is called by Thy name; for we do not present our supplications before Thee because of our righteousnesses, but because of Thy great mercies.


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 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hearken and do! Defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God; for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name."


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


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


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 And he informed me, and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.


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 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth; and I have come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore understand the matter, and heed the vision:


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 "Seventy weeks are determined concerning thy people and concerning thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.


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 Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.


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 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end thereof shall be with a flood, and until the end of the war desolations are determined.


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 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."


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 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar. And the thing was true, but the time appointed was long; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.


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 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.


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 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel,


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 then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz.


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 His body also was like beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like the color of polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.


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 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.


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 Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.


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 Yet heard I the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face was toward the ground.


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 And he said unto me, "O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent." And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.


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 Then said he unto me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard; and I have come for thy words.


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 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia.


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 Now I have come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days, for yet the vision is for many days."


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 And behold, one with the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, "O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.


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 For how can this servant of my Lord talk with thee, my lord? For as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me."


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 and said, "O man greatly beloved, fear not. Peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong." And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened and said, "Let my lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me."


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 Then said he, "Knowest thou why I come unto thee? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.


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 But I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth; and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.


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 "And now will I show thee the truth: Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.


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 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, and not to his posterity nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides those.


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 "And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.


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 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together, for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up with they that brought her, and him that begot her, and him that strengthened her in these times.


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 "But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come with an army and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them and shall prevail.


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 And he shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.


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 "But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through. Then shall he return and be stirred up, even to his fortress.


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 And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.


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 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands, but he shall not be strengthened by it.


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 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.


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 "And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but they shall fall.


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 So the king of the north shall come and cast up a mound, and take the most fortified cities; and the armies of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.


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 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.


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 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her; but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.


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 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many. But a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach, he shall cause it to turn upon him.


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 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.


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 "Then shall stand up in his place a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle.


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 And in his place shall stand up a vile person to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.


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 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him and shall be broken, yea, also the prince of the covenant.


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 And after the league is made with him he shall work deceitfully, for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small people.


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 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter among them the plunder and spoil and riches; yea, and he shall plot his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.


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 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for they shall plot devices against him.


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 Yea, those who feed from the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.


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 And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper, for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.


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 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.


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 "At the time appointed he shall return and come toward the south, but it shall not be as the former or as the latter;


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 for the ships of Chittim shall come against him. Therefore he shall be grieved and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant. So shall he do; he shall even return, and have accord with those who forsake the holy covenant.


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 And armies shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place there the abomination that maketh desolate.


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 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.


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 And those who understand among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days.


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 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.


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 And some of those of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed.


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 "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.


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 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all.


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 But in his place shall he honor the god of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.


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 Thus shall he do in the greatest strongholds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory. And he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.


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 "And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.


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 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.


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 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and ofsilver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.


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 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.


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 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.


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 "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book.


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 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


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 And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.


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 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."


text:
 Then I, Daniel, looked; and behold, there stood two others, the one on this side of the bank of the river and the other on that side of the bank of the river.


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 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?"


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 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished scattering the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.


text:
 And I heard, but I understood not. Then said I, "O my lord, what shall be the end of these things?"


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 Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.


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 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.


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 But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days."


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


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 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea: And the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms; for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD."


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 And the LORD said unto him, "Call his name Jezreel; for in yet a little while I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.


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 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."


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 And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And God said unto him, "Call her name Loruhamah [that is, Not having obtained mercy]; for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away.


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 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."


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 Then said God, "Call his name Loammi [that is, Not My people], for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God.


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 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, `Ye are not My people,' there it shall be said unto them, `Ye are the sons of the living God.'


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 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head; and they shall come up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.


text:
 "Say ye unto your brethren, `Ammi' [that is, My people], and to your sisters, `Ruhamah' [that is, Having obtained mercy].


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 "Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not My wife, neither am I her Husband. Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts,


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 lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.


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 For their mother hath played the harlot; she that conceived them hath done shamefully. For she said, `I will go after my lovers that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.'


text:
 "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.


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 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then shall she say, `I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now.'


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 For she did not know that I gave her corn and wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.


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 Therefore will I return and take away My corn at the harvest thereof, and My wine in the season thereof, and will recover My wool and My flax given to cover her nakedness.


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 And now will I uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of Mine hand.


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 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.


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 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, `These are my rewards that my lovers have given me'; and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.


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 And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgot Me," saith the LORD.


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 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortingly unto her.


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 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.


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 "And it shall be at that day," saith the LORD, "that thou shalt call Me `Ishi' [that is, My husband], and shalt call Me no more `Baali' [that is, My Lord].


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 For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.


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 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and warfare out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.


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 And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.


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 "And it shall come to pass in that day I will hear," saith the LORD, "I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth.


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 And I will sow her unto Me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to those who were not My people, `Thou art My people'; and they shall say, `Thou art my God.'"


text:
 Then said the LORD unto me, "Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love flagons of wine."


text:
 So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley and a half homer of barley.


text:
 And I said unto her, "Thou shalt abide for me many days. Thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man. So will I also be for thee."


text:
 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.


text:
 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God and David their king, and shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.


text:
 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel; for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the land.


text:
 "By swearing and lying, and killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.


text:
 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.


text:
 Yet let no man strive with, nor reprove another; for this people are as they that strive with the priest.


text:
 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night; and I will destroy thy mother.


text:
 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me. Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.


text:
 "As they were increased, so they sinned against Me; therefore will I change their glory into shame.


text:
 And it shall be: like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.


text:
 For they shall eat and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom and shall not increase, because they have left off taking heed of the LORD.


text:
 My people ask counsel from their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from their God.


text:
 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good; therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.


text:
 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery; for the men themselves consort with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: Therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.


text:
 "Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, `The LORD liveth.'


text:
 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer; now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.


text:
 Their drink is sour; they have committed whoredom continually; her rulers with shame do love, `Give ye.'


text:
 "Hear ye this, O priests! And hearken, ye house of Israel! And give ye ear, O house of the king! For judgment is against you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.


text:
 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from Me; for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.


text:
 "They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God; for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.


text:
 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face; therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.


text:
 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD, but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them.


text:
 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, for they have begotten strange children. Now shall a month devour them with their portions.


text:
 "Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah! Cry aloud at Bethaven! After thee, O Benjamin!


text:
 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.


text:
 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the landmarks; therefore I will pour out My wrath upon them like water.


text:
 "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to King Jareb. Yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.


text:
 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah; I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.


text:
 I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offense and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me early."


text:
 Come, and let us return unto the LORD; for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.


text:
 After two days will He revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.


text:
 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD; His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.


text:
 "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.


text:
 Therefore have I hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.


text:
 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder on the way by consent; for they commit lewdness.


text:
 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel; there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.


text:
 "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was uncovered, and the wickedness of Samaria. For they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers despoileth without.


text:
 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. Now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.


text:
 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.


text:
 In the day of our king, the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.


text:
 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while theylie in wait; their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.


text:
 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen; there is none among them that calleth unto Me.


text:
 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.


text:
 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek Him for all this.


text:
 When they shall go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.


text:
 Woe unto them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction unto them, because they have transgressed against Me! Though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against Me.


text:
 And they have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against Me.


text:
 They return, but not to the Most High; they are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue; this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.


text:
 "Set the trumpet to thy mouth! He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed My covenant, and trespassed against My law.


text:
 They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have made princes, and I knew it not. Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.


text:
 "Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; Mine anger is kindled against them. How long will it be ere they attain to innocency?


text:
 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it, therefore it is not God; but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.


text:
 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. It hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal. If so it shall yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.


text:
 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.


text:
 They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of Mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not. Now will He remember their iniquity and visit their sins; they shall return to Egypt.


text:
 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fortified cities. But I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof."


text:
 Rejoice not for joy, O Israel, as other people, for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God; thou hast loved for reward upon every threshing floor.


text:
 They shall not dwell in the LORD'S land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.


text:
 They shall not offer wine offerings to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto Him; their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners. All that eat thereof shall be polluted, for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.


text:
 For lo, they are gone because of destruction. Egypt shall gather them up; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess the pleasant places for their silver; thorns shall be in their tabernacles.


text:
 The days of visitation have come, the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad because of the multitude of thine iniquity and great hatred.


text:
 The watchman of Ephraim was with my God; but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.


text:
 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. Therefore He will remember their iniquity; He will visit their sins.


text:
 "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe of the fig tree at her first season. But they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved.


text:
 As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.


text:
 Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left; yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!


text:
 Ephraim, as I saw Tyre, is planted in a pleasant place; but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer."


text:
 "All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them; for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of Mine house. I will love them no more; all their princes are revolters.


text:
 Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb."


text:
 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.


text:
 Israel is an empty vine; he bringeth forth fruit unto himself. According to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.


text:
 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty. He shall break down their altars; He shall despoil their images.


text:
 For now they shall say, "We have no king, because we feared not the LORD. What then should a king do to us?"


text:
 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.


text:
 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof who rejoiced on it for the glory thereof, because glory has departed from it.


text:
 It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to King Jareb. Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.


text:
 The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"


text:
 "O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah. There they stood. The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.


text:
 It is in My desire that I should chastise them, and the people shall be gathered against them when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.


text:
 And Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught and loveth to tread out the corn, but I passed over upon her fair neck. I will make Ephraim to ride, Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods."


text:
 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.


text:
 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity, ye have eaten the fruit of lies, because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.


text:
 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be despoiled, as Shalman despoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.


text:
 So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness; in a morning shall the king of Israel be utterly cut off.


text:
 As they called them, so they went from them; they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.


text:
 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke from their jaws, and Ilaid meat before them.


text:
 "He shall not return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.


text:
 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches and devour them, because of their own counsels.


text:
 And My people are bent on backsliding from Me; though they called them to the Most High, none at all would exalt Him.


text:
 "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zeboiim? Mine heart is turned within Me; My repentings are kindled together.


text:
 I will not execute the fierceness of Mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not enter into the city.


text:
 "They shall walk after the LORD; He shall roar like a lion. When He shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.


text:
 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will place them in their houses," saith the LORD.


text:
 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.


text:
 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.


text:
 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will He recompense him.


text:
 Yea, he had power over the angel and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto Him; he found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke with us,


text:
 And Ephraim said, "Yet I am become rich, I have found myself substance; in all my labors they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin."


text:
 "And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.


text:
 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets."


text:
 Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are vanity. They sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.


text:
 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.


text:
 Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly; therefore shall He leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.


text:
 When Ephraim spoke, trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.


text:
 And now they sin more and more, and have made for themselves molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the sacrificers of men kiss the calves!"


text:
 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.


text:
 "Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but Me; for there is no savior besides Me.


text:
 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten Me.


text:
 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion; the beast of the field shall tear them.


text:
 I will be thy King. Where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities, and thy judges of whom thou saidst, `Give me a king and princes'?


text:
 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him. He is an unwise son, for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.


text:
 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues! O grave, I will be thy destruction! Repentance shall be hid from Mine eyes."


text:
 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come; the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up; He shall despoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.


text:
 Samaria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled against her God. They shall fall by the sword, their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.


text:
 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD; say unto Him, "Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, so will we offer the calves of our lips.


text:
 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, `Ye are our gods'; for in Thee the fatherless findeth mercy."


text:
 They that dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.


text:
 Ephraim shall say, `What have I to do any more with idols?' I have heard him, and observed him; I am like a green fir tree. From Me is thy fruit found."


text:
 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein.


text:
 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?


text:
 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.


text:
 That which the palmer worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.


text:
 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.


text:
 For a nation has come up upon my land, strong and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.


text:
 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree; he hath made it clean bare and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.


text:
 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn.


text:
 The field is wasted, the land mourneth, for the corn is wasted; the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.


text:
 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished.


text:
 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree--even all the trees of the field are withered, because joy is withered away from the sons of men.


text:
 Gird yourselves and lament, ye priests; howl, ye ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God.


text:
 Sanctify ye a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD!


text:
 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.


text:
 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.


text:
 How the beasts do groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.


text:
 O LORD, to Thee will I cry! For the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.


text:
 The beasts of the field cry also unto Thee; for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.


text:
 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand--


text:
 a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains. A great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like; neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.


text:
 A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.


text:
 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.


text:
 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks.


text:
 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path; and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.


text:
 They shall run to and fro in the city, they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses, they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.


text:
 The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.


text:
 And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army, for His camp is very great. For He is strong that executeth His word; for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible, and who can abide it?


text:
 "Therefore also now," saith the LORD, "turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning."


text:
 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth of the evil.


text:
 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him--even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?


text:
 gather the people! Sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber and the bride out of her retreat.


text:
 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, "Spare Thy people, O LORD, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them.Why should they say among the people, `Where is their God?'"


text:
 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto His people: "Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.


text:
 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea. And his stink shall come up, and his ill savor shall come up"" because He hath done great things.


text:
 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.


text:
 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God; for He hath given you the early rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the early rain and the latter rain in the first month.


text:
 "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the palmer worm, My great army which I sent among you.


text:
 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God that hath dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be ashamed.


text:
 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else; and My people shall never be ashamed.


text:
 "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions;


text:
 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.


text:
 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.


text:
 "For behold, in those days and in that time, when I shall bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,


text:
 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted My land.


text:
 And they have cast lots for My people, and have given a boy for a harlot and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.


text:
 Yea, and what have ye to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the coasts of Palestine? Will ye render Me a recompense? And if ye recompense Me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head,


text:
 because ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My goodly, pleasant things.


text:
 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.


text:
 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head.


text:
 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off; for the LORD hath spoken it."


text:
 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war! Wake up the mighty men! Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.


text:
 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am strong."


text:
 Assemble yourselves and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.


text:
 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.


text:
 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow--for their wickedness is great!"


text:
 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.


text:
 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.


text:
 "So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.


text:
 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and shall water the valley of Shittim.


text:
 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.


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


text:
 And he said: "The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.


text:
 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the scepter from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir," saith the LORD.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they carried away captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom.


text:
 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn Mine hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish," saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.


text:
 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.


text:
 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.


text:
 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him," saith the LORD.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept His commandments; and their lies caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they sold the righteous for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes.


text:
 They pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek; and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid to profane My holy name.


text:
 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid in pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.


text:
 "Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from beneath.


text:
 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness to possess the land of the Amorite.


text:
 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel?" saith the LORD.


text:
 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself.


text:
 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow, and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.


text:
 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,


text:
 "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."


text:
 Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?


text:
 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where no trap is for him? Shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?


text:
 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?


text:
 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, unless He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.


text:
 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod and in the palaces in theland of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof and the oppressed in the midst thereof.


text:
 For they know not to do right," saith the LORD, "who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."


text:
 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: "An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be despoiled."


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out, that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed and in Damascus on a couch.


text:
 "that in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.


text:
 And I will smite the winter house and the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end," saith the LORD.


text:
 Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their masters, "Bring, and let us drink."


text:
 The Lord GOD hath sworn by His holiness that: "Lo, the days shall come upon you, that He will take you away with hooks and your posterity with fishhooks.


text:
 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her, and ye shall cast them into the palace," saith the LORD.


text:
 "Come to Bethel and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes after three years.


text:
 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings; for so ye love, O ye children of Israel," saith the Lord GOD.


text:
 "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places; yet have ye not returned unto Me," saith the LORD.


text:
 "And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest; and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city. One piece was rained upon, and the piece upon which it rained not withered.


text:
 So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet have ye not returned unto Me," saith the LORD.


text:
 "I have smitten you with blight and mildew; when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmer worm devoured them; yet have ye not returned unto Me," saith the LORD.


text:
 "I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt; your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils; yet have ye not returned unto Me," saith the LORD.


text:
 "I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning; yet have ye not returned unto Me," saith the LORD.


text:
 "Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel!"


text:
 For lo, He that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is His thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth--the LORD, the God of Hosts, is His name.


text:
 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise. She is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.


text:
 For thus saith the Lord GOD: "The city that went out by a thousand shall be left a hundred, and that which went forth by a hundred shall be left ten to the house of Israel."


text:
 but seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.


text:
 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel--


text:
 Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night, who calleth for the waters of the sea and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is His name,


text:
 who strengtheneth the despoiled against the strong, so that the despoiled shall come against the fortress.


text:
 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat, ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine from them.


text:
 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor at the gate from their right.


text:
 Seek good and not evil, that ye may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.


text:
 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.


text:
 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord saith thus: "Wailing shall be in all streets, and they shall say in all the highways, `Alas! Alas!' And they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful in lamentation to wailing.


text:
 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light:


text:
 as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.


text:
 Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.


text:
 "Have ye offered unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?


text:
 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god which ye made for yourselves.


text:
 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus," saith the LORD, whose name is The God of Hosts.


text:
 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, who are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!


text:
 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms? Or their border greater than your border?


text:
 that lie upon beds of ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock and the calves out of the midst of the stall;


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 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments-- but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.


text:
 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.


text:
 The Lord GOD hath sworn by Himself; saith the LORD the God of hosts: "I abhor the pretensions of Jacob, and hate his palaces; therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein."


text:
 And a man's kinsman shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the side of the house, "Is there yet any with thee?" And he shall say, "No." Then shall he say, "Hold thy tongue, for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD."


text:
 For behold, the LORD commandeth, and He will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.


text:
 Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock,


text:
 ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, who say, "Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?"


text:
 "But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel," saith the LORD the God of hosts; "and they shall afflict you from the entrance of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness."


text:
 Thus hath the Lord GOD shown unto me: And behold, He formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.


text:
 And it came to pass, when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, "O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech Thee! By whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small."


text:
 Thus hath the Lord GOD shown unto me: And behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep and ate up a part.


text:
 Thus He showed me: And behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand.


text:
 And the LORD said unto me, "Amos, what seest thou?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then said the Lord, "Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.


text:
 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."


text:
 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.


text:
 For thus Amos saith, `Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.'"


text:
 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, "O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread and prophesy there.


text:
 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is the king's court."


text:
 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.


text:
 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, `Go, prophesy unto My people Israel.'


text:
 Now therefore, hear thou the word of the LORD. Thou sayest, `Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.'


text:
 Therefore thus saith the LORD: `Thy wife shall be a harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword; and thy land shall be divided by line, and thou shalt die in a polluted land. And Israel shall surely go into captivity forth from his land.'"


text:
 And He said, "Amos, what seest thou?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then said the LORD unto me: "The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.


text:
 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day," saith the Lord GOD. "There shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence."


text:
 saying, "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit,


text:
 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes, yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?"


text:
 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? And it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day," saith the Lord GOD, "that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.


text:
 And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.


text:
 "Behold, the days come," saith the Lord GOD, "that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.


text:
 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.


text:
 They that swear by the sin of Samaria and say, `Thy god, O Dan, liveth,' and, `The manner of Beersheba liveth' -- even they shall fall and never rise up again."


text:
 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He said: "Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake, and wound them on the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword. He that fleeth from them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth from them shall not be delivered.


text:
 Though they dig into hell, thence shall Mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down.


text:
 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from My sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them.


text:
 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them. And I will set Mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good."


text:
 And the Lord GOD of hosts is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn; and it shall rise up wholly like a flood, and shall be drowned as by the flood of Egypt.


text:
 It is He that buildeth His spheres in the heaven, and hath founded His troop on the earth. He that calleth for the waters of the sea and poureth them out upon the face of the earth--the LORD is His name.


text:
 "Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto Me, O children of Israel?" saith the LORD. "Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? And the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?


text:
 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," saith the LORD.


text:
 "For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as corn is sifted in a sieve; yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.


text:
 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, who say, `The evil shall not overtake nor come before us.'


text:
 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old,


text:
 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen that are called by My name," saith the LORD that doeth this.


text:
 "Behold, the days come," saith the LORD, "that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.


text:
 And I will bring back the captives of My people of Israel, and they shall build the wasted cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.


text:
 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them," saith the LORD thy God.


text:
 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a word from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen: "Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle":


text:
 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, that saith in his heart, `Who shall bring me down to the ground?'


text:
 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, from thence will I bring thee down," saith the LORD.


text:
 "If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night (how thou art cut off!), would they not have stolen till they had enough? If the grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?


text:
 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border; the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee and prevailed against thee. They that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee; there is no understanding in him.


text:
 Shall I not in that day," saith the LORD, "even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?


text:
 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.


text:
 "For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.


text:
 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side--in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem" even thou wast as one of them.


text:
 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.


text:
 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of My people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.


text:
 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that remained in the day of distress.


text:
 "For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen. As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.


text:
 For as ye have drunk upon My holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually; yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.


text:
 "But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.


text:
 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble; and they shall kindle them and devour them. And there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau, for the LORD hath spoken it."


text:
 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the plain the Philistines. And they shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.


text:
 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the south.


text:
 And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.


text:
 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."


text:
 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.


text:
 But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was likely to be broken.


text:
 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner parts of the ship, and he lay and was fast asleep.


text:
 So the shipmaster came to him and said unto him, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if it so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not."


text:
 And they said every one to his fellow, "Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.


text:
 Then said they unto him, "Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us: What is thine occupation? And from whence comest thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?"


text:
 And he said unto them, "I am a Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land."


text:
 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, "Why hast thou done this?" For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.


text:
 Then said they unto him, "What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.


text:
 And he said unto them, "Take me up and cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea be calm unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you."


text:
 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not, for the sea was wroughtup and was tempestuous against them.


text:
 Therefore they cried unto the LORD and said, "We beseech Thee, O LORD, we beseech Thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood! For Thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased Thee."


text:
 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


text:
 and said: "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and He heard me. Out of the belly of hell cried I, and Thou heardest my voice.


text:
 For Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about; all Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me.


text:
 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.


text:
 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever; yet hast Thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.


text:
 "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came in unto Thee, into Thine holy temple.


text:
 but I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD."


text:
 So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.


text:
 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."


text:
 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.


text:
 For word came unto the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.


text:
 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water.


text:
 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily unto God. Yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.


text:
 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?"


text:
 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God repented of the evil that He had said that He would do unto them, and He did it not.


text:
 And he prayed unto the LORD and said, "I pray Thee, O LORD, was not this what I said when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish; for I knew that Thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repentest of the evil.


text:
 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."


text:
 So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city, and there made himself a booth and sat under it in the shadow till he might see what would become of the city.


text:
 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad for the gourd.


text:
 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd so that it withered.


text:
 And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, so that he grew faint and wished in himself to die, and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."


text:
 And God said to Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry over the gourd?" And he said, "I do well to be angry, even unto death."


text:
 Then said the LORD, "Thou hast had pity on the gourd for which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.


text:
 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also many cattle?"


text:
 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


text:
 Hear, all ye people! Hearken, O earth, and all that is therein! And let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.


text:
 For behold, the LORD cometh forth out of His place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.


text:
 And the mountains shall be molten under Him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as waters that are poured down a steep place.


text:
 For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?


text:
 "Therefore I will make Samaria as a heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard; and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will uncover the foundations thereof.


text:
 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate; for she gathered it from the hire of a harlot, and they shall return to the hire of a harlot."


text:
 Therefore I will wail and howl; I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the dragons and mourning as the owls.


text:
 For her wound is incurable; for it has come unto Judah; he has come unto the gate of My people, even to Jerusalem.


text:
 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Shaphir, having thy shame naked. The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall receive from you his standing.


text:
 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited anxiously for good, but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of Jerusalem.


text:
 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast (she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion), for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.


text:
 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath; the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel.


text:
 Yet I will bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam, the glory of Israel.


text:
 Make thyself bald, and shear thy beard because of thy pleasant children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle, for they are gone into captivity from thee.


text:
 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! When the morning is light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.


text:
 They covet fields and take them by violence, and houses, and take them away. So they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.


text:
 Therefore thus saith the LORD: "Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye go haughtily; for this time is evil.


text:
 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation and say, `We are utterly despoiled; He hath changed the portion of my people. How hath He removed it from me! Turning away, He hath divided our fields.'"


text:
 "Prophesy ye not," say they to them that prophesy: "They shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not suffer shame."


text:
 Oh thou that art named the house of Jacob: Is the Spirit of the LORD straitened? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him that walketh uprightly?


text:
 "Even of late My people have risen up as an enemy; ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by trustingly as men returning from war.


text:
 The women of My people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away My glory for ever.


text:
 Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest; because it is polluted it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.


text:
 If a man walking in the spirit of falsehood lieth, saying, `I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink,' he shall even be the prophet of this people!


text:
 "I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold; and they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.


text:
 The Breaker has come up before them; they have broken forth and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it; and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD at the head of them."


text:
 And I said: "Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment"


text:
 you who hate the good and love the evil, who pluck off their skin from off them and their flesh from off their bones,


text:
 who also eat the flesh of My people and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones and chop them in pieces, as for the pot and as flesh within the caldron?"


text:
 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth and cry "Peace"; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him:


text:
 "Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine. And the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.


text:
 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded; yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God."


text:
 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, and of judgment and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.


text:
 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and pervert all equity:


text:
 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money. Yet will they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us."


text:
 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.


text:
 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains; and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it.


text:
 And many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths." For the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


text:
 And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.


text:
 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.


text:
 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.


text:
 "In that day," saith the LORD, "will I assemble her that is halt, and I will gather her that is driven out and her that I have afflicted.


text:
 And I will make her that is halt a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the LORD shall reign over them in Mount Zion from hence forth, even for ever.


text:
 And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem."


text:
 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counselor perished? For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.


text:
 Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field. And thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.


text:
 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, "Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion!"


text:
 But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they His counsel; for He shall gather them as the sheaves onto the threshing floor.


text:
 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people, and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.


text:
 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops; he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.


text:
 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto Me He that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."


text:
 Therefore will He give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.


text:
 And He shall stand and feed them in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they shall abide; for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.


text:
 And this Man shall be the peace when the Assyrian shall come into our land; and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.


text:
 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at the entrances thereof; thus shall He deliver us from the Assyrian when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.


text:
 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people, as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.


text:
 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.


text:
 "And it shall come to pass in that day," saith the LORD, "that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots.


text:
 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.


text:
 Hear ye now what the LORD saith: "Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.


text:
 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel.


text:
 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servitude; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


text:
 O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD."


text:
 With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?


text:
 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?


text:
 He hath shown thee, O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?


text:
 The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city (and the man of wisdom shall see Thy name): "Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it!


text:
 Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable?


text:
 For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.


text:
 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied, and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee. And thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.


text:
 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.


text:
 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab; and ye walk in their counsels, that I should make thee a desolation and the inhabitants thereof a hissing: Therefore ye shall bear the reproach of My people."


text:
 Woe is me! For I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: There is no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first ripe fruit.


text:
 The good man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.


text:
 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man uttereth his wicked desire; so they wrap it up.


text:
 The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of thy watchman and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.


text:
 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.


text:
 For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: a man's enemies are the men of his own house.


text:
 Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.


text:
 I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause and execute judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness.


text:
 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her that said unto me, "Where is the LORD thy God?" Mine eyes shall behold her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.


text:
 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.


text:
 Notwithstanding, the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, because of the fruit of their doings.


text:
 Rule Thy people with Thy rod, the flock of Thine heritage, who dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.


text:
 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be deaf.


text:
 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth. They shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of Thee.


text:
 Who is a God like unto Thee, who pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy.


text:
 He will turn again; He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities. And Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.


text:
 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.


text:
 God is jealous, and the LORD avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.


text:
 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The LORD hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.


text:
 He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers; Bashan languisheth and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.


text:
 The mountains quake at Him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein.


text:
 Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him.


text:
 But with an overrunning flood He will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue His enemies.


text:
 What do ye contrive against the LORD? He will make an utter end; affliction shall not rise up the second time.


text:
 For while they are folded together as thorns and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.


text:
 Thus saith the LORD: "Though they be quiet and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more;


text:
 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: "Out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image. I will make thy grave, for thou art vile."


text:
 Behold upon the mountains the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows; for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.


text:
 He that dasheth in pieces has come up before thy face. Man the defenses! Watch the way! Make thy loins strong! Fortify thy power mightily!


text:
 For the LORD hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel; for the emptiers have emptied them out and marred their vine branches.


text:
 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet; the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.


text:
 The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways; they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightning.


text:
 He shall muster his worthies; they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defense shall be prepared.


text:
 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up; and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts.


text:
 But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water; yet they shall flee away. "Stand, stand!" shall they cry, but none shall look back.


text:
 Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is no end of the store and glory of all the pleasant furnishings.


text:
 She is empty and void and waste; and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together; and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.


text:
 Where is the dwelling of the lions and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, even the old lion, walked, and the lion's whelp, and none made them afraid?


text:
 The lion tore in pieces enough for his whelps and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey and his dens with rapine.


text:
 "Behold, I am against thee," saith the LORD of hosts, "and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions; and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard."


text:
 The noise of a whip and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the prancing horses and of the jumping chariots!


text:
 The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear, and there is a multitude of slain and a great number of carcasses. And there is no end of their corpses--they stumble upon their corpses"


text:
 because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavored harlot, the mistress of witchcraft, that selleth nations through her whoredom, and families through her witchcraft.


text:
 "Behold, I am against thee," saith the LORD of hosts, "and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face; and I will show the nations thy nakedness and the kingdoms thy shame.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee and say, `Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?' From whence shall I seek comforters for thee?"


text:
 Art thou better than populous No, that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea and her wall was from the sea?


text:
 Yet was she carried away; she went into captivity. Her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets; and they cast lots for her honorable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.


text:
 All thy strongholds shall be like fig trees with the first ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.


text:
 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women; the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire shall devour thy bars.


text:
 Draw thee waters for the siege! Fortify thy strongholds! Go into clay and tread the mortar; make strong the brickkiln!


text:
 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm. Make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.


text:
 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven. The cankerworm despoileth, and fleeth away.


text:
 Thy crowned ones are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day; but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not knownwhere they are.


text:
 Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; thy nobles shall dwell in the dust; thy people are scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.


text:
 There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous. All that hear the report of thee shall clap the hands over thee. For upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?


text:
 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear? Even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save?


text:
 Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For despoiling and violence are before me, and there are those that raise up strife and contention.


text:
 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth. For the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.


text:
 "Behold ye among the heathen and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.


text:
 For lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land to possess the dwelling places that are not theirs.


text:
 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. And their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from afar; they shall fly as the vulture that hasteneth to eat.


text:
 They shall come all for violence; their faces shall consume as the east wind, and they shall gather the captives as the sand.


text:
 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them. They shall deride every stronghold, for they shall heap up dirt and take it.


text:
 Then shall his mind change; and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god."


text:
 Art Thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, Thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, Thou hast established them for correction.


text:
 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity. Why lookest Thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest Thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?


text:
 They take up all of them with the hook; they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and are glad.


text:
 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag, because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous.


text:
 I will stand upon my watch and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.


text:
 And the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it.


text:
 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come; it will not tarry.


text:
 "Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people.


text:
 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, `Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his (how long?) and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay'?


text:
 Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake, that shall vex thee? And shalt thou be for booty unto them?


text:
 Because thou hast despoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall despoil thee, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.


text:
 "Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!


text:
 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labor in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?


text:
 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.


text:
 "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on his nakedness!


text:
 Thou art filled with the shame for glory; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered. The cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.


text:
 For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts which made them afraid, because of men's blood and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.


text:
 "What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it, the molten image and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein to make dumb idols?


text:
 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, `Awake!' To the dumb stone, `Arise, it shall teach!' Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.


text:
 O LORD, I have heard Thy speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.


text:
 God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.


text:
 And His brightness was as the light; He had horns coming out of His hand, and there was the hiding of His power.


text:
 He stood and measured the earth; He beheld and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow. His ways are everlasting.


text:
 Was the LORD displeased against the rivers? Was Thine anger against the rivers? Was Thy wrath against the sea, that Thou didst ride upon Thine horses and Thy chariots of salvation?


text:
 Thy bow was made quite naked according to the oaths of the tribes, even Thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.


text:
 The mountains saw Thee and they trembled; the overflowing of the water passed by; the deep uttered his voice and lifted up his hands on high.


text:
 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of Thy glittering spear.


text:
 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, even for salvation with Thine anointed. Thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by uncovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.


text:
 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages; they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me; their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.


text:
 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.


text:
 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls--


text:
 The LORD God is my strength; and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.


text:
 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.


text:
 "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land," saith the LORD.


text:
 "I will also stretch out Mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarim with the priests,


text:
 and them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops, and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Milcom,


text:
 and them that are turned back from the LORD, and those that have not sought the LORD nor inquired for Him."


text:
 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD, for the day of the LORD is at hand. For the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice; He hath bidden His guests.


text:
 "And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.


text:
 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.


text:
 "And it shall come to pass in that day," saith the LORD, "that there shall be the noise of a cry from the Fish Gate, and a howling from the Second, and a great crashing from the hills.


text:
 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.


text:
 And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their dregs, that say in their heart, `The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil.'


text:
 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation. They shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof."


text:
 The great day of the LORD is near; it is near and hasteneth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.


text:
 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,


text:
 "And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung."


text:
 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He indeed shall make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.


text:
 before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you!


text:
 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, who have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.


text:
 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at the noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.


text:
 Woe unto the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines: "I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant."


text:
 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon. In the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for the LORD their God shall visit them, and return them from captivity.


text:
 "I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached My people, and magnified themselves against their border.


text:
 Therefore as I live," saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah" even the breeding of nettles and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall despoil them, and the remnant of My people shall possess them."


text:
 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 The LORD will be fearsome unto them; for He will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship Him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.


text:
 And He will stretch out His hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation and dry like a wilderness.


text:
 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it: their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds; for He shall uncover the cedar work.


text:
 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt without care, that said in her heart, "I am, and there is none besides me." How she has become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! Every one that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his hand.


text:
 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.


text:
 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.


text:
 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.


text:
 The just LORD is in the midst thereof; He will not do iniquity: Every morning doth He bring His judgment to light, He faileth not. But the unjust knoweth no shame.


text:
 "I have cut off the nations; their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by; their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is no inhabitant.


text:
 I said, `Surely thou wilt fear Me, thou wilt receive instruction'--so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them; but they rose early and corrupted all their doings.


text:
 "Therefore wait ye upon Me," saith the LORD, "until the day that I rise up to the prey; for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.


text:
 For then will I return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord.


text:
 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants--even the daughter of My dispersed--shall bring Mine offering.


text:
 "In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against Me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain.


text:
 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.


text:
 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid."


text:
 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!


text:
 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments; He hath cast out thine enemy. The King of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.


text:
 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Fear thou not"; and to Zion, "Let not thine hands be slack.


text:
 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing."


text:
 "I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.


text:
 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee; and I will save her that is halt, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.


text:
 At that time will I bring you back, even in the time that I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I bring back your captives before your eyes," saith the LORD.


text:
 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,


text:
 "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying: This people say, `The time has not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.'"


text:
 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."


text:
 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified," saith the LORD.


text:
 "Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I blew upon it. Why?" saith the LORD of hosts. "Because of Mine house that is laid waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.


text:
 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands."


text:
 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared before the LORD.


text:
 Then spoke Haggai, the LORD'S messenger, in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, "I am with you, saith the LORD."


text:
 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and began work on the house of the LORD of hosts their God,


text:
 In the seventh month, on the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying,


text:
 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying:


text:
 `Who is left among you who saw this house in her first glory? And how do ye see it now? Is this not in your eyes by comparison with it as nothing?


text:
 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' saith the LORD; `and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land,' saith the LORD, `and work, for I am with you,' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 `According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you. Fear ye not.'


text:
 For thus saith the LORD of hosts: `Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the dry land.


text:
 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory,' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 `The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former,' saith the LORD of hosts. `And in this place will I give peace,' saith the LORD of hosts."


text:
 In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,


text:
 `If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt toucheth bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy?'" And the priests answered and said, "No."


text:
 Then said Haggai, "If one who is unclean from a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean?" And the priests answered and said, "It shall be unclean."


text:
 Then answered Haggai and said, "`So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,' saith the LORD, `and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.


text:
 And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:


text:
 Since those days were, when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.


text:
 I smote you with blight and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands; yet ye turned not to Me,' saith the LORD.


text:
 `Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it:


text:
 Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree hath not brought forth. From this day will I bless you.'"


text:
 And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,


text:
 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.


text:
 In that day,' saith the LORD of hosts, `will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel,' saith the LORD, `and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee,' saith the LORD of hosts."


text:
 In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,


text:
 Therefore say thou unto them: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `Turn ye unto Me,' saith the LORD of hosts, `and I will turn unto you,' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying: Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings.' But they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith the LORD.


text:
 But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? And they returned and said,`As the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.'"


text:
 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying:


text:
 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.


text:
 Then said I, "O my lord, what are these?" And the angel that talked with me said unto me, "I will show thee what these be."


text:
 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth."


text:
 And they answered the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, "We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest."


text:
 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?"


text:
 So the angel who communed with me said unto me, "Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.


text:
 And I am very sorely displeased with the heathen who are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.'


text:
 Therefore thus saith the LORD: `I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall be built in it,' saith the LORD of hosts, `and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.'


text:
 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.'"


text:
 And I said unto the angel who talked with me, "What are these?" And he answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."


text:
 Then said I, "What come these to do?" And he spoke, saying, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to frighten them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles who lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it."


text:
 Then said I, "Whither goest thou?" And he said unto me, "To measure Jerusalem to see what is the breadth thereof and what is the length thereof."


text:
 and said unto him, "Run, speak to this young man, saying, `Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle therein.


text:
 For I,' saith the LORD, `will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.'"


text:
 "Ho! Ho! Come forth, and flee from the land of the north," saith the LORD; "for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven," saith the LORD.


text:
 For thus saith the LORD of hosts: "After the glory hath He sent me unto the nations which despoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye.


text:
 For behold, I will shake Mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants. And ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.


text:
 "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee," saith the LORD.


text:
 "And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be My people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.


text:
 And the LORD shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again."


text:
 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.


text:
 And the LORD said unto Satan, "The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD who hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee! Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?"


text:
 And He answered and spoke unto those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And unto him He said, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."


text:
 And I said, "Let them set a clean miter upon his head." So they set a clean miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My ordinance, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these who stand by.


text:
 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows who sit before thee; for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth My Servant the BRANCH.


text:
 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof,' saith the LORD of hosts, `and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.


text:
 In that day,' saith the LORD of hosts, `shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.'"


text:
 And the angel who talked with me came again and waked me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep,


text:
 and said unto me, "What seest thou?" And I said, "I have looked and behold, a candlestick all of gold with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof;


text:
 and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof."


text:
 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said unto me, "Knowest thou not what these be?" And I said, "No, my lord."


text:
 Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, "This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, `Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, `Grace, grace unto it!'"


text:
 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it. And thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.


text:
 For who hath despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth."


text:
 Then answered I and said unto him, "What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?"


text:
 And I answered again and said unto him, "What be these two olive branches, which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?"


text:
 And he said unto me, "What seest thou?" And I answered, "I see a flying scroll. The length thereof is twenty cubits and the breadth thereof ten cubits."


text:
 Then said he unto me, "This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth; for every one who stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it, and every one who sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.


text:
 `I will bring it forth,' saith the LORD of hosts, `and it shall enter into the house of the thief and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name. And it shall remain in the midst of his house and shall consume it, with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.'"


text:
 Then the angel who talked with me went forth and said unto me, "Lift up now thine eyes and see what is this that goeth forth."


text:
 And I said, "What is it?" And he said, "This is an ephah that goeth forth." He said moreover, "This is their resemblance through all the earth."


text:
 And behold, there was lifted up a weighty piece of lead, and this is a woman who sitteth in the midst of the ephah.


text:
 And he said, "This is wickedness." And he cast it into the midst of the ephah, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.


text:
 Then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings (for they had wings like the wings of a stork), and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.


text:
 And he said unto me, "To build it a house in the land of Shinar; and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base."


text:
 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of brass.


text:
 And the angel answered and said unto me, "These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.


text:
 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country, and the white go forth after them, and the grizzled go forth toward the south country.


text:
 And the bay went forth and sought to go, that they might walk to and fro through the earth." And he said, "Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth." So they walked to and fro through the earth.


text:
 Then cried he unto me, and spoke unto me, saying, "Behold, these who go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country."


text:
 "Take from them of the captivity -- even from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon -- and come thou the same day and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.


text:
 Then take silver and gold and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest,


text:
 and speak unto him, saying, `Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, "Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH! And He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of the LORD.


text:
 Even He shall build the temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne. And He shall be a priest upon His throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'


text:
 "And the crowns shall be for Helem and for Tobijah and for Jedaiah, and for Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.


text:
 And those who are far off shall come and build the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent Me unto you. And this shall come to pass if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."


text:
 And it came to pass in the fourth year of King Darius that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu,


text:
 when they had sent Sherezer and Regemmelech and their men unto the house of God to pray before the LORD,


text:
 and to speak unto the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself as I have done these so many years?"


text:
 "Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, `When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month even those seventy years, did ye fast at all unto Me, even to Me?


text:
 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?'"


text:
 "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, `Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother.


text:
 And oppress not the widow nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.'


text:
 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.


text:
 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in His Spirit by the former prophets. Therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Therefore it has come to pass that as He cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I would not hear," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned; for they laid the pleasant land desolate."


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.'


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD: `I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the Holy Mountain.'


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand because of great age.


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in Mine eyes?' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `Behold, I will save My people from the east country and from the west country;


text:
 and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.'


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, who were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.


text:
 For before these days there was no hire for man nor any hire for beast, neither was there any peace for him that went out or came in because of the affliction; for I set all men, every one, against his neighbor.


text:
 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days,' saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 `For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.'


text:
 "For thus saith the LORD of hosts: `As I thought to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,' saith the LORD of hosts, `and I repented not,


text:
 so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Fear ye not.


text:
 These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;


text:
 and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath. For all these are things that I hate,' saith the LORD."


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love the truth and peace.'


text:
 Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `It shall yet come to pass that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities.


text:
 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, "Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts. I will go also."


text:
 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.'


text:
 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts: `In those days it shall come to pass that ten men out of all the languages of the nations shall take hold, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"


text:
 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach and Damascus, shall be the rest thereof, when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.


text:
 And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.


text:
 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and He will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.


text:
 Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall see it and be very sorrowful, and Ekron for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.


text:
 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; but he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.


text:
 And I will encamp about Mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth; and no oppressor shall pass through them any more, for now have I seen with Mine eyes.


text:
 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee! He is just and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.


text:
 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off; and He shall speak peace unto the heathen, and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.


text:
 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.


text:
 Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee,


text:
 when I have bent Judah for Me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.


text:
 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.


text:
 The LORD of hosts shall defend them, and they shall devour and subdue with slingstones; and they shall drink and make a noise as through wine, and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.


text:
 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day, as the flock of His people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land.


text:
 For how great is their goodness, and how great is their beauty! Corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.


text:
 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.


text:
 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they went their way as a flock; they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.


text:
 "Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats; for the LORD of hosts hath visited His flock, the house of Judah, and hath made them as His goodly horse in the battle.


text:
 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.


text:
 And they shall be as mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.


text:
 "And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back to place them, for I have mercy upon them. And they shall be as though I had not cast them off, for I am the LORD their God and will hear them.


text:
 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.


text:
 "I will whistle for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased.


text:
 And I will sow them among the people, and they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall live with their children and turn again.


text:
 I will bring them back also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, and a place shall not be found for them.


text:
 And He shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt shall depart away.


text:
 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in His name," saith the LORD.


text:
 Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the mighty are despoiled; howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down.


text:
 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is despoiled; a voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan is despoiled.


text:
 whose possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty; and those who sell them say, `Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich'; and their own shepherds pity them not.


text:
 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land," saith the LORD. "But lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them."


text:
 And I will feed the flock for slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.


text:
 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them and their soul also abhorred me.


text:
 Then said I, "I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die, and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another."


text:
 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.


text:
 And it was broken on that day, and so the poor of the flock who waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.


text:
 And I said unto them, "If ye think it be good, give me my price; and if not, forbear." So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.


text:
 And the LORD said unto me, "Cast it unto the potter" -- a goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.


text:
 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.


text:
 For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who shall not visit those that are cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which standeth still; but he shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their claws in pieces.


text:
 "Woe to the sham shepherd that leaveth the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened."


text:
 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:


text:
 "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.


text:
 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.


text:
 In that day," saith the LORD, "I will smite every horse with astonishment and his rider with madness. And I will open Mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness;


text:
 and the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, `The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.'


text:
 "In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf, and they shall devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.


text:
 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.


text:
 "In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


text:
 And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.


text:
 "In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo.


text:
 And the land shall mourn, every family apart: the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;


text:
 the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;


text:
 "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day," saith the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother who begot him shall say unto him, `Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD'; and his father and his mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a garment of hair to deceive.


text:
 But he shall say, `I am no prophet; I am a husbandman, for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.'


text:
 And one shall say unto him, `What are these wounds in thine hands?' Then he shall answer, `Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'


text:
 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My fellow," saith the LORD of hosts. "Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that in all the land," saith the LORD, "two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein.


text:
 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say, `It is My people'; and they shall say, `The LORD is my God.'"


text:
 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.


text:
 Then shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.


text:
 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.


text:
 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal. Yea, ye shall flee as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.


text:
 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD -- neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.


text:
 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be.


text:
 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one LORD, and His name one.


text:
 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's Gate unto the place of the First Gate unto the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel unto the king's wine presses.


text:
 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.


text:
 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people who have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.


text:
 And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.


text:
 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together: gold and silver and apparel in great abundance.


text:
 And so shall be the plague on the horse, on the mule, on the camel and on the ass, and on all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.


text:
 And it shall come to pass that every one who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.


text:
 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.


text:
 And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not, upon whom there is no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen who come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.


text:
 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.


text:
 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses: "Holiness Unto The LORD." And the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar;


text:
 yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts, and all those who sacrifice shall come and take of them and boil therein. And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "I have loved you," saith the LORD. "Yet ye say, `Wherein hast Thou loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" saith the LORD. "Yet I loved Jacob,


text:
 and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness."


text:
 Whereas Edom saith, "We are impoverished, but we will return and rebuild the desolate places," thus saith the LORD of Hosts: "They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them the Border of Wickedness and the people against whom the LORD hath indignation forever.


text:
 "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is Mine honor? And if I be a master, where is the fear of Me? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, who despise My name. And ye say, `Wherein have we despised Thy name?'


text:
 Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar; and ye say, `Wherein have we polluted Thee?' In that ye say: `The table of the LORD is contemptible.'


text:
 And if ye offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is that not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor! Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person?" saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "And now, I pray you, beseech God that He will be gracious unto us. This has been by your hand: Will He regard your persons?" saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Who is there even among you who would shut the doors for nought? Neither do ye kindle fire on Mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you," saith the LORD of hosts, "neither will I accept an offering from your hand.


text:
 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, My name shall be great among the Gentiles. And in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the heathen," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "But ye have profaned it in that ye say, `The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even His meat, is contemptible.'


text:
 Ye said also, `Behold, what a weariness is it!' And ye have sniffed it," saith the LORD of hosts. "And ye brought that which was torn and the lame and the sick; thus ye brought an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" saith the LORD.


text:
 "But cursed be the deceiver who hath in his flock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing. For I am a great King," saith the LORD of hosts, "and My name is dreadful among the heathen.


text:
 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory unto My name," saith the LORD of hosts, "I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.


text:
 Behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.


text:
 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared Me and was afraid before My name.


text:
 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity.


text:
 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.


text:
 But ye have departed from the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept My ways but have been partial in the law."


text:
 Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother by profaning the covenant of our fathers?


text:
 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.


text:
 The LORD will cut off the man who doeth this -- the master and the scholar -- out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.


text:
 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out insomuch that He regardeth not the offering anymore, nor receiveth it with good will from thy hand.


text:
 Yet ye say, "Why?" Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant.


text:
 And did not He make one? Yet had He the residue of the spirit. And why one? That He might seek a godly seed! Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.


text:
 "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that He hateth putting away; for one covereth violence with his garment," saith the LORD of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously."


text:
 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, "Wherein have we wearied Him?" When ye say: "Every one who doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them," or, "Where is the God of judgment?"


text:
 "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. And the LORD, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in. Behold, He shall come," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.


text:
 And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.


text:
 Then shall the offering of Judah and of Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old and as in former years.


text:
 "And I will come near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and those who turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Even from the days of your fathers, ye have gone away from Mine ordinances and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you," saith the LORD of hosts. "But ye said, `In what manner shall we return?'


text:
 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me! But ye say, `Wherein have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings.


text:
 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and put Me to the proof now herewith," saith the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.


text:
 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Your words have been defiant against Me," saith the LORD. "Yet ye say, `What have we spoken so much against Thee?'


text:
 Ye have said: `It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?


text:
 So now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.'"


text:
 Then those who feared the LORD spoke often one to another, and the LORD hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the LORD and who thought upon His name.


text:
 "And they shall be Mine," saith the LORD of hosts, "in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son who serveth him.


text:
 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.


text:
 "For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up," saith the LORD of hosts, "that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.


text:
 But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves from the stall.


text:
 And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this," saith the LORD of hosts.


text:
 "Remember ye the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.


text:
 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.


text:
 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."


text:
 and Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon by her that had been the wife of Uriah,


text:
 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.


text:
 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.


text:
 And Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.


text:
 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.


text:
 And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins."


text:
 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,


text:
 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel" (which being interpreted is, "God with us").


text:
 Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife,


text:
 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem,


text:
 saying, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."


text:
 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.


text:
 `And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel.'"


text:
 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.


text:
 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."


text:
 When they had heard the king, they departed; and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them until it came and stood over where the young Child was.


text:
 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh.


text:
 And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.


text:
 And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."


text:
 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son."


text:
 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the children who were in Bethlehem and in all the region thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.


text:
 "In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted, because they are no more."


text:
 saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who sought the young Child's life."


text:
 But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither. Notwithstanding, being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.


text:
 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."


text:
 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: `Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'"


text:
 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.


text:
 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?


text:
 and think not to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as our father.' For I say unto you that God is able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.


text:
 And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.


text:
 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.


text:
 His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."


text:
 And Jesus answering said unto him, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John suffered Him.


text:
 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up straightway out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him.


text:
 And when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."


text:
 But He answered and said, "It is written: `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'"


text:
 said unto Him, "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down. For it is written: `He shall give His angels charge concerning thee; and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'"


text:
 Again, the devil took Him up onto an exceeding high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them,


text:
 Then said Jesus unto him, "Get thee hence, Satan! For it is written: `Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'"


text:
 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,


text:
 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:


text:
 the people who sat in darkness saw a great Light; and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has sprung up."


text:
 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers.


text:
 And going on from thence He saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. And He called them,


text:
 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.


text:
 And His fame went throughout all Syria. And they brought unto Him all sick people who were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those who were possessed with devils, and those who were lunatic, and those who had the palsy; and He healed them.


text:
 And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.


text:
 And seeing the multitudes, He went up onto a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him.


text:
 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake.


text:
 Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.


text:
 "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men.


text:
 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.


text:
 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.


text:
 "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.


text:
 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.


text:
 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.


text:
 For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.


text:
 "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, `Thou shalt not kill,' and `Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.'


text:
 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, `Raca,' shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, `Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire.


text:
 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,


text:
 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.


text:
 "Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art on the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.


text:
 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.


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 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.


text:
 And if thy right eye cause thee to fall, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.


text:
 And if thy right hand cause thee to fall, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.


text:
 "It hath been said, `Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.'


text:
 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.


text:
 "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old times, `Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.'


text:
 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.


text:
 But let your communication be `yea, yea' or `nay, nay'; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.


text:
 But I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.


text:
 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you,


text:
 that ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven. For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.


text:
 "Take heed that ye do not your almsgiving before men, to be seen by them; otherwise ye have no reward from your Father who is in Heaven.


text:
 Therefore when thou givest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.


text:
 that thine almsgiving may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, Himself shall reward thee openly.


text:
 "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.


text:
 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.


text:
 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.


text:
 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him.


text:
 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.


text:
 "Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.


text:
 that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.


text:
 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal;


text:
 but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.


text:
 "The light of the body is the eye. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.


text:
 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!


text:
 "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.


text:
 "Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?


text:
 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?


text:
 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin,


text:
 Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?


text:
 Therefore take no thought, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `Wherewith shall we be clothed?'


text:
 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.) For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.


text:
 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.


text:
 "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.


text:
 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.


text:
 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?


text:
 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, `Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye,' and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?


text:
 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.


text:
 "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.


text:
 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.


text:
 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him?


text:
 Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.


text:
 "Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat.


text:
 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.


text:
 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.


text:
 "Not every one that saith unto Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven.


text:
 Many will say to Me in that Day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out devils, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?'


text:
 "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock.


text:
 And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.


text:
 And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand;


text:
 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it."


text:
 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine;


text:
 And behold, there came a leper and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."


text:
 And Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I will: be thou clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.


text:
 And Jesus said unto him, "See thou tell no man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a testimony unto them."


text:
 The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof. But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.


text:
 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this man, `Go!' and he goeth; and to another, `Come!' and he cometh; and to my servant, `Do this!' and he doeth it."


text:
 When Jesus heard it, He marveled and said to those who followed, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel.


text:
 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven.


text:
 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."


text:
 And Jesus said unto the centurion, "Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." And his servant was healed in that selfsame hour.


text:
 When the evening had come, they brought unto Him many who were possessed with devils, and He cast out the spirits with His word and healed all who were sick,


text:
 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, who said, "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."


text:
 And a certain scribe came and said unto Him, "Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest."


text:
 And Jesus said unto him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath nowhere to lay His head."


text:
 And behold, there arose a great tempest on the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves; but He was asleep.


text:
 And He said unto them, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.


text:
 But the men marveled, saying, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"


text:
 And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.


text:
 And behold, they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?"


text:
 So the devils besought Him, saying, "If Thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine."


text:
 And He said to them, "Go." And when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine, and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea and perished in the waters.


text:
 And those who kept them fled and went their ways into the city, and told everything and what had befallen the ones possessed with the devils.


text:
 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their borders.


text:
 And behold, they brought to Him a man sick with the palsy, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the one sick with the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee."


text:
 But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins,"-- (then said He to the one sick with palsy) "Arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house."


text:
 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power unto men.


text:
 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man named Matthew, sitting in the customhouse. And He said unto him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him.


text:
 And it came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.


text:
 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto His disciples, "Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?"


text:
 But when Jesus heard that, He said unto them, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.


text:
 But go ye and learn what this meaneth: `I will have mercy and not sacrifice.' For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."


text:
 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Thy disciples fast not?"


text:
 And Jesus said unto them, "Can the attendants of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.


text:
 "No man putteth a piece of new cloth upon an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.


text:
 Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins, else the wineskins burst and the wine runneth out and the skins perish. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."


text:
 While He spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter is even now dead, but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live."


text:
 And behold, a woman who was diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the hem of His garment;


text:
 But Jesus turned about, and when He saw her, He said, "Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole." And the woman was made whole from that hour.


text:
 He said unto them, "Give way, for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." And they laughed Him to scorn.


text:
 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us!"


text:
 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus said unto them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" They said unto Him, "Yea, Lord."


text:
 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spoke; and the multitudes marveled, saying, "It was never so seen in Israel."


text:
 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.


text:
 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were faint and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.


text:
 And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.


text:
 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: the first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;


text:
 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;


text:
 These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.


text:
 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely ye have received; freely give.


text:
 nor pack for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his meat.


text:
 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till ye go thence.


text:
 and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.


text:
 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.


text:
 Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city.


text:
 "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.


text:
 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues,


text:
 and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.


text:
 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.


text:
 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.


text:
 And ye shall be hated by all men for My name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.


text:
 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come.


text:
 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household!


text:
 Fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known.


text:
 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.


text:
 And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.


text:
 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.


text:
 "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father who is in Heaven.


text:
 For I am come to `set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.'


text:
 He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me.


text:
 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward. And he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward.


text:
 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."


text:
 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.


text:
 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.


text:
 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?


text:
 But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.


text:
 For this is he of whom it is written: `Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.'


text:
 Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding, he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.


text:
 And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.


text:
 "But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows,


text:
 and saying, `We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.'


text:
 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."


text:
 Then He began to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not.


text:
 "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.


text:
 But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the Day of Judgment than for you.


text:
 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.


text:
 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for thee."


text:
 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.


text:
 "All things are delivered unto Me by My Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.


text:
 Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.


text:
 At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and His disciples were hungry and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.


text:
 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto Him, "Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day."


text:
 But He said unto them, "Have ye not read what David did when he hungered and they that were with him:


text:
 how he entered into the house of God and ate the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?


text:
 Or have ye not read in the law how on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless?


text:
 But if ye had known what this meaneth, `I will have mercy and not sacrifice,' ye would not have condemned the guiltless.


text:
 And behold, there was a man who had his hand withered. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?" -- that they might accuse Him.


text:
 And He said unto them, "What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not lay hold on it and lift it out?


text:
 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days."


