# verses

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And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done. And Amon sacrificed to all the idols which his father Manasseh had made, and served them.


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And he was not humbled before the Lord as his father Manasseh was humbled; for his son Amon abounded in transgression.


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And the people of the land killed the men who had conspired against King Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.


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And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.


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And in the eighth year of his reign, and he [being] yet a youth, he began to seek the Lord God of his father David. And in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the ornaments for the altars, and the molten images.


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And he pulled down the altars of the Baals that were in his presence, and the high places that were above them; and he cut down the groves, and the graven images, and broke in pieces the molten images, and reduced them to powder, and cast [it] upon the surface of the tombs of those who [had] sacrificed to them.


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And [he did so] in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and Naphtali, and the places round about them.


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And he pulled down the altars and the groves, and he cut the idols in small pieces, and cut off all the high places from all the land of Israel, and returned to Jerusalem.


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And in the eighteenth year of his reign, after having cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.


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And they came to Hilkiah the high priest, and gave the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the gate collected of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of the princes, and of everyone that was left in Israel, and of the children of Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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And they gave it into the hand of the workmen, who were appointed in the house of the Lord, and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of the Lord, to repair and strengthen the house.


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They gave [it] also to the carpenters and builders, to buy squared stones, and timber for beams to cover the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.


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And the men [were] faithfully [engaged] in the works. And over them were superintendents, Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of Kohath, [appointed] to oversee; and every Levite, and everyone that understood [how] to play on musical instruments.


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And [overseers were] over the burden bearers, and over all the workmen in the respective works; and of the Levites [were appointed] scribes, judges, and porters.


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And when they brought forth the money that had been brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found [the] Book of the Law of the Lord [given] by the hand of Moses.


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Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found [the] Book of the Law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.


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And Shaphan brought in the book to the king, and moreover he gave an account to the king, [saying, This is] all the money given into the hand of your servants that work.


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And they have collected the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and given it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of them that do the work.


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And Shaphan the scribe brought word to the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.


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And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king, saying,


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Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for everyone that is left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found; for great is the wrath of the Lord [which] has been kindled amongst us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of the Lord, to do according to all the things written in this book.


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And Hilkiah went, and [the others] whom the king told, to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, who kept the commandments. And she dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second [Quarter]: and they spoke to her accordingly.


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Thus says the Lord: Behold, I bring evil upon this place, [even] all the words that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah;


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because they have forsaken Me, and burnt incense to strange gods, that they might provoke Me by all the works of their hands; and My wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.


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And concerning the king of Judah, who sent you to seek the Lord, thus shall you say to him; Thus says the Lord God of Israel: [As for] the words which you have heard,


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forasmuch as your heart was ashamed, and you were humbled before Me when you heard My words against this place, and against the inhabitants of it, and you were humbled before Me, and you tore your clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard, says the Lord.


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Behold, I [will] gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not look upon all the evils which I am bringing upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of it. And they brought back word to the king.


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And the king went up to the house of the Lord, [he] and all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the Book of the Covenant that were found in the house of the Lord.


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And the king stood at a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk before the Lord, to keep His commandments and testimonies, and His ordinances, with all [his] heart and with all [his] soul, so as to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.


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And he caused all that were found in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem made a covenant in the house of the Lord God of their fathers.


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And Josiah removed all the abominations out of the whole land which belonged to the children of Israel, and caused all that were found in Jerusalem and in Israel, to serve the Lord their God all his days. He departed not from following the Lord God of his fathers.


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And Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord his God; and sacrificed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.


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And he appointed the priests at their charges, and encouraged them for the services of the house of the Lord.


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And he told the Levites that were able [to act] in all Israel, that they should consecrate themselves to the Lord. And they put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built. And the king said, You must not carry anything on your shoulders; now then minister to the Lord your God, and to His people Israel.


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And prepare yourselves according to the houses of your families, and according to your daily courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and [the order] by the hand of his son Solomon.


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And stand in the house according to the divisions of the houses of your families for your brethren the sons of the people; [so] also let there be for the Levites a division of the house of their family.


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And kill the Passover [lamb], and prepare [it] for your brethren, to do according to the word of the Lord, by the hand of Moses.


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And Josiah gave as an offering to the children of the people, sheep, lambs, and kids of the young of the goats, all for the Passover, [even for] all that were found, in number [amounting to] thirty thousand, and three thousand calves, these [were] of the substance of the king.


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And his princes gave an offering to the people, and to the priests, and to the Levites: and Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel the chief men gave to the priests of the house of God, they even gave for the Passover sheep, lambs, and kids, two thousand six hundred, and three hundred calves.


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And Conaniah, Benaiah, Shemaiah, Nethaneel his brother, Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, heads of the Levites, gave an offering to the Levites for the Passover, of five thousand sheep and five hundred calves.


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And the service was duly ordered, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the command of the king.


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And they killed the Passover [offerings], and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hand, and the Levites skinned [the animals].


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And they prepared the whole burnt offering to give to them, according to the division by the houses of families, [even] to the sons of the people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses.


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And thus [they did] till the morning. And they roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance; and boiled the holy [pieces] in copper vessels and caldrons, and [the feast] went on well, and they quickly served all the children of the people.


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And after they had prepared for themselves and for the priests, for the priests [were engaged] in offering the whole burnt offerings and the fat until night, then the Levites prepared for themselves, and for their brethren the sons of Aaron.


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And the sons of Asaph the psalm-singers [were] at their post according to the commands of David, and Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the prophets of the king. Also, the chiefs and the porters of the several gates-it was not for them to stir from the service of the holy things, for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.


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So all the service of the Lord was duly ordered and prepared in that day, for keeping the Passover, and offering the whole burnt sacrifices on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.


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And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.


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And there was no Passover like it in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet, or any king of Israel; they kept not such a Passover as Josiah, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, kept to the Lord.


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In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept, after all these things that Josiah did in the house. And King Josiah burnt those who had in them a divining spirit, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and the sodomites which were in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law that were written in the book which Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. There was no [king] like him before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses, and after him there rose up none like him. Nevertheless the Lord turned not from the anger of His fierce wrath, wherewith the Lord was greatly angry against Judah, for all the provocations in which Manasseh had provoked Him. And the Lord said, I will even remove Judah also from My presence, as I have removed Israel, and I have rejected the city which I chose, [even] Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.


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And Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up against the king of the Assyrians to the River Euphrates, and King Josiah went to meet him.


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And he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, O king of Judah? I have not come today to war against you; and God has told me to make haste; beware of the God that is with me, lest He destroy you.


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However, Josiah turned not his face from him, but strengthened himself to fight against him, and hearkened not to the words of Necho by the mouth of God, and he came to fight in the plain of Megiddo.


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And the archers shot at King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.


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And his servants lifted him out of the chariot, and put him in the second chariot which he had, and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died, and was buried with his fathers; and all Judah and Jerusalem lamented over Josiah.


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And Jeremiah mourned over Josiah, and all the chief men and chief women uttered a lamentation over Josiah until this day. And they made it an ordinance for Israel, and behold, it is written in the lamentations.


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And his acts, the first and the last, behold, [they are] written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.


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And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king over Jerusalem in the place of his father.


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Jehoahaz [was] twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Amital, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. And Pharaoh Necho bound him in Diblath in the land of Emath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem.


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And the king brought him over to Egypt, and imposed a tribute on the land, a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.


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And Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king over Judah in the place of his father Josiah, and changed his name [to] Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh Necho took his brother Jehoahaz and brought him into Egypt, and he died there; but [he] had given the silver and gold to Pharaoh. At that time the land began to be taxed to give the money at the command of Pharaoh; and everyone as he could borrowed the silver and the gold of the people of the land, to give to Pharaoh Necho.


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Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name [was] Zechora, daughter of Neriah of Ramah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers did. In his days came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon into the land, and he served him three years, and [then] revolted from him. And the Lord sent against them the Chaldeans, and plundering parties of Syrians, and plundering parties of the Moabites, and of the children of Ammon, and of Samaria. But after this they departed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of His servants the prophets. Nevertheless the wrath of the Lord was upon Judah, so that they should be removed from His presence, because of the sins of Manasseh in all that he did, and for the innocent blood which Jehoiakim shed, for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; yet the Lord would not utterly destroy them.


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And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him away to Babylon.


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And he carried away a part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple in Babylon.


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And the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, behold, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers; and Jeconiah his son reigned in his place.


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Jeconiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.


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And at the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his father's brother king over Judah and Jerusalem.


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Zedekiah [was] twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.


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And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God; he was not ashamed before the prophet Jeremiah, nor because of the word of the Lord;


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in that he rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, which he adjured him by God [not to do]; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart, so as not to return to the Lord God of Israel.


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And all the great men of Judah, and the priests, and the people of the land transgressed abundantly in the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the house of the Lord which [was] in Jerusalem.


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And the Lord God of their fathers sent by the hand of His prophets; rising early and sending His messengers, for He had compassion on His people, and His sanctuary.


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Nevertheless they sneered at His messengers, and despised His words, and mocked His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose up against His people, till there was no remedy.


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And He brought the king of the Chaldeans against them, and killed their young men with the sword in the house of His sanctuary, and did not spare Zedekiah, and had no mercy upon their virgins, and they led away their old men; He delivered all things into their hands.


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And all the vessels of the house of God, the great and the small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and all the treasures of the king and the great men; he brought all to Babylon.


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And he burned the house of the Lord, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned its palaces with fire, and [utterly destroyed] every beautiful vessel.


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And he carried away the remnant to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until [the establishment of] the kingdom of the Medes,


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that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, until the land should enjoy its Sabbaths in resting, [and] Sabbath keeping all the days of its desolation, till the accomplishment of seventy years.


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In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, after the fulfillment of the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and told him to make proclamation in writing throughout all his kingdom, saying,


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Thus says Cyrus king of the Persians to all the kingdoms of the earth: The Lord God of heaven has given me [power], and He has commanded me to build a house to Him in Jerusalem, in Judea. Who [is there] among you of all His people? His God shall be with him, and let him go up.


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Now in the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians, and he issued a proclamation through all his kingdom, and that in writing, saying,


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Thus said Cyrus king of the Persians: The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has given me a command to build Him a house in Jerusalem that is in Judea.


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Who [is] there among you of all His people? For his God shall be with him, and he shall go up to Jerusalem that is in Judea, and let him build the house of the God of Israel: He [is] the God that is in Jerusalem.


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And [let] every [Jew] that is left [go] from every place where he sojourns, and the men of his place shall help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, together with the voluntary offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.


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Then the chiefs of the families of Judah and Benjamin arose, and the priests, and the Levites, all whose spirit the Lord stirred up to go up to build the house of the Lord that [is] in Jerusalem.


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And all that were round about strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with livestock, and with presents, besides the voluntary offerings.


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And King Cyrus brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem, and put in the house of his god.


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And Cyrus king of the Persians brought them out by the hand of Mithradath the treasurer, and he numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the chief man of Judah.


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And this [is] their number: thirty gold platters, and a thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty golden goblets,


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All the gold and silver vessels were five thousand four hundred, [even] all that went up with Sheshbazzar from the [place of] transportation, from Babylon to Jerusalem.


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And these [are] the people of the land that went up, of the number of prisoners who were removed, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried away to Babylon, and they returned to Judah and Jerusalem, every man to his city.


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[Those] who came with Zerubbabel [were]: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, [and] Baanah. The number of the people of Israel:


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the children of Pahath-Moab, belonging to the sons of Jeshua [and] Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve;


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The children of the gatekeepers, the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-nine [in] all.


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The children of the servants of Solomon: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda,


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the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth, the children of Zebaim, the children of Ami.


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And these [are] they that went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they were not able to identify the house of their fathers, and their seed, whether they were of Israel;


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the children of Delaiah, the children of Bua, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two.


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And of the children of the priests, the children of Labeia, the children of Akkus, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.


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These sought their genealogy [as though] they had been reckoned, but they were not found; and they were removed from the priesthood, [as defiled.]


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And the Tirshatha told them that they should not eat of the most holy things, until a priest should arise with the Urim and Thummim.


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besides their male and female servants, [and] these were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. And [among] these were two hundred men and women singers.


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And [some] of the chiefs of families, when they went into the house of the Lord that was in Jerusalem, offered willingly for the house of God, to establish it on its prepared place.


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According to their ability they gave into the treasury of the work pure gold, sixty-one thousand pieces, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests' garments.


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So the priests, the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.


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And the seventh month came on, and the children of Israel [were] in their cities, and the people assembled as one man at Jerusalem.


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Then stood up Jeshua the [son] of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the [son] of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer upon it whole burnt offerings, according to the things that were written in the law of Moses the man of God.


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And they set up the altar on its place, for there was a fear upon them because of the people of the land. And the whole burnt offerings was offered up upon it to the Lord morning and evening.


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And they kept the Feast of Tabernacles, according to that which was written, and [offered] whole burnt offerings daily, in number according to the ordinance, the exact daily rate.


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And after this the perpetual whole burnt offering, and [offering] for the season of new moon, and for all the hallowed feasts to the Lord, and for everyone that offered a freewill offering to the Lord.


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On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer whole burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the house of the Lord was not laid.


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And they gave money to the stone masons and carpenters, and food and drink, and oil, to the Sidonians, and Tyrians, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant of Cyrus king of the Persians to them.


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And in the second year of their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the [son] of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the [son] of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, over the workmen in the house of the Lord.


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And Jeshua and his sons and brothers stood, [with] Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, over them that performed the works in the house of God; the sons of Henadad [with] their sons and their brothers the Levites.


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And they laid a foundation for building the house of the Lord; and the priests in their robes stood with trumpets and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the order of David king of Israel.


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And they answered [each other] with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, [saying], For [it is] good, for His mercy to Israel [endures] forever. And all the people shouted with a loud voice to praise the Lord at the laying the foundation of the house of the Lord.


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But many of the priests and the Levites, and the elder men, heads of families, who had seen the former house on its foundation, and [who saw] this house with their eyes, wept with a loud voice; but the multitude shouted with joy to raise a song.


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And the people did not distinguish the voice of the glad shout from the voice of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud voice, and the voice was heard even from afar off.


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And they that afflicted Judah and Benjamin heard, that the children of the captivity were building a house to the Lord God of Israel.


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And they drew near to Zerubbabel, and to the heads of families, and said to them, We will build with you; for as you [do], we seek [to serve] our God, and we do sacrifice to Him from the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.


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Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel said to them, [It is] not for us and you to build a house to our God, for we ourselves will build together to the Lord our God, as Cyrus the king of the Persians commanded us.


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And the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and hindered them in building,


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and [continued] hiring [people] against them, plotting to frustrate their counsel, all the days of Cyrus king of the Persians, and until the reign of Darius king of the Persians.


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And in the reign of Ahasuerus, even in the beginning of his reign, they wrote a letter against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.


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And in the days of Artaxerxes, Tabel wrote peaceably to Mithradath and to the rest of his fellow servants: the tax collector wrote to Artaxerxes king of the Persians a writing in the Syrian tongue, and [the same] interpreted.


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Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote an epistle against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes, [saying,]


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Thus has judged Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of our fellow servants, the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the people of Persia, the Erech, the Babylonians, the Shushan, the Dehavites,


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and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnapper removed, and settled them in the cities of Samaria, and the rest [of them] beyond the river.


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This [is] the contents of the letter which they sent to him: To King Artaxerxes from your servants the men [of the region] beyond the river:


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Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up to us from you, have come to Jerusalem, the rebellious and wicked city which they are building, and its walls are set in order, and they have established the foundations of it.


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Now then let it be known to the king, that if that city be built up, and its walls completed, you shall have no tribute, neither will they pay [any tribute], and this injures kings.


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And it is not lawful for us to see the dishonor of the king. Therefore have we sent and made known [the matter] to the king,


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that examination may be made in your fathers' book of record. And you shall find, and you shall know that this city [is] rebellious, and does harm to kings and countries, and there are in the midst of it from very old time refuges for [runaway] slaves. Therefore this city has been made desolate.


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We therefore declare to the king, that if this city is rebuilt, and its walls are set up, you shall have no peace.


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Then the king sent to Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their fellow servants who dwelt in Samaria, and the rest beyond the river, [saying,] Peace; and he said,


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And a decree has been made by me, and we have examined, and found that city of old time exalts itself against kings, and that rebellions and desertions take place within it.


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And there were powerful kings in Jerusalem, and they ruled over all the [country] beyond the river, and abundant revenues and tribute were given to them.


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[See] that you be careful of the decree, [not] to be remiss concerning this matter, lest at any time destruction should abound to the harm of kings.


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Then the tax collector of King Artaxerxes read [the letter] before Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and his fellow servants. And they went in haste to Jerusalem and through Judah, and caused them to cease with horses and an [armed] force.


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Thus the work of the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was at a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of the Persians.


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And Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the [son] of Iddo, prophesied a prophesy to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, [even] to them.


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Then Zerubbabel the [son] of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jehozadak rose up, and began to build the house of God that was in Jerusalem, and with them [were] the prophets of God assisting them.


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At the same time Tattenai the governor on this side the river, and Shethar-Boznai, and their fellow servants came to them, and spoke thus to them: Who has ordained a decree for you to build this house, and to [provide] this preparation?


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But the eyes of God were upon the captivity of Judah, and they did not cause them to cease till the decree was brought to Darius; and then was sent by the tax collector concerning this.


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[This is] the copy of a letter which Tattenai, the governor of the part on this side the river, and Shethar-Boznai, and their fellow servants the Apharsachaeans, who were on this side of the river, sent to King Darius.


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Be it known to the king, that we went into the land of Judea, to the house of the great God; and it is building with choice stones, and they are laying timbers in the walls, and that work is prospering, and goes on favorably in their hands.


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Then we asked those elders, and thus we said to them, Who gave you the order to build this house, and to [provide] this preparation?


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And we asked them their names, [in order] to declare [them] to you, so as to write to you the names of their leading men.


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And they answered us thus, saying, We [are] the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we [are] building the house which had been built many years before this, and a great king of Israel built it, and established it for them.


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But after that our fathers provoked the God of heaven, [and] He gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, and he destroyed this house, and carried the people away captive to Babylon.


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And in the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be built.


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And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar brought out from the house that was in Jerusalem, and carried them into the temple of the king, those King Cyrus brought out from the temple of the king, and gave to Sheshbazzar the treasurer, who was over the treasury,


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and said to him, Take all the vessels, and go, put them in the house that is in Jerusalem in their place.


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Then that Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. And from that time even until now it has been building, and has not been finished.


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And now, if it [seems] good to the king, let a search be made in the treasure house of the king at Babylon, that you may know whether [it is so], that a decree was made by King Cyrus to build that house of God that was in Jerusalem, and let the king send to us when he has learned concerning this [matter].


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Then Darius the king made a decree, and caused a search to be made in the record offices, where the treasure is stored in Babylon.


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In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the holy house of God that was in Jerusalem, [saying], Let the house be built, and the place where they offer the sacrifices (Also he appointed its elevation, in height sixty cubits; its breadth was of sixty cubits).


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And [let there be] three strong layers of stone, and one layer of timber; and the expense shall be paid out of the house of the king.


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And the silver and the gold vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar carried off from the house that was in Jerusalem, and carried to Babylon, let them also be given, and be carried to the temple that is in Jerusalem, and put in the place where they were set in the house of God.


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Now, you rulers beyond the river, Shethar-Boznai, and their fellow servants the Apharsachaeans, who [are] on the other side of the river, give [these things], keeping far from that place.


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Now let alone the work of the house of God; let the rulers of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build that house of God on its place.


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Also a decree has been made by me, if haply you may do somewhat in concert with the elders of the Jews for the building of that house of God: to wit, out of the king's property, [even] the tributes beyond the river, let there be money to defray the expenses carefully granted to those men, so that they be not hindered.


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And whatever need [there may be], you shall give both the young of bulls and rams, and lambs for whole burnt offerings to the God of heaven, [and] wheat, salt, wine, and oil- let it be given them according to the word of the priests that are in Jerusalem, day by day whatsoever they shall ask;


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that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and that they may pray for the life of the king and his sons.


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And a decree has been made by me, that every man who shall alter this word, timber shall be pulled down from his house, and let him be lifted up and slain upon it, and his house shall be confiscated.


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And may the God whose name dwells there, overthrow every king and people who shall stretch out his hand to alter or destroy the house of God which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius have made a decree; let it be diligently [attended to].


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Then Tattenai the governor on this side beyond the river, Shethar-Boznai, and his fellow servants, according to that which King Darius sent, so they did diligently.


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And the elders of the Jews and the Levites built, at the prophecy of Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo; and they built up, and finished [it], by the decree of the God of Israel, and by the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of the Persians.


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And they finished this house by the third day of the month [of] Adar, which is the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.


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And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity kept the dedication of the house of God with gladness.


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And they offered for the dedication of the house of God a hundred calves, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, twelve kids of the goats for a sin offering for all Israel, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.


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And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their separate orders, for the services of God in Jerusalem, according to the writing of the Book of Moses


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For the priests and Levites were purified, all were clean to a man, and they slaughtered the Passover [lambs] for all the children of the captivity, and for their brothers the priests, and for themselves.


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And the children of Israel ate the Passover, [even] they that were of the captivity, and everyone who separated himself to them from the uncleanness of the nations of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel.


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And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with gladness, because the Lord made them glad, and He turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the works of the house of the God of Israel.


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Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of the Persians, came up Ezra, the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,


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this Ezra came up out of Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. And the king granted him [leave], for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him in all things which he sought.


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And [some] of the children of Israel, and [some] of the priests, and of the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the Nethinim, came up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.


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For in the first [day] of the first month he began the going up from Babylon, and in the first day of the fifth month, they came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was upon him.


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For Ezra had determined in his heart to seek the law, and to do and teach the ordinances and judgments in Israel.


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And this [is] the copy of the order which Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, of the book of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His ordinances to Israel.


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Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra, the scribe of the law of the Lord God of heaven, Let the order and the answer be accomplished.


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A decree is made by me, that everyone who is willing in my kingdom of the people of Israel, and of the priests and Levites, to go to Jerusalem, [be permitted] to go with you.


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[One] has been sent from the king and his seven counselors, to visit Judea and Jerusalem, according to the law of their God which is in your hand.


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And for the house of the Lord [there has been sent] silver and gold, which the king and the counselors have freely given to the God of Israel, who dwells in Jerusalem.


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And all the silver and gold, whatsoever you shall find in all the land of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and the priests that offer freely for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.


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And as for everyone that arrives [there], speedily order him by this letter [to bring] calves, rams, lambs, and their grain offerings, and their drink offerings; and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.


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And whatever seems good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do as it is pleasing to your God.


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And deliver the vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of God, before God in Jerusalem.


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And as to the rest of the needs of the house of your God, you shall give from the king's treasure houses,


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and from me, whatever seems [good] to you to give. I, King Artaxerxes have made a decree for all the treasuries that are in the [country] beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest and scribe of the God of heaven may require of you, let it be done diligently,


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to [the amount of] a hundred talents of silver, and a hundred measures of wheat, and a hundred baths of wine, and a hundred baths of oil, and salt without reckoning.


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Let whatever is in the decree of the God of heaven be done. Take heed lest anyone make an attack against the house of the God of heaven, lest at any time there shall be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons.


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Also this has been declared to you, with respect to all the priests, and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim and ministers of the house of God, let no tribute be [paid] to you; you shall not have power to oppress them.


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And you, Ezra, as the wisdom of God [is] in your hand, appoint scribes and judges, that they may judge for all the people beyond the river, all that know the law of the Lord your God; and you shall make it known to him that knows not.


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And whosoever shall not do the law of God, and the law of the king readily, judgment shall be taken upon him, whether for death or for chastisement, or for a fine of his property, or casting into prison.


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Blessed [be] the Lord God of our fathers, who has put it thus into the heart of the king, to glorify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem;


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and has given me favor in the eyes of the king, and of his counselors, and all the rulers of the king, the exalted ones. And I was strengthened according to the good hand of God upon me, and I gathered chief men of Israel to go up with me.


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And these [are] the heads of their families, the leaders that went up with me in the reign of Artaxerxes the king of Babylon:


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Of the sons of Shecaniah, and the sons of Parosh; Zechariah; and with him a company [of] a hundred and fifty [men].


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And of the sons of Adonikam [were the] last, and these [were] their names, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males.


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And I gathered them to the river that comes to Ahava, and we encamped there three days. And I reviewed the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.


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And I sent men of understanding to Eliezar, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, Meshullam, Joiarib, and to Elnathan.


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And I forwarded them to the rulers with the money of the place, and I put words in their mouth to speak to their brothers the Nethinim with the money of the place, that they should bring us singers for the house of our God.


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And they came to us, as the good hand of our God was upon us, even a man of understanding of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, and at the commencement came his sons and his brothers, eighteen [men].


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And of the Nethinim; whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, [there were] two hundred and twenty Nethinim; all were gathered by [their] names.


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And I proclaimed there a fast, at the River Ahava, that [we] should humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us, and for our children, and for all our property.


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For I was ashamed to ask of the king a guard and horsemen to save us from the enemy in the way; for we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God [is] upon all that seek Him, for good; but His power and His wrath [are] upon all that forsake Him.


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And I gave charge to twelve of the chiefs of the priests, to Sherebiah, to Hashabiah, and ten of their brothers with them.


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And I weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of the firstfruits of the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his princes, and all Israel that were found, had dedicated.


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I even weighed into their hands six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and a hundred silver vessels, and a hundred talents of gold;


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and twenty golden bowls, [weighing] about a thousand drachmas, and superior vessels of fine shining brass, [precious] as gold.


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And I said to them, You [are] holy to the Lord; and the vessels [are] holy; and the silver and the gold are freewill offerings to the Lord God of our fathers.


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Be watchful and keep them, until you weigh [them] before the chief priests and the Levites, and the chiefs of families in Jerusalem, at the chambers of the house of the Lord.


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So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring to Jerusalem into the house of our God.


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And we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to come to Jerusalem. And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and adversary in the way.


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And it came to pass on the fourth day that we weighed the silver and the gold and the vessels in the house of our God, into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him [was] Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levites.


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At that time the children of the banishment that came from the captivity offered whole burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve calves for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve goats for a sin offering; all whole burnt offerings to the Lord.


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And they gave the king's mandate to the king's lieutenants, and the governors beyond the river: and they honored the people and the house of God.


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And when these things were finished, the princes drew near to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands in their abominations, [even] the Cannanite, the Hittites, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, the Ammonite, the Moabite, and the Moserite and the Amorite.


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For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and their sons, and the holy seed has passed among the nations of the lands, and the hand of the rulers [has been] first in this transgression.


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And when I heard this thing, I tore my clothes, and trembled, and plucked [some] of the hairs of my head and of my beard, and sat down mourning.


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Then there assembled to me all that followed the word of the God of Israel, on account of the transgression of the captivity; and I remained mourning until the evening sacrifice.


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And at the evening sacrifice I rose up from my humiliation; and when I had tore my clothes, then I trembled, and I bowed myself on my knees, and spread out my hands to the Lord God,


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and I said, O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded, O my God, to lift up my face to You; for our transgressions have abounded over our head, and our trespasses have increased even to heaven.


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From the days of our fathers we have been in a great trespass until this day; and because of our iniquities we, and our kings, and our children, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the Gentiles by the sword, by captivity, by spoil, and with shame of our face, as at this day.


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And now our God has dealt mercifully with us, so as to leave us [a remnant] to escape, and to give us an establishment in the place of His sanctuary, to enlighten our eyes, and give us a measure of revival in our bondage.


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For we are slaves, yet in our bondage the Lord our God has not deserted us; and He has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of the Persians, to revive us, that they should raise up the house of our God, and restore the desolate places of it, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.


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which You have given us by the hand of Your servants the prophets, saying, The land, into which you go to inherit it, is a land subject to disturbance by the removal of the people of the nations for their abominations, wherewith they have filled it from one end to the other by their impurity.


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And now give not your daughters to their sons, and take not of their daughters for your sons, neither shall you ever seek their peace or their goods, that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and transmit it as an inheritance to your children forever.


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And after all that has come upon us because of our evil deeds, and our great trespass, [it is clear] that there is none such as our God, for You have lightly visited our iniquities, and given us deliverance;


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whereas we have repeatedly broken Your commandments, and intermarried with the people of the lands. Be not very angry with us to [our] utter destruction, so that there should be no remnant or survivor.


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O Lord God of Israel, You [are] righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Behold, we [are] before You in our trespasses, for we cannot stand before You on this account.


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So when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and praying before the house of God, a very great assembly of Israel came together to him, men and women and youths; for the people wept, and wept aloud.


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And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have broken covenant with our God, and have taken strange wives of the nations of the land. Yet now there is patience [of hope] to Israel concerning this thing.


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Now then let us make a covenant with our God, to put away all the wives, and their offspring, as you advise:


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arise, and alarm them with the commands of our God; and let [it] be done according to the law. Rise up, for the matter [is] upon you; and we [are] with you. Be strong and do.


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Then Ezra arose, and caused the rulers, the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore.


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And Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went to the treasury of Johanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came there, he ate no bread, and drank no water, for he mourned over the unfaithfulness [of those] of the captivity.


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And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem, [saying],


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Everyone who shall not arrive within three days, as [is] the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his substance shall be forfeited, and he shall be separated from the congregation of the captivity.


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So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. This [was] the ninth month. On the twentieth day of the month all the people sat down in the street of the house of the Lord, because of their alarm concerning the word, and because of the storm.


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And Ezrah the priest arose, and said to them, You have broken covenant, and have taken strange wives, to add to the trespass of Israel.


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Now therefore give praise to the Lord God of our fathers, and do that which is pleasing in His sight, and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the strange wives.


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But the people [are] numerous, and the season [is] stormy, and there is no power to stand without, and the work is more than enough for one day or for two; for we have greatly sinned in this matter.


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Let now our rulers stand, and for all those in our cities who have taken strange wives, let them come at appointed times, and with them elders from every city, and judges, to turn away the fierce wrath of our God from us concerning this matter.


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Only Jonathan the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah [were] with me concerning this; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.


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And the children of the captivity did thus. And Ezra the priest, and heads of families according to [their] house were separated, and all by their names, for they returned in the first day of the tenth month to search out the matter.


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And they made an end with all the men who had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.


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And there were found [some] of the sons of the priests who had taken strange wives: of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadek, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah.


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And they pledged themselves to put away their wives, and [offered] a ram of the flock for a trespass offering because of their trespass.


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Also of Israel: of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Jeziah, Malchiah, Mejamin, Eleazar, Asabia, and Benaiah.


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And of the sons of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh.


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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month of Chislev, of the twentieth year, that I was in Shushan the palace.


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And Hanani, one of my brothers, came, he and [some] men of Judah; and I asked them concerning those that had escaped, who had been left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.


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And they said to me, The remnant, [even] those that are left of the captivity, [are] there in the land, in great distress and reproach; and the walls of Jerusalem [are] thrown down, and its gates are burned with fire.


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And it came to pass, when I heard these words, [that] I sat down and wept, and mourned for [several] days, and continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.


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And I said, I pray, O Lord God of heaven, the mighty [One], the great and terrible, keeping Your covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to those that keep His commandments.


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Let now Your ear be attentive, and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant, which I pray before You at this time, this day [both] day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and make confession for the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against You- both I and the house of my father have sinned.


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We have altogether broken [our covenant] with You, and we have not kept the commandments, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which You commanded Your servant Moses.


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Remember, I pray, the word in which You charged Your servant Moses, saying, If you break [your] covenant [with Me], I will disperse you among the nations.


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But if you turn again to Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; if you should be scattered to the uttermost [parts] of heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and I will bring them into the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.


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Now they [are] Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your mighty hand.


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[Turn] not [away], I pray, O Lord, but let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants, who desire to fear Your name, and prosper Your servant this day, and cause him to find mercy in the sight of this man (For I was the king's cupbearer).


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And it came to pass in the month of Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that the wine was before me. And I took the wine, and gave [it] to the king; and there was not another before him.


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And the king said to me, Why is your countenance sad, and you do not control yourself? And now this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much alarmed,


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and I said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, even the home of the tombs of my fathers, has been laid waste, and her gates have been devoured with fire?


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And I said to the king, If [it pleases] the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, [I ask] that [you] would send him into Judah, to the city of the tombs of my fathers; then will I rebuild it.


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And the king, and his concubine that sat next to him, said to me, For how long will your journey be, and when will you return? And [the proposal] was pleasing before the king, and he sent me away, and I appointed him a time.


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And I said to the king, If [it pleases] the king, let him give me letters to the governors beyond the river, so as to permit me to pass, till I come to Judah;


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and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the garden which belongs to the king, that he may give me timber to cover the gates, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I shall enter. And the king gave to me, according as the good hand of God [was upon me].


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And I came to the governors beyond the river, and I gave them the king's letters. (Now the king had sent with me captains of the army and horsemen).


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And Sanballat the Horonite heard [it], and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and it was grievous to them that a man had come to seek good for the children of Israel.


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And I rose up by night, I and a few men with me; and I told no man what God put into my heart to do with Israel; and there was no beast with me, except the beast which I rode upon.


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And I went forth by the gate of the valley by night, and to the mouth of the Well of Fig Trees, and to the Refuse Gate; and I mourned over the wall of Jerusalem which they were destroying, and her gates were devoured with fire.


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And I passed on to the Fountain Gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no room for the beast to pass under me.


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And I went up by the wall of the brook by night, and mourned over the wall, and passed through the gate of the valley, and returned.


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And the sentinels knew not why I went, nor what I was doing; and until that time I told [it] not to the Jews, or to the priests, or to the nobles, or to the captains, or to the rest [of the men] who did the work.


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Then I said to them, You see this evil, in which we are, how Jerusalem is desolate, and her gates have been set on fire. Come, and let us build throughout the wall of Jerusalem, and we shall no longer be a reproach.


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And I told them of the hand of God which was good upon me, also about the words of the king which he spoke to me. And I said, Let us arise and build. And their hands were strengthened for the good [work].


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And Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Gesham the Arabian, heard [it], and they laughed us to scorn, and came to us, and said, What [is] this thing that you are doing? Are you revolting against the king?


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And I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, He shall prosper us, and we His servants are pure, and we will build; but you have no part, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.


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Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and built the Sheep Gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even to the Tower of the Hundred they sanctified [it], to the Tower of Hananel.


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And [they built] by the side of the men of Jericho, and by the side of the sons of Zacchur, the son of Imri.


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And the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they roofed it, and covered in its doors, and bolts, and bars.


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And next to them [the order] reached to Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz, and next to them Meshullam son of Berechiah the son of Meshezebel took [his] place; and next to them Zadok the son of Baana took [his] place.


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And next to them the Tekoites took [their] place; but the Adorim did not put their shoulders to their service.


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And Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam son of Besodeiah, repaired the old gate; they covered it in, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars.


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And next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, made repairs to the throne of the governor on this side the river.


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And next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the smiths, carried on the repairs. And next to them Hananiah the son of one of the perfumers made repairs, and they finished Jerusalem to the broad wall.


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And next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of half the district round about Jerusalem.


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And next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, and [that] in front of his house. And next to him repaired Hattush son of Hashabniah.


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And next [to him] repaired Malchijah son of Harim, and Hashub son of Pahath-Moab, even to the Tower of the Ovens.


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And next to him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half the district round about Jerusalem, he and his daughters.


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Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the gate of the valley; they built it, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the Refuse Gate.


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And Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of the district round about Beth-Haccerem, repaired the Refuse Gate, he and his sons; and they covered it, and set up its doors, and its bolts, and its bars.


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But Shallun the son of Col-Hozeh repaired the gate of the fountain, the ruler of part of Mizpah. He built it, and covered it, and set up its doors and its bars, and the wall of the pool of the skins by the meadow of the king, and as far as the steps that lead down from the City of David.


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After him repaired Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district round about Beth Zur, as far as the garden of David's Tomb, and as far as the artificial pool, and as far as the house of the mighty men.


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After him repaired the Levites, [even] Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him repaired Hashabiah, ruler of half the district round about Keilah, in his district.


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And after him repaired his brothers, Bavai son of Henadad, ruler of half the district round about Keilah.


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And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, another portion of the tower of ascent, where it meets the corner.


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After him repaired Baruch the son of Zabbai, a second portion, from the corner as far as the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.


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After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz, a second part from the door of the house of Eliashib, to the end of the house of Eliashib.


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And after him repaired Benjamin and Hasshub over against their house. And after him repaired Azariah son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah, [the parts] near to his house.


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After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad, another portion from the house of Azariah as far as the corner and to the turning,


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of Palal the son of Uzai, opposite the corner, and [where is] also the tower that projects from the king's house, even the upper one of the prison house. And after him [repaired] Pedaiah the son of Parosh.


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And the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, as far as the garden of the Water Gate eastward, and [there is] the projecting tower.


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And after them the Tekoites repaired, another portion opposite the great projecting tower, even as far as the wall of Ophel.


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And after him Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his own house. And after him repaired Shemaiah son of Shechaniah, keeper of the East Gate.


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After him repaired Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, another portion. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah repaired over against his treasury.


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After him repaired Malchijah the son of Sarephi as far as the house of the Nethinim, and the merchants over against the Gate of Miphkad, and as far as the steps of the corner.


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Now it came to pass, when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall, that it was grievous to him, and he was very angry, and railed against the Jews.


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And he said before his brothers (that is, the army of the Samaritans), [Is it true] that these Jews are building their city? Do they indeed offer sacrifices? Will they prevail? And will they this day restore the stones, after they have been burned and made a heap of rubbish?


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And Tobiah the Ammonite came near to him, and said to them, Do they sacrifice or eat in their place? Shall not a fox go up and pull down their wall of stones?


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Hear, O our God, for we have become a scorn; and return their reproach upon their own heads, and make them a scorn in a land of captivity,


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But it came to pass, when Sanaballat and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was advancing, and that the breaches began to be stopped, that it appeared very grievous to them.


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And Judah said, The strength of the enemies is broken, yet [there is] much rubbish, and we shall not be able to build the wall.


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And they that afflicted us said, They shall not know, and they shall not see, until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.


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And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.


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So I set [men] in the lowest part of the place behind the wall in the secret places, I even set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.


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And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them; remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.


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And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was made known to us, and God had frustrated their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, [every] man to his work.


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So it was, from that day on, [that] half of them that had been driven forth, did the work, and half of them kept guard; and [there were] spears, shields, bows, and breastplates, and rulers behind the whole house of Judah,


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even of them that were building the wall. And those who carried the burdens [were] under arms: [each] with one hand performing his work, and with the other held his weapon.


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And the builders [worked with] each man having his sword girded at his side, and so they built; and the trumpeter with his trumpet next to him.


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And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work [is] great and abundant, and we are dispersed upon the wall, each at a great distance from his brother.


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In whatever place you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, gather yourselves to us there; and our God shall fight for us.


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So we [continued] laboring at the work. And half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.


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And at that time I said to the people, Let every man with his servant stay at night in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be a watch-time to you, and the day a work-time.


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And I was [there], and the watchmen behind me, and there was not a man of us that put off his garments.


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And some said, We [are] numerous with our sons and our daughters; so we will take grain, and eat, and live.


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And some said, [As to] our fields and vineyards and houses, let us pledge [them], and we will take grain, and eat.


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And some said, We have borrowed money for the king's tributes- our fields, and our vineyards, and houses [are pledged].


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And now our flesh [is] as the flesh of our brothers, our children [are] as their children. Yet behold, we are reducing our sons and our daughters to slavery, and some of our daughters are enslaved; and there is no power of our hands, for our fields and our vineyards [belong] to the nobles.


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And my heart took counsel within me, and I contended against the nobles, and the princes, and I said to them, Should every man demand of his brother what you demand? And I appointed against them a great assembly,


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and I said to them, We of our free will have redeemed our brothers the Jews that were sold to the Gentiles; and do you sell your brothers? And shall they be delivered to us? And they were silent, and found no answer.


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And I said, The thing which you do is not good; you will not so walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the Gentiles our enemies.


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Both my brothers, and my acquaintances, and I, have lent them money and grain. Let us now leave off this usury!


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Restore to them, I pray, as at this day, their fields, and their vineyards, and their olive yards, and their houses, and bring forth to them grain and wine and oil of the money.


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And they said, We will restore, and we will not exact of them; we will do thus as you say. Then I called the priests, and bound them by oath to do according to this word.


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And I shook out my garment, and said, So may God shake out every man who shall not keep to this word, from his house, and from his labors, he shall be even thus shaken out, as an outcast and empty. And all the congregation said, Amen, and they praised the Lord; and the people did this thing.


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From the day that he charged me to be their ruler in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the [provisions] extorted from them.


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But as for the former acts of extortion in which [those who were] before me oppressed them, they even took of them their last money, forty shekels for bread and wine; and the [very] outcasts of them exercised authority over the people; but I did not so, because of the fear of God.


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Also in the work of the wall I treated them not with rigor, I bought not land; and all that were gathered together [came] there to the work.


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And the Jews, to [the number of] a hundred and fifty men, besides those coming to us from the nations round about, [were] at my table.


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And there came [to me] for one day one calf, and I had six choice sheep and a goat; and every ten days wine in abundance of all sorts. Yet with these I required not the bread of extortion, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.


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Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and [that] there were no breaks left in it; (though at that time I had not set up the doors on the gates)


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that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come and let us meet together in the villages in the plain of Ono. But they [were] plotting to do me harm.


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So I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, and I shall not be able to come down, lest the work should cease; as soon as I have finished it, I will come down to you.


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And in it was written, It has been reported among the Gentiles that you and the Jews are planning to revolt. Therefore you are building the wall, and you will be a king to them.


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And moreover you have appointed prophets to yourself, that you might dwell in Jerusalem as a king over Judah; and now these words will be reported to the king. Now then, come, let us take counsel together.


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And I sent to him, saying, It has not happened according to these words, [even] as you say, for you frame them falsely out of your own heart.


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For all were trying to alarm us, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from this work, and it shall not be done. Now therefore I have strengthened my hands.


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And I came into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the Son of Mehetabel, and he was shut up; and he said, Let us assemble together in the house of God, in the midst of it, and let us shut the doors of it; for they are coming by night to slay you.


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And I observed, and behold, God had not sent him, for the prophecy was a fable [devised] against me:


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and Tobiah and Sanballat had hired a multitude against me, that I might be frightened, and do this, and sin, and become to them an ill name, that they might reproach me.


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Remember, O God, Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their deeds, and the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who tried to alarm me.


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And it came to pass, when all our enemies heard [of it], that all the nations round about us feared, and great alarm fell upon them, and they knew that it was of our God that this work should be finished.


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And in those days letters came to Tobiah from many nobles of Judah, and those of Tobiah came to them.


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For many in Judah were bound to him by oath, because he was son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and Jehohanan his son had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah for a wife.


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And they reported his words to me, and carried out my words to him: and Tobiah sent letters to terrify me.


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And it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,


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that I gave charge to my brother, and Hanani the ruler of the palace, over Jerusalem; for he was a true man, and one that feared God beyond many.


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And I said to them, The gates of Jerusalem shall not be opened till sunrise; and while they are still watching, let the doors be shut, and bolted; and set watches of them that dwell in Jerusalem, [every] man at his post, and [every] man over against his house.


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And God put [it] into my heart, and I gathered the nobles and the rulers and the people into companies; and I found a register of the company that came up first, and I found written in it as follows:


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Now these [are] the children of the country, that came up from captivity, of the number which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon carried away, and they returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, [every] man to his city.


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Those who came with Zerubbabel [were] Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Ezra, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah, and Masphar, men of the people of Israel.


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The children of Pahath-Moab, with the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand six hundred and eighteen.


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The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-eight.


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The children of the servants of Solomon: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,


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the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth, the children of Zebaim the children of Amon.


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And these went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not declare the houses of their families, or their seed, whether they were of Israel.


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And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, for they took wives of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and they were called by their name.


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These sought the pedigree of their company, and it was not found, and they were removed [as polluted] from the priesthood.


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And the governor said, that they should not eat of the most holy things, until a priest should stand up to give light.


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besides their male and female servants, these were seven thousand three hundred and thirty seven. And the men and women singers [were] two hundred and forty-five.


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And some of the heads of families gave into the treasury to Nehemiah for the work a thousand pieces of gold, fifty bowls, and thirty priests' [garments].


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And [some] of the heads of families gave into the treasuries of the work, twenty thousand pieces of gold, and two thousand three hundred pounds of silver.


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And the rest of the people gave twenty thousand pieces of gold, and two thousand two hundred pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' [garments].


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And the priests, and Levites, and porters, and singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities.


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And the seventh month arrived, and the children of Israel [were settled] in their cities. And all the people were gathered as one man to the broad place before the Water Gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord commanded Israel.


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So Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and everyone who had understanding [was present] to hear, on the first day of the seventh month.


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And he read in it from sunrise until midday, before the men and the women; and they understood [it], and the ears of all the people [were attentive] to the Book of the Law.


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And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden stage, and there stood next to him Mattithiah, Shema, Hanani, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and at his left [stood] Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.


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And Ezra opened the book before all the people, for he was above the people; and it came to pass when he had opened it, [that] all the people stood.


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And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God; and all the people answered, and said, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their face to the ground.


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And Jeshua, Bani and Sherebiah instructed the people in the law, and the people [stood] in their place.


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And they read in the Book of the Law of God, and Ezra taught, and instructed them distinctly in the knowledge of the Lord, and the people understood from the reading.


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And Nehemiah and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, and they that instructed the people, spoke and said to all the people, It is a holy day to the Lord our God; do not mourn, nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law.


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And [the governor] said to them, Go, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them that have nothing; for this day is holy to our Lord: and faint not, for the Lord is our strength.


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And the Levites caused all the people to be silent, saying, Be silent, for [it is] a holy day, and do not be grieved.


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So all the people departed to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, for they understood the words which he made known to them.


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And on the second day the heads of families assembled with all the people, [also] the priests and Levites, to Ezra the scribe, to attend to all the words of the Law.


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And they found written in the law which the Lord commanded Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast in the seventh month,


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and that they should sound with trumpets in all their cities, and in Jerusalem. And Ezra said, Go forth to the mountain, and bring olive branches, and branches of cypress trees, and branches of myrtle, and branches of palm trees, and branches of [every] thick tree, to make booths, according to that which was written.


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And the people went forth, and brought [them], and made booths for themselves, each one upon his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the streets of the city, and as far as the gate of Ephraim.


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And all the congregation who had returned from the captivity made booths, and dwelt in booths, for the children of Israel [had] not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day. And there was great joy.


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And [Ezra] read in the Book of the Law of God daily, from the first day even to the last day; and they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day [was] a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.


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Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel assembled with fasting, and in sackcloth, and with ashes on their head.


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And the children of Israel separated themselves from every stranger, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.


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And they stood in their place, and read in the Book of the Law of the Lord their God; and they confessed [their sins] to the Lord, and worshipped the Lord their God.


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[And] there stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and the sons of Kadmiel, Shebaniah the son of Sarabia, sons of Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.


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And the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, said, Rise up, bless the Lord our God forever and ever; and let them bless Your glorious name, and exalt it with all blessing and praise.


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And Ezra said, You are the only true Lord; You have made the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and everything in it, the seas, and everything in them; and You give life to all things, and the hosts of heaven worship You.


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You are the Lord God, You chose Abram, and brought him out of the land of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name of Abraham.


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And You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give to him and to his seed the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites; and You have confirmed Your words, for You [are] righteous.


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And You showed signs and wonders in Egypt, on Pharaoh and all his servants, and on all the people of his land; for You knew that they behaved insolently against them; and You made Yourself a name, as it is this day.


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And You divided the sea before them, and they passed through the midst of the sea on dry land; and You cast them that were about to pursue them into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters.


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And You guided them by day by a pillar of cloud, and by night by a pillar of fire, to enlighten for them the way in which they should walk.


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Also You came down upon Mount Sinai, and You spoke to them out of heaven, and gave them right judgments, and laws of truth, ordinances, and good commandments.


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And You made known to them Your holy Sabbath; You enjoined upon them commandments, and ordinances, and a law, by the hand of Your servant Moses.


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And You gave them bread from heaven for their food, and You brought them water from a rock for their thirst; and You told them to go in to inherit the land over which You stretched out Your hand to give to them.


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But they and our fathers behaved proudly, and hardened their neck, and did not hearken to Your commandments,


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and refused to listen, and remembered not Your wonders which You worked among them. And they hardened their neck, and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You, O God, [are] merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy, and You did not forsake them.


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And still farther they even made for themselves a molded calf, and said, These [are] the gods that brought us up out of Egypt: and they worked great provocations.


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Yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness; You did not turn away from them the pillar of the cloud by day, to guide them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to enlighten for them the way in which they should walk.


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And You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water in their thirst.


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And You sustained them forty years in the wilderness; You did not allow anything to fail them. Their garments did not wear out, and their feet were not bruised.


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Moreover, You gave them kingdoms, and divided nations to them; and they inherited the land of Sihon, king of Hesbron, and the land of Og king of Bashan.


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And You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land of which You spoke to their fathers;


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And they inherited it; and You destroyed from before them the inhabitants in the land of the Canaanites, and You gave into their hands them and their kings, and the nations of the land, to do unto them as it pleased them.


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And they took lofty cities, and inherited houses full of all good things, wells [already] dug, vineyards and olive yards, and every fruit tree in abundance. So they ate, and were filled, and grew fat, and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.


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But they turned, and revolted from You, and cast Your law behind their backs; and they killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them back to You, and they worked great provocations.


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Then You gave them into the hand of them that afflicted them, and they did afflict them. And they cried to You in the time of their affliction, and You heard them from heaven, and in Your great mercy You gave them deliverers, and saved them from the hand of them that afflicted them.


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But when they rested, they did evil again before You, so You left them in the hands of their enemies, and they ruled over them; and they cried again to You, and You heard from heaven, and delivered them in Your great mercy.


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And You testified against them, to bring them back to Your law; but they hearkened not, and sinned against Your commandments and Your judgments, which if a man does, he shall live in them; and they turned their back, and hardened their neck, and heard not.


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Yet You had patience with them for many years, and testified to them by Your Spirit by the hand of Your prophets: but they hearkened not; so You gave them into the hand of the nations of the land.


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But You in Your many mercies did not appoint them to destruction, and did not forsake them; for You are strong, and merciful, and compassionate.


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And now, O our God, the powerful, the great, the mighty, and the terrible, keeping Your covenant and Your mercy, let not all this trouble seem little in Your sight which has come upon us, and our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our prophets, and our fathers, and upon all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria even to this day.


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For You [are] righteous in all the things that come upon us; and You have dealt faithfully, but we have greatly sinned.


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And our kings, and our princes, and our priests, and our fathers, have not performed Your law, and have not given heed to Your commandments, and [have not kept] Your testimonies which You testified to them.


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And they did not serve You in Your kingdom, and in Your great goodness which You gave to them, and in the large and fat land which You furnished before them, and they turned not from their evil devices.


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Behold, we are servants this day, and [as for] the land which You gave to our fathers, to eat the fruit of it and the good things of it, behold, we are servants upon it;


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and its produce [is] abundant for the kings whom You appointed over us because of our sins; and they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, as it pleases them, and we are in great affliction.


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And in regard to all these circumstances we make a covenant, and write [it], and our princes, our Levites, [and] our priests, set their seal to [it].


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And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and everyone who drew off from the nations of the land to the law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding,


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were urgent with their brothers, and bound them under a curse, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in the law of God, which was given by the hand of Moses, the servant of God; to keep and to do all the commandments of the Lord, and His judgments, and His ordinances.


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And that we will not, [they said], give our daughters to the people of the land, nor will we take their daughters to our sons.


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And [as for] the people of the land who bring wares and all [manner of] merchandise to sell on the Sabbath day, we [will] not buy from them on the Sabbath or on the holy day; and we will leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.


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And we will impose ordinances upon ourselves, to levy on ourselves a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God;


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the showbread, and the continual grain offering, and for the continual whole burnt offering, of the Sabbaths, of the new moon, for the feast, and for the holy things, and the sin offerings, to make atonement for Israel, and for the works of the house of our God.


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And we cast lots for the office of wood-bearing, [we] the priests, and the Levites, and the people, to bring [wood] into the house of our God, according to the house of our families, at certain set times, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law;


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and to bring the firstfruits of our land, and the firstfruits of the fruit of every tree, year by year, into the house of the Lord;


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the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, for the priests that minister in the house of our God.


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And the firstfruits of our grain, and the fruit of every tree, of wine, and of oil, will we bring to the priests to the treasury of the house of God; and a tithe of our land to the Levites; for the Levites themselves shall receive tithes in all the cities of the land we cultivate.


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And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites in the tithe of the Levite: and the Levites shall bring up [their] tithe to the house of our God, into the treasuries of the house of God.


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For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring into the treasuries the firstfruits of the grain, and wine, and oil; to where the holy vessels [are], and the priests, and the ministers, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.


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And the chiefs of the people dwelt in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots, to bring one of [every] ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine-tenths in the [other] cities.


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Now these [are] the chiefs of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah; [every] man dwelt in his possession in their cities: Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinim, and the children of the servants of Solomon.


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And there dwelt in Jerusalem [some] of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, and [some] of the sons of Perez;


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and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-Hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joarib, son of Zechariah, son of Shiloni.


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And these [were] the children of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah.


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Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Maraioth, son of Ahitub, was over the house of God.


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And their brothers doing the work of the house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,


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and his brothers, chiefs of families, two hundred and forty-two: and Amashai son of Azarel, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,


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and his brothers, mighty men of war, a hundred and twenty-eight: and [their] overseer [was] Zabdiel son of [one of the] great men.


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And the overseer of the Levites [was] the son of Bani, son of Uzzi, son of Hashabiah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph the singers [some were] over the house of God,


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and with regard to villages in their country district. And [some] of the children of Judah dwelt in Kirjath Arba,


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Now these [are] the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,


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And the Levites [were:] Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, [and] Mattaniah, who [was] over the bands,


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And in the days of Joiakim, his brothers the priests and the heads of families [were]: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;


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The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Joa, Johanan, and Jaddua, [were] recorded heads of families. Also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian.


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And the sons of Levi, heads of families, [were] written in the Book of the Chronicles, even to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib.


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And the heads of the Levites [were] Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua; and the sons of Kadmiel, and their brothers over against them, were to sing hymns of praise, according to the commandment of David the man of God, course by course.


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[it was] in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Josadak, and in the days of Nehemiah; and Ezra the priest [was] the scribe.


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And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep a feast of dedication and gladness with thanksgiving, and they sounded cymbals with songs, and [had] psalteries and harps.


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And the sons of the singers were assembled both from the neighborhood round about to Jerusalem, and from the villages,


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And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people, and the porters, and the wall.


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And they brought up the princes of Judah on the wall, and they appointed two great [companies] for thanksgiving, and they passed on the right hand on the wall of the Refuse Gate.


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And [some] of the sons of the priest with trumpets, Zechariah son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Matthaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zacchur, son of Asaph:


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and his brothers, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nathanel, Judah, and Hanani, to praise with the hymns of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe [was] before them,


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at the gate, to praise before them, and they went up by the steps of the City of David, in the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, even to the Water Gate


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And in that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced; for God had made them very joyful: and their wives and their children rejoiced; and the joy in Jerusalem was heard from afar off.


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And in that day they appointed men over the treasuries, for the treasures, the firstfruits, and the tithes, and [for] the chiefs of the cities who were assembled among them, [to furnish] portions for the priests and Levites; for [there was] joy in Judah over the priests and over the Levites that waited.


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And they kept the charges of their God, and the charges of the purification, and [ordered] the singers and the porters, according to the commandments of David and his son Solomon.


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For in the days of David, Asaph was originally first of the singers, and [they sang] hymns and praises to God.


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And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, a daily rate; and consecrated them to the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them to the sons of Aaron.


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In that day they read in the Book of Moses in the ears of the people; and it was found written in it, that the Ammonites and Moabites should not enter into the congregation of God forever;


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because they met not the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.


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And it came to pass, when they heard the law, that they were separated, [even] every alien in Israel.


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And before this time Eliashib the priest dwelt in the treasury of the house of our God, connected with Tobiah;


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and he made himself a great treasury, and there they were formerly in the habit of bestowing the offerings, and the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithe of the grain, and the wine, and the oil, the ordered portion of the Levites, and singers, and porters; and the firstfruits of the priests.


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But in all this [time] I was not in Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to the king, and after a certain time I made my request of the king;


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and I came to Jerusalem, and I understood the evil which Eliashib had done in the case of Tobiah, in making for him a treasury in the court of the house of God.


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And it appeared very evil to me; so I cast forth all the furniture of the house of Tobiah from the treasury.


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And I gave orders, and they purified the treasuries; and I restored the vessels into the house of God, [and] the offerings, and the frankincense.


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And I understood that the portion of the Levites had not been given; and they had fled everyone to his field, the Levites and the singers doing the work.


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And I strove with the commanders, and said, Why has the house of God been abandoned? And I assembled them, and set them in their place.


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to the charge of Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites. And next to them [was] Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Matthaniah; for they were accounted faithful. [It was] their office to distribute to their brothers.


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Remember me, O God, in this, and let not my kindness be forgotten which I have wrought in [regard to] the house of the Lord God.


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In those days I saw in Judah [men] treading wine-presses on the Sabbath, and carrying sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and every [kind of] burden, and bringing them into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.


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And I testified in the day of their sale. Also there dwelt in it [men] bringing fish, and selling every [kind of] merchandise to the children of Judah and in Jerusalem on the Sabbath.


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And I strove with the free children of Judah, and said to them, What [is] this evil thing which you do, and profane the Sabbath day?


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Did not your fathers [commit] this same [trespass,] and our God brought upon them and upon us and upon this city all these evils? And do you bring additional wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath?


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And it came to pass, when the gates were set up in Jerusalem, before the Sabbath, that I spoke, and they shut the gates; and I gave orders that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I set [some] of my servants at the gates, that none should bring [in] burdens on the Sabbath day.


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Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why do you lodge in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will stretch out my hand upon you. From that time they came not on the Sabbath.


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And I told the Levites who were purifying themselves, and came and kept the gates, that they should sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O God, for these things, and spare me according to the abundance of Your mercy.


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And their children spoke half in the language of Ashdod, and did not know how to speak in the Jewish language.


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And I strove with them and cursed them; and I struck some of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, [saying,] You shall not give your daughters to their sons, and you shall not take of their daughters to your sons.


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Did not Solomon king of Israel sin thus? Yet there was no king like him among many nations, and he was beloved of God, and God made him king over all Israel; yet strange women turned him aside.


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So we will not hearken to you to do all this evil, to break covenant with our God, to marry strange wives.


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And Elishub the high priest, [one] of the sons of Joiada, son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, I chased away from me.


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Remember them, O God, for their [false] connection with the priesthood, and [the breaking] the covenant of the priesthood, and [for defiling] the Levites.


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So I purged them from all foreign connection, and established courses for the priests and the Levites, [every] man according to his work.


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And the offering of the wood-bearers [was] at certain set times, and in the [times of the] firstfruits. Remember me, O our God, for good.


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[In the second year of reign of Artaxerxes the great king, on the first [day] of Nisan, Mordecai the [son] of Jair, the [son] of Shimei, the [son] of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew dwelling in the city of Susa, a great man, serving in the king's palace, saw a vision. Now he was of the captivity which Nebuchaznezzar king of Babylon had carried captive from Jerusalem, with Jeconiah the king of Judea. And this [was] his dream: Behold, voices and a noise, thunders and an earthquake, and tumult upon the earth. And behold, two great serpents came forth, both ready for conflict, and there came from them a great voice, and by their voice of every nation was prepared for battle, even to fight against the nation of the just. And behold, a day of darkness and blackness, tribulation and anguish, affliction and great tumult upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own afflictions; and they prepared to die, and cried to God. And from their cry there came as it were a great river from a little fountain, [even] much water. And light and the sun arose, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the honorable. And Mordecai, who had seen this vision and what God designed to do, having awoke, kept in his heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even till night. And Mordecai rested quiet in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha, the king's two chamberlains, eunuchs who guarded the palace. And he heard their reasonings and searched out their plans, and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes. And he informed the king concerning them. And the king examined the two chamberlains, and they confessed, and were executed. And the king wrote these things for a memorial; also Mordecai wrote concerning these matters. And the king commanded Mordecai to attend in the palace, and gave him gifts for this service. And Haman the son of Hammedatha the Bugaean was honorable in the sight of the king, and he endeavored to hurt Mordecai and his people, because of the two eunuchs of the king.] [ 1:1] And it came to pass after these things in the days of Artaxerxes (this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India),


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in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for his friends, and the other nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps.


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And after this, after he had shown to them the wealth of his kingdom, and the abundant glory of his wealth during a hundred and eighty days,


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when the days of the marriage feast were completed, the king made a banquet for the nations who were present in the city six days, in the court of the king's house,


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[which was] adorned with [hangings] of fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs, on pillars of Parian marble and stone. [There were] golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl, and of Parian stone, and open-worked coverings variously flowered, [having] roses worked round about;


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gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out of the value of thirty thousand talents, abundant and sweet wine, which the king himself drank.


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And this banquet was not according to the appointed law; but so the king would have it: and he charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company.


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Now on the seventh day the king, being merry, told Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Zethar, Abagtha, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs, servants of King Artaxerxes,


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to bring the queen in to him, to enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to show her to the princes, and her beauty to the nations, for she was beautiful.


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But Queen Vashti hearkened not to him to come with the chamberlains, so the king was grieved and angered.


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And he said to his friends, Thus has Vashti spoken: pronounce therefore upon this [case] law and judgment.


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So Carshena, Shethar, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief [in rank] by the king, drew near to him,


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and reported to him according to the laws how it was proper to do to Queen Vashti, because she had not done the things commanded of the king by the eunuchs.


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And Memucan said to the king and to the princes, Queen Vashti has not wronged the king only, but also all the king's rulers and princes,


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for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she disobeyed the king. As then, [he said], she refused [to obey] King Artaxerxes,


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so this day shall the other ladies of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes, having heard what she said to the king, dare in the same way to dishonor their husbands.


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If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter [it]. And let not the queen come in to him anymore, and let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she.


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And let the law of the king which he shall have made, be widely proclaimed in his kingdom. And so shall all the women give honor to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich.


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and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to their language, in order that men might be feared in their own houses.


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And after this the king's anger was pacified, and he no more made mention of Vashti, bearing in mind what she had said, and how he had condemned her.


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Then the servants of the king said, Let there be sought for the king chaste [and] beautiful young virgins.


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And let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select fair [and] chaste young women, [and bring them] to the city Susa, into the women's apartment, and let them be consigned to the king's eunuch, the keeper of the women. And let things for purification and other attendance be given [to them].


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And let the woman who shall please the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.


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Now there was a Jew in the city Susa, and his name was Mordecai, the [son] of Jair, [the son] of Shimei, [the son] of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin;


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who had been brought a prisoner from Jerusalem, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried into captivity.


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And he had a foster child, daughter of Aminadab his father's brother, and her name [was] Esther. And when her parents were dead, he brought her up for a wife for himself. And the woman was beautiful.


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And because the king's ordinance was published, many young women were gathered to the city Susa under the hand of Hegai; and Esther was brought to Hegai the keeper of the women.


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Now the young woman pleased him, and she found favor in his sight; and he hastened to give her the things for purification, and her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the palace. And he treated her and her maidens well in the women's apartment.


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Now this was the time for a virgin to go into the king, when she should have fulfilled twelve months; for so are the days of purification fulfilled, six months while they are anointing themselves with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and women's purifications.


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And then [the young woman] goes in to the king; and [the officer] to whoever he shall give the command, will bring her to come in with him from the women's apartment to the king's chamber.


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She enters in the evening, and in the morning she departs to the second women's apartment, where Hegai the king's eunuch [is] keeper of the women. And she goes not in to the king again, unless she should be called by name.


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And when the time was fulfilled for Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, the brother of Mordecai's father to go in to the king, she neglected nothing which the eunuch, the women's keeper, commanded; for Esther found grace in the sight of all that looked upon her.


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So Esther went in to King Artaxerxes in the twelfth month, which is Adar, in the seventh year of his reign.


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And the king loved Esther, and she found favor beyond all the [other] virgins, and he put on her the queen's crown.


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And the king made a banquet for all his friends and great men for seven days, and he highly celebrated the marriage of Esther; and he made a release to those who were under his dominion.


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Now Esther had not revealed her relatives; for so Mordecai commanded her, to fear God, and perform His commandments, as when she was with him: and Esther changed not her manner of life.


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And two of the king's eunuchs, the chiefs of the bodyguard, were grieved, because Mordecai was promoted; and they sought to kill King Artaxerxes.


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And the matter became known to Mordecai, and he made it known to Esther, and she declared to the king the matter of the conspiracy.


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And the king examined the two eunuchs, and hanged them. And the king gave orders to make a note for a memorial in the royal records of the good offices of Mordecai, as a commendation.


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And after this King Artaxerxes highly honored Haman, [son] of Hammedatha, the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends.


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And everyone in the palace bowed down to him, for so the king had given orders to do; but Mordecai did not bow down to him.


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And those in the king's palace said to Mordecai, Mordecai, why do you transgress the commands of the king?


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[Thus] they spoke daily to him, but he hearkened not unto them; so they told it to Haman that Mordecai resisted the commands of the king; and Mordecai had shown to them that he was a Jew.


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And he made a decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to slay in one day the race of Mordecai. And the lot fell on the fourteenth [day] of the month, which is Adar.


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And he spoke to King Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from [those of] all the [other] nations; and they disobey the laws of the king. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them alone.


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If it seems good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them, and I will remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver.


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And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Haman, to seal the decrees against the Jews.


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So the king's recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth [day], and they wrote as Haman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, and to the rulers of the nations according to their [many] languages, in the name of King Artaxerxes.


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And [the message] was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to utterly destroy the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods. And the following is the copy of the letter: The great King Artaxerxes writes thus to the rulers and inferior governors of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who hold authority under [him]. Ruling over many nations, and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was minded, (not elated by the confidence of power but ever conducting [myself] with great moderation and with gentleness) to make the lives of [my] subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quite and orderly to [its] utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. But when I had inquired of my counselors how this should be brought to pass, Haman, who excels in sound judgment among us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and has obtained the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is mixed up with all the tribes throughout the world, opposed in their laws to every [other] nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the kings, so that the united government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation alone [of all others] is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests, and against the happy establishment of the monarchy; we have accordingly appointed those who are signified to you in the letters written by Haman, who is set over [the public] affairs and is our second governor, to utterly destroy them all with their wives and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month (which is Adar) of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed [to us] having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually a well- constituted and quiet [state of] affairs.


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And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready against that day.


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And the business was hastened, and [that] at Susa. And the king and Haman began to drink, but the city was troubled.


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But Mordecai, having perceived what was done, tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself. And having rushed forth through the open street of the city, he cried with a loud voice, A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed!


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And he came to the king's gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to enter into the palace, wearing sackcloth and ashes.


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And in every province where the letters were published, [there was] crying and lamentation and great mourning on the part of the Jews: they spread for themselves sackcloth and ashes.


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And the queen's maids and chamberlains went in and told her: and when she had heard what was done, she was disturbed; and she sent to clothe Mordecai, and take away his sackcloth; but he consented not.


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So Esther called for her eunuch Hathach, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from Mordecai.


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And Mordecai showed him what was done, and the promise which Haman had made the king of ten thousand talents [to be paid] into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews.


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And he gave him the copy [of the writing] that was published in Susa concerning their destruction, to show to Esther. And told him to command her to go in and make supplication to the king, and to beg him for the people, remembering, [he said], the days of your low estate, how you were nursed by my hand- because Haman, who holds the next place to the king, has spoken against us for death. Call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death!


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All the nations of the empire know, that whoever, man or woman, shall go in to the king into the inner court uncalled, that person cannot live. Only to whomsoever the king shall stretch out [his] golden scepter, he shall live; and I have not been called to go into the king, for these thirty days.


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Then Mordecai said to Hathach, Go, and say to her, Esther, say not to yourself that you alone will escape in the kingdom, more than all the [other] Jews.


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For if you shall refuse to heed on this occasion, help and protection will be to the Jews from another quarter; but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows if you have been made queen for this [very] occasion.


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Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day. And I also and my maidens will fast, and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.


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So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him. And he sought the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord; and he said, Lord God, King ruling over all, for all things are in Your power, and there is no one that shall oppose You in Your purpose to save Israel. For You have made the heaven and the earth, and every wonderful thing in the [earth] under heaven. And You are Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist You, the Lord. You know all things: You know, O Lord, that it is not in the insolence, nor haughtiness, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse to bow down to the haughty Haman. For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. But I have done this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God: and I will not worship anyone except You, my Lord, and I will not do these things in haughtiness. And now, O Lord God, O King, the God of Abraham, spare Your people, for [our enemies] are looking upon us for [our] destruction, and they have desired to destroy Your ancient inheritance. Do not overlook Your peculiar people, whom you have redeemed for Yourself out of the land of Egypt. Hearken to my prayer, and be propitious to Yours in gladness, that we may live and sing praises to Your name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mount of them that praise You, O Lord. And all Israel cried with [all] their might, for their death [was] before their eyes. And Queen Esther found refuge in the Lord, being taken, [as it were,] in the agony of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and morning. And instead of grand perfumes, she put dung and ashes on her head, and she greatly brought down her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the [torn] curls of her hair. And she sought the Lord God of Israel, and said, O my Lord, You alone are our king. Help me, [I who am] destitute, and have no helper but You, for my danger [is] close at hand. I have heard from my birth, in the tribe of my kindred, that You, O Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have wrought for them all that You have said. And now we have sinned before You, and You have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we honored their gods. You are righteous, O Lord. But now they have not been contented with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols, [in order] to abolish the decree of Your mouth, and to utterly destroy Your inheritance, and to stop the mouth of them that praise You, and to extinguish the glory of Your house and Your altar, and to open the mouth of the Gentiles, to [speak] the praises of vanities, and [in order] that a mortal king should be admired forever. O Lord, do not resign Your scepter to them that are not, and let them not laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun [to injure] us. Remember [us], O Lord, manifest Yourself in the time of our affliction, and encourage me, O King of gods, and Ruler of all dominion. Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him that fights against us, to the utter destruction of him and of them that consent with him. But deliver us by Your hand, and help I [who am] destitute, and have no one but You, O Lord. You know all things, and know that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the manners of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendor. I abhor it as a menstrual cloth, and I wear it not in the days of my tranquility. And Your handmaid has not eaten [at] the table of Haman, and I have not honored the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk the wine of libations. Neither has Your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in You, O Lord God of Abraham. O God, who has power over all, hearken to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of them that devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.


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And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, [and] having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she [was] blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face [was] cheerful and benevolent, but her heart [was] straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. And he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, [covered] all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger. And the queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before [her]. But God changed the spirit of the king's gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered. And he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is [the matter], Esther? I [am] your brother; be of good cheer, you shall not die, for our command is openly declared [to you;] Draw near.


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And having raised the golden scepter he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw you, [my] lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of your glory; for you, [my] lord, are to be wondered at, and your face [is] full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.


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And the king said, What do you wish, Esther? And what is your request? [Ask] even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours.


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And Esther said, Today is my great day: if then it seems good to the king, let both him and Haman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.


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And the king said, Bring Haman here quickly, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both came to the feast of which Esther had spoken.


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And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is [your request], Queen Esther? [Speak], and you shall have all that you require.


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if I have found favor in the sight of the king, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do the same.


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So Haman went out from the king very glad [and] merry; but when Haman saw Mordecai the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged.


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And he showed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom.


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And Haman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited tomorrow.


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And Zeresh his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a gallows made for you of fifty cubits, and in the morning speak to the king, and let Mordecai be hanged on the gallows. But go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased Haman, and the gallows was prepared.


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But the Lord removed sleep from the king that night; and he told his servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read to him.


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And he found the records written concerning Mordecai, how he had told the king concerning the two eunuchs of the king, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Artaxerxes.


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And the king said, What honor or favor have we done for Mordecai? And the king's servants said, You have not done anything for him.


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And while the king was inquiring about the kindness of Mordecai, behold, Haman [was] in the court. And the king said, Who [is] in the court? Now Haman had come in to speak to the king, that he should hang Mordecai on the gallows, which he had prepared.


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And the king said to Haman, What shall I do to the man whom I wish to honor? And Haman said within himself, Whom would the king honor but myself?


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let the king's servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides,


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and let him give [it] to one of the king's noble friends, and let him array the man whom the king loves. And let him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the streets of the city, saying, Thus shall it be to every man whom the king honors.


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Then the king said to Haman, you have well said: so do to Mordecai the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what you have spoken be neglected.


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So Haman took the robe and the horse, and clothed Mordecai, and mounted him on the horse, and went through the street of the city, and proclaimed, saying, Thus shall it be to every man whom the king wishes to honor.


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And Haman related the events that had befallen him to Zeresh his wife, and to [his] friends. And his friends and his wife said to him, If Mordecai [is] of the race of the Jews, [and] you have begun to be humbled before him, you will surely fall, and you will not be able to withstand him, for the living God [is] with him.


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While they were yet speaking, the eunuchs arrived, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.


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And the king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, What is it, Queen Esther? And what [is] your request, and what [is] your petition? And it shall be [done] for you, up to half of my kingdom.


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And she answered and said, If I have found favor in the sight of the king, let [my] life be granted to my petition, and my people to my request.


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For both I and my people have been sold for destruction, and pillage, and slavery; [both] we and our children as bondmen and bondwomen. And I consented not to it, for the slanderer [is] not worthy of the king's palace.


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And Esther said, the adversary [is] Haman, this wicked man. Then Haman was troubled before the king and the queen.


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And the king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden. And Haman began to plead with the queen; for he saw that he was in an evil case.


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And the king returned from the garden; and Haman had fallen upon the bed, begging the queen. And the king said, Will you even force [my] wife in my house? And when Haman heard it, his countenance changed.


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And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, Behold, Haman has also prepared a gallows for Mordecai, who spoke concerning the king, and a gallows of fifty cubits high has been set up on Haman's premises. And the king said, Let him be hanged on it!


text:
So Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai; and then the king's wrath was appeased.


text:
And in that day King Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Haman the slanderer. And Mordecai was called by the king; for Esther had shown that he was related to her.


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And the king took the ring which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over all that had been Haman's.


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And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and beseeched [him] to do away the mischief of Haman, and all that he had done against the Jews.


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And Esther said, If it seems good to you, and [if] I have found favor [in your sight], let an order be sent that the letters sent by Haman may be reversed, that were written for the destruction of the Jews, who are in your kingdom.


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For how shall I be able to look upon the affliction of my people, and how shall I be able to survive the destruction of my relatives?


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And the king said to Esther, If I have given and freely granted you all that was Haman's, and hanged him on a gallows, because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what do you yet further seek?


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Write also in my name, as it seems good to you, and seal [it] with my ring; for whatever [orders] are written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, it is not lawful to revoke them.


text:
So the scribes were called in the first month, which is Nisan, on the twenty-third day of the same year. And [orders] were written concerning the Jews, whatever [the king had] commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the satraps, from India even to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, according to the several provinces, according to their dialects.


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And they were written by order of the king, and sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by couriers.


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In it he charged them to use their [own] laws in every city, and to help each other, and to treat their adversaries, and those who attacked them, as they pleased,


text:
on one day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month, which is Adar.


text:
And the following is the copy of the letter of the orders: The great King Artaxerxes sends greeting to the rulers of [the] provinces [in] a hundred and twenty-seven satraps, from India to Ethiopia, even to those who are faithful to our interests. Many who have been frequently honored by the most abundant kindness of their benefactors have conceived ambitious designs, and not only endeavor to hurt our subjects, but moreover, not being able to bear prosperity, they also endeavor to plot against their own benefactors. And they not only would utterly abolish gratitude from among men, but also, elated by the boastings of men who are strangers to all that is good, they suppose that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of the ever-seeing God. And oftentimes [evil] exhortation has made partakers of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and has involved in irremediable calamities, many of those who were appointed to offices of authority, who had been entrusted with the management of their friends' affairs. While [men], by the false sophistry of an evil disposition, have deceived the simple candor of the ruling powers. And it is possible to see [this], not so much from more ancient traditionary accounts, as it is immediately in your power [to see it] by examining what things have been wickedly perpetrated by the baseness of men holding power in an unworthy manner. And [it is right] to take heed with regard to the future, that we may maintain the government in undisturbed peace for all men, adopting [needful] changes, and ever judging those cases which come under [our] notice, with truly equitable decision. For whereas Haman, a Macedonian, the son of Hammedatha, in reality an alien from the blood of the Persians, and differing widely from our mild course of government, having been hospitably entertained by us, obtained so large a share of our universal kindness, as to be called our father, and to continue the person next to the royal throne, reverenced by all. [He, however,] overcome by the pride [of his station], endeavored to deprive us of our dominion, and our life; having by various and subtle artifices demanded for destruction both Mordecai, our deliverer and perpetual benefactor, and Esther, the blameless consort of [our] kingdom, with their whole nation. For by these methods, the thought, having surprised us in a defenseless rate, to transfer the dominion of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we find that the Jews, who have been consigned to destruction by the most abominable of men, are not malefactors, but living according to the most just laws, and being the sons of the living God, the Most High and Mighty, who maintains the kingdom, to us as well as to our forefathers, in the most excellent order. You will therefore do well in refusing to obey the letters sent by Haman the son of Hammedatha, because he that has done these things has been hanged with his whole family at the gates of Susa, Almighty God having swiftly returned to him a worthy recompense. [We beseech you], therefore, having openly published a copy of this letter in every place, to give the Jews permission to use their own lawful customs, and to strengthen them, that on the thirteenth [day] of the twelfth month [of] Adar, on that same day, they may defend themselves against those who attacked them in a time of affliction. For in the place of the destruction of the chosen race, Almighty God has granted them this [time of] gladness. Therefore you also among your [notable] feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and hereafter it may be a day of deliverance to us and those who are well disposed toward the Persians, but to those that plotted against us a memorial of destruction. And every city and province collectively, which shall not do accordingly, shall be consumed with vengeance by spear and fire. It shall be made not only inaccessible to men, but also most hateful to wild beasts and birds forever. And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom, and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies.


text:
So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king's commands; and the ordinance was also published in Susa.


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And Mordecai went forth clothed in the royal apparel, and wearing a golden crown, and a diadem of fine purple linen. And the people in Susa saw [it] and rejoiced.


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in every city and province wherever the ordinance was published: wherever the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth. And many of the Gentiles were circumcised, and became Jews, for fear of the Jews.


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Now in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived.


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For the chiefs of the satraps, and the princes and the royal scribes honored the Jews; for the fear of Mordecai was upon them.


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the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews, and they plundered [their property] on the same day.


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And the king said to Esther, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city Susa. And what have they done in the rest of the country? What then is your petition, that it may be [done] for you?


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And Esther said to the king, let it be granted to the Jews so to treat them tomorrow as to hang the ten sons of Haman.


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And he permitted it to be so done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city the bodies of the sons of Haman, to hang.


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And the Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth [day] of Adar, and killed three hundred men, but plundered no property.


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And the rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies; for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth [day] of Adar, but took no spoil.


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And they rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness.


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And the Jews in the city Susa assembled also on the fourteenth [day] and rested; and they kept also the fifteenth with joy and gladness.


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Because of this the Jews dispersed in every foreign land to keep the fourteenth of Adar [as] a holy day with joy, sending portions each to his neighbor.


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And Mordecai wrote these things in a book, and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Artaxerxes, both them that were near and them that were afar off,


text:
for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies. And [as to] the month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them, from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a good day, to spend the whole of it [in] good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends, and to the poor.


text:
[showing] how Haman the son of Hammedatha the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to utterly destroy them;


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also how he went in to the king, telling [him] to hang Mordecai. But all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself, and he was hanged, and his children.


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Therefore these days were called Purim, because of the name Pur; (for in their language they are called Phrurae;) because of the words of this letter, and [because of] all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them.


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And [Mordecai] established it, and the Jews took upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon those that were joined to them [to observe it,] neither would they on any account behave differently. But these days [were to be] a memorial kept in every generation, and city, and family, and province.


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And these days of the Phrurae, [they said,] shall be kept forever, and their memorial shall not fail in any generation.


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And Queen Esther, the daughter of Aminadab, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote all that they had done, and the confirmation of the letter of Purim.


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And Mordecai and Esther the queen appointed [a fast] for themselves privately, even at that time also having formed their plan against their own health.


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And [as for] his strength and valor, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written in the book of the Persians and Medes, for a memorial.


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And Mordecai was second to King Artaxerxes, and was a great man in the kingdom, and honored by the Jews, and passed his life beloved of all his nation. And Mordecai said, These things have been done by God. For I remember the dream which I had concerning these matters. For not one particular of them has failed. There was the little fountain, which became a river, and there was a light, and the sun, and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. And the two serpents are Haman and myself. And the nations are those that combined to destroy the name of the Jews. But [as for] my nation, this is Israel, [even] they that cried to God, and were delivered: for the Lord delivered His people, and the Lord rescued us out of all these calamities; and God wrought such signs and great wonders as have not been done among the nations. Therefore did He ordain two lots, one for the people of God, and one for all the [other] nations. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgment before God, and for all the nations. And God remembered His people, and vindicated His inheritance. And they shall observe these days, in the month [of] Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth day of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness before God, throughout the generations forever among His people Israel. In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and Ptolemy his son, brought in the published letter of Purim, which they said existed, and [which] Lysimachus the son of Ptolemy who was in Jerusalem, had interpreted.


text:
There was a certain man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was true, blameless, righteous, and godly, abstaining from everything evil.


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And his substance consisted of seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys in the pastures, and a very great household, and he had a great husbandry on the earth; and that man was [most] noble of the men of the east.


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And his sons, visiting one another, prepared a banquet every day, taking with them also their three sisters to eat and drink with them.


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And when the days of the banquet were completed, Job sent and purified them, having risen up in the morning, and offered sacrifices for them, according to their number, and one calf for a sin offering for their souls; for Job said, Lest perhaps my sons have thought evil, and cursed God in their minds. Thus, then Job did continually.


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And it came to pass one day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them.


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And the Lord said to the devil, From where have you come? And the devil answered the Lord and said, I have come from compassing the earth, and walking up and down in the world.


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And the Lord said to him, Have you diligently considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on [all] the earth, a blameless man, true, godly, abstaining from everything evil?


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Have You not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? And have You not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his substance upon the land?


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Then the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I give all that he has into your hand, but touch not himself. So the devil went out from the presence of the Lord.


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And it came to pass on a certain day, that Job's sons and his daughters were drinking wine in the house of their elder brother.


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And behold, there came a messenger to Job, and said to him, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were feeding near them;


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when the spoilers came and took them for prey, and killed the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped, [and have] come to tell you.


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While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, Fire has fallen from heaven, and burned up the sheep, and likewise have devoured the shepherds; and I alone have escaped, [and have] come to tell you.


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While he was yet speaking, there came another messenger, and said to Job, The horsemen formed three companies against us, and surrounded the camels, and took them for prey, and killed the servants with the sword; and I alone have escaped, [and have] come to tell you.


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While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said to Job, While your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking with their older brother,


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suddenly a great wind came from across the desert, and caught the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped, [and have] come to tell you.


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So Job arose and tore his clothes, and shaved the hair of his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped,


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and said, I myself came forth naked from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away. As it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord.


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In all these events that befell him, Job sinned not before the Lord, and did not impute wrong to God.


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And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord.


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And the Lord said to the devil, From where have you come? Then the devil said before the Lord, I have come from going throughout the world, and walking about the whole earth.


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And the Lord said to the devil, Have you then observed My servant Job, that there is none like him upon the earth, a harmless, true, blameless, and godly man; abstaining from all evil? And yet he cleaves to innocence, although you have incited [Me] to destroy his substance without cause?


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And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give as a ransom for his life.


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Ah, but put forth Your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh- surely he will curse You to [Your] face!


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And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long will you hold out, saying, [ 2:9A] Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? [ 2:9B] For behold, your memorial is abolished from the earth, even your sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; [ 2:9C] and you yourself sit down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, [ 2:9D] and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labors, and my pangs which now beset me: [ 2:9E] but curse the Lord, and die.


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But he looked at her, and said to her, You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not with his lips before God.


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Now his three friends, having heard of all the evil that had come upon him, came to him each from his own country: Eliphaz the king of the Temans, Bildad sovereign of the Shuhites, and Zophar, king of the Minaeans. And they came to him with one accord, to comfort [him,] and to visit him.


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And when they saw him from a distance they did not know him; and they cried with a loud voice, and wept, and everyone tore his garment, and sprinkled dust upon their heads,


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and they sat down beside him seven days and seven nights, and not one of them spoke; for they saw that his affliction was dreadful, and very great.


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Let that night be darkness, and let not the Lord regard it from above, neither let light come upon it.


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Let that day and night be cursed, let darkness carry them away; let it not come into the days of the year, neither let it be numbered with the days of the months.


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Let the stars of that night be darkened; let it remain [dark], and not come into light; and let it not see the morning star arise:


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because it shut not up the gates of my mother's womb, for so it would have removed sorrow from my eyes.


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or I [should have been] as an untimely birth proceeding from his mother's womb, or as infants who never saw light.


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Accordingly, as I have seen men plowing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves.


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They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of His wrath.


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The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.


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But if there had been any truth in your words, none of these evils would have befallen you. Shall not my ear receive excellent [revelations] from Him?


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I arose and perceived it not. I looked, and there was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, saying,


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But as [for] them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, He smites them like a moth.


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And from the morning to evening they no longer exist- they have perished, because they cannot help themselves.


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Let their children be far from safety, and let them be crushed at the doors of vile men, and let there be no deliverer.


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For what they have collected, the just shall eat; but they shall not be delivered out of calamities- let their strength be utterly exhausted.


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who does great and untraceable things, glorious things also, and marvelous, of which there is no number:


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In famine He shall deliver you from death, and in war He shall free you from the power of the sword.


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Then shall you know that your house shall be at peace, and the provision for your tabernacle shall not fail.


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And you shall know that your seed [shall be] abundant, and your children shall be like the herbs of the field.


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And you shall come to the grave like ripe grain reaped in its season, or as a sheaf of grain collected in its season.


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Behold, we have thus sought out these matters; these are what we have heard- but reflect within yourself, if you have done anything [wrong].


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Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my grief in a balance together!


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And surely they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain.


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For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me.


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What then? Will the wild donkey bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? Or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has [his] fodder?


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Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it, for I have not denied the holy words of my God.


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My nearest relations have not regarded me, they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.


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Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech.


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Is not the life of man upon earth a state of trial? And his existence as that of a hireling by the day?


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Or as a servant that fears his master, and one who has grasped a shadow? Or as a hireling waiting for his pay?


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Whenever I lie down, I say, When [will it be] day? And whenever I rise up, again [I say] when [will it be] evening? And I am full of pains from evening to morning.


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And my body is covered with loathsome worms; and I waste away, scraping off clods of dust from my eruption.


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I [am] as a cloud that is cleared away from the sky: for if a man should go down to the grave, he shall not come up again.


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Then neither will I refrain my mouth; I will speak being in distress; being in anguish I will disclose the bitterness of my soul.


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If I have sinned, what shall I be able to do, O You that understand the mind of men? why have You made me as Your accuser, and why am I a burden to You?


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Why have You not forgotten my iniquity, and purged my sin? But now I shall depart to the earth, and in the morning I am no more.


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How long will you speak these things, [how long shall] the breath of your mouth be abundant in words?


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If you are pure and true, He will listen to your supplication, and will restore to you the habitation of righteousness.


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When it is yet on the root, and [though] it has not been cut down, does not any herb wither before it has received moisture?


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If he should prop up his house, it shall not stand: and when he has taken hold of it, it shall not remain.


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For the Lord will by no means reject the harmless man; but He will not receive any gift of the ungodly.


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But their adversaries shall clothe themselves with shame; and the habitation of the ungodly shall perish.


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For if he would enter into judgment with Him, [God] would not listen to him, so that he should answer to one of His charges of a thousand.


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If ever He should go beyond me, I shall not see Him: if He should pass by me, neither thus have I known it.


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For though I should seem righteous, my mouth will be profane, and though I should seem blameless, I shall be proved perverse.


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For they are delivered into the hands of the unrighteous man: He covers the faces of the judges [of the earth]: but if it is not He, who else could it be?


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Or again, is there a trace of [their] path [left] by ships? Or is there one of the flying eagle as it seeks its prey?


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Would that [He] our mediator were [present], and a reprover, and one who should hear [the cause] between both.


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Weary in my soul, I will pour my words with groans upon Him: I will speak being straitened in the bitterness of my soul.


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Is it good before You if I am unrighteous? For You have disowned the work of Your hands, and attended to the counsel of the ungodly.


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Having these things in Yourself, I know that You can do all things; for nothing is impossible for You.


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Or if I should be ungodly, woe is me: and if I should be righteous, I cannot lift myself up, for I am full of dishonor.


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For I am hunted like a lion for slaughter; for again You have changed and are terribly destroying me;


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renewing against me my torture: and You have dealt with me in great anger, and You have brought trials upon me.


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to a land of perpetual darkness, where there is no light, neither [can anyone] see the life of mortals.


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He that speaks much, should also hear on the other side: or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? Blessed is the short-lived offspring of woman.


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Then shall He declare to you the power of wisdom, for it shall be double of that which is with you; and then shall you know, that a just recompense of your sins has come to you from the Lord.


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Will you find out the traces of the Lord? Or have you come to the end of that which the Almighty has made?


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Heaven is high, and what will you do? And there are deeper things than those in hell; what do you know?


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But man vainly buoys himself up with words, and a mortal born of woman is like a donkey in the desert.


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if there is any iniquity in your hands, put if far from you, and let not unrighteousness lodge in your habitation.


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For thus shall your countenance shine again as pure water; and you shall divest yourself of uncleanness, and shall not fear.


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And you shall be confident, because you have hope, and peace shall dawn to you from out of anxiety and care.


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For you shall be at ease, and there shall be no one to fight against you, and many shall charge, and make supplication to you.


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But safety shall fail them, for their hope is destruction, and the eyes of the ungodly shall waste away.


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For it had been ordained that he should fall under others at the appointed time, and that his houses should be spoiled by transgressors: let not however anyone trust that, being evil, he shall be [held] guiltless,


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But ask now the beasts, if they may speak to you, and the birds of the air, if they may declare to you.


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If He should withhold the water, He will dry the earth: and if He should let it loose, He overthrows and destroys it.


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Causing the nations to wander, and destroying them: overthrowing the nations, and leading them away.


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Perplexing the minds of the princes of the earth, and He causes them to wander in a way, they have not known, [saying],


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For [it were] well if He would thoroughly search you: for though doing all things [in your power] you should attach yourselves to Him,


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Though the Mighty One should lay [His] hand upon me, forasmuch as He has begun, verily I will speak, and plead before Him.


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Will You be startled [at me], as [at] a leaf shaken by the wind? Or will You set Yourself against me as against grass borne upon the breeze?


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And You have placed my foot in the stocks, and You have watched all my works, and have penetrated my heels.


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if even his life should be [but] one day upon the earth, and his months are numbered by him: You have appointed [him] for a time, and he shall by no means exceed it.


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For there is hope for a tree, even if it should be cut down, [that] it shall blossom again, and its branch shall not fail.


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And man that has lain down [in death] shall certainly not rise again till the heaven be dissolved, and they shall not awake from their sleep.


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Oh that You had kept me in the grave, and had hidden me until Your wrath should cease, and You should set me a time in which You would remember me!


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For if a man should die, shall he live again, having accomplished the days of his life? I will wait till I exist again.


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And You have sealed up my transgressions in a bag, and marked if I have been guilty of any transgression unawares.


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The waters wear the stones, and waters falling headlong [overflow] a heap of the earth; so You destroy the hope of man.


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Will a wise man give for answer a [mere] breath of wisdom? And does he fill up the pain of his belly,


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Or have you heard the ordinance of the Lord? Or has God used you as [His] counselor? Has wisdom come [only] to you?


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For who, being a mortal, [is such] that he shall be blameless? Or [who that is] born of a woman, that he should be just?


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All the life of the ungodly [is spent] in care, and the years granted to the oppressor are numbered.


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Let him not trust that he shall return from darkness, for he has been already made over to the power of the sword.


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And he has been appointed to be food for vultures, and he knows within himself that he is doomed to be a carcass: and a dark day shall carry him away as with a whirlwind.


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For he has lifted his hands against the Lord, and he has hardened his neck against the Almighty Lord.


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And let him lodge in desolate cities, and enter into houses without inhabitant: and what they have prepared, others shall carry away.


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Neither shall he grow rich, nor shall his substance remain: he shall not cast a shadow upon the earth.


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And he shall by no means escape the darkness: let the wind blast his blossom, and let his flower fall off.


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And let him be gathered as the unripe grape before the time, and let him fall as the blossom of the olive.


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For death is the witness of an ungodly man, and fire shall burn the houses of them that receive gifts.


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I also will speak as you do- if indeed your soul were in my [soul's] place, [ 16:5] then would I insult you with words, and I would shake my head at you!


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[ 16:7] For if I should speak, I shall not feel the pain of my wound, and if I should be silent, how shall I be wounded any less?


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[ 16:9] My falsehood has become a testimony, and has risen up against me: it has confronted me to my face.


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[ 16:10] In His anger He has cast me down; He has gnashed His teeth upon me: the weapons of His robbers have fallen upon me.


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[ 16:11] He has attacked me with the keen glances of His eyes; with His sharp [spear] He has struck me [down] upon my knees, and they have run upon me with one accord.


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[ 16:12] For the Lord has delivered me into the hands of unrighteous men, and thrown me upon the ungodly.


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[ 16:13] When I was at peace He distracted me: He took me by the hair of the head, and plucked it out: He set me up as a mark.


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[ 16:14] They surrounded me with spears, aiming at my reins: without sparing me they poured out my gall upon the ground.


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[ 16:23] But my years are numbered and [their end] has come, and I shall go by the way by which I shall not return.


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Anger has possessed you: for what if you should die; would [the earth] under heaven be desolate? Or shall the mountains be overthrown from their foundations?


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And let health be utterly banished from his tabernacle, and let distress seize upon him with a charge from the king.


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But strangers shall dwell in his possessions: the last groaned for him, and wonder seized the first.


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How long will you torment my soul, and destroy me with words? Only know that the Lord has dealt with me thus.


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Surely I have erred in truth, (but the error abides with myself) [ 19:4A] in having spoken words which it was not right [to speak]; and my words err, and are unreasonable.


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My brothers have stood far from me; they have recognized strangers [rather] than me: and my friends have become pitiless.


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[and] to raise up upon the earth my skin that endures these [sufferings]: for these things have been accomplished to me of the Lord;


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which I am conscious of in myself, which my eye has seen, and not another, but all have been fulfilled to me in my bosom.


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Beware of deceit for yourselves; for wrath will come upon transgressors; and then shall they know where their substance is.


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For when he shall seem to be established, then he shall utterly perish, and those that knew him shall say, Where is he?


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The eye has looked upon him, but shall not [see him] again; and his place shall no longer perceive him.


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His bones have been filled with the [vigor of] his youth, and it shall lie down with him in the dust.


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[His] wealth unjustly collected shall be vomited up; a messenger of [wrath] shall drag him out of his house.


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He has labored unprofitably and in vain, for wealth of which he shall not taste: it is as a lean thing, unfit for food, which he cannot swallow.


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For he has broken down the houses of many mighty men, and he has plundered a house, though he built it not.


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But when he shall seem to be just satisfied, he shall be straitened; and all distress shall come upon him.


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If by any means he would fill his belly, let [God] send upon him the fury of wrath; let Him bring a torrent of pains upon him.


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And let the arrow pierce through his body; and let the stars be against his dwelling-place: let terrors come upon him.


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And let all darkness wait for him: an unfanned fire shall consume him, and let a stranger plague his house.


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This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of his goods [appointed him] by the all-seeing [God].


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And they remain as an unfailing flock, and their children play before [them], taking up the psaltery and harp;


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What is the Mighty One, that we should serve Him? And what profit is there that we should approach Him?


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Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly also shall be put out, and destruction shall come upon them, and pangs of vengeance shall seize them.


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so that you will say, Where is the house of the prince? And where is the covering of the tabernacles of the ungodly?


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For the wicked hastens to the day of destruction: they shall be led away for the day of His vengeance.


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The stones of the valley have been sweet to him, and every man shall depart after him, and [there are] innumerable [ones] before him.


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For what does it matter to the Lord, if you were blameless in your works? Or is it profitable that you should perfect your way?


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And you have taken [the] security of your brethren for nothing, and have taken away the clothing of the naked.


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And you have accepted the persons of some; and you have established those [that were already settled] on the earth.


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Verily their substance has been utterly destroyed, and the fire shall devour what is left of their [property].


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And if you shall turn and humble yourself before the Lord, you have thus removed unrighteousness far from your habitation.


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You shall lay up for yourself [treasure] in a heap on the rock; and Ophir [shall be] as the rock of the torrent.


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So the Almighty shall be your helper from enemies, and He shall bring you forth [as] pure as silver that has been tried by fire.


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And He shall establish to you again a habitation of righteousness, and there shall be light upon your paths.


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Because you have humbled yourself, and you shall say, Man has behaved proudly, but He shall save him that is of lowly eyes.


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And I would know the remedies which He would speak to me, and I would perceive what He would tell me.


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When He worked on the left hand, then I observed it not: His right hand shall encompass me but I shall not see it.


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And I will go forth according to His commandments, for I have kept His ways; and I shall not turn aside from His commandments,


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And if He too has thus judged, who is he that has contradicted, for He has both willed a thing and done it.


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[ 23:14] Therefore am I troubled at Him; and when I was reproved, I thought of Him. [ 23:15] Therefore let me take good heed before Him: I will consider, and be terrified of Him.


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They have turned aside the weak from the right way, and the meek of the earth have hidden themselves together.


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And they have departed like donkeys in the field, having gone forth on my account according to their own order. His bread is sweet to His little ones.


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They have reaped a field that was not their own before the time; the poor have labored in the vineyards of the ungodly without pay and without food.


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They have caused many naked to sleep without clothes, and they have taken away the covering of their body.


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They are wet with the drops of the mountains; they have embraced the rock, because they had no shelter.


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And they have wrongfully caused [others] to sleep without clothing, and taken away the morsel of the hungry.


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Who have cast forth the poor from the city and their own houses, and the soul of the children has groaned aloud.


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Why then has He not visited these? Forasmuch as they were upon the earth, and took no notice, and they knew not the way of righteousness, neither have they walked in their [appointed] paths?


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But having known their works, He delivered them into darkness; and in the night one will be as a thief.


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And the eye of the adulterer has watched for the darkness, saying, Eye shall not see me, and he puts a covering on his face.


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In darkness he digs through houses; by day they conceal themselves securely; they know not the light.


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For the morning is to them all as the shadow of death, for each will be conscious of the terror of the shadow of death.


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He is swift on the face of the water; let his portion be cursed on the earth, and let their plants be laid bare.


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Then is his sin brought to remembrance, and he vanishes like a vapor of dew; but let what he has done be recompensed to him, and let every unrighteous one be crushed like rotten wood.


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And in wrath he has overthrown the helpless; therefore when he has arisen, a man will not feel secure of his own life.


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For his exaltation has hurt many; but he has withered as mallows in the heat, or as an ear of corn falling off of itself from the stalk.


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For let none think that there is a respite for robbers: and upon whom will there not come a snare from Him?


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For how shall a mortal be just before the Lord? Or who that is born of a woman shall purify himself?


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To whom do you attach yourself, or who are you going to assist? Is it not He that has much strength, and He who has a strong arm?


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To whom have you given counsel? Is it not to Him who has all wisdom? Who will you follow? Is it not the One who has the greatest power?


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He has encompassed the face of the water by an appointed ordinance, until the end of light and darkness.


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Behold, these are parts of His way; and we will hearken to Him at the least intimation of His word: but who knows the strength of His thunder, when He shall employ it?


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but keeping fast to my righteousness, I will by no means let it go: for I am not conscious to myself of having done anything amiss.


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But on the contrary, let my enemies be as the overthrow of the ungodly, and they that rise up against me as the destruction of transgressors.


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For what is the hope of the ungodly, that he holds to it? Will he indeed trust in the Lord and be saved?


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Yet now I will tell you what is in the hand of the Lord: I will not lie concerning the things which are with the Almighty.


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This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, and the possession of oppressors shall come upon them from the Almighty.


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And a burning wind shall catch him, and he shall depart, and it shall utterly drive him out of his place.


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He has set a bound to darkness, and he searches out every limit: a stone is darkness, and the shadow of death.


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There is a cutting off the torrent by reason of dust, so they that forget the right way are weakened; they are removed from among men.


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Coral and fine pearl shall not be mentioned, but do you esteem wisdom above the most precious things.


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I chose out their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the midst of warriors, as one comforting mourners.


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But now the youngest have laughed me to scorn; now they reprove me in their turn, whose fathers I set at nought; whom I did not deem worthy [to be with] my shepherd dogs.


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[One is] childless from want and famine, [such as] they that fled but lately the distress and misery of drought.


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Who compass the salty places on the sounding [shore], who had salt [herbs] for their food, and were dishonorable and of no repute, in need of every good thing; who also ate roots of trees by reason of great hunger.


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For He has opened His quiver and afflicted me: they also have cast off the restraint of my presence.


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They have risen up against me on the right hand of their offspring; they have stretched out their foot, and directed against me the ways of their destruction.


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With great force [my disease] has taken hold of my garment- it has compassed me as the collar of my coat.


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Now what portion has God given from above? And is there an inheritance given of the Mighty One from on high?


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if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if my heart has followed my eye, and if I too have touched gifts with my hands;


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what then shall I do if the Lord should try me? And if also He should at all visit me, can I make an answer?


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But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail.


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and if I also rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:


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(do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? For they have not [power] to [continue]:)


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let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I [should] have lied against the Lord Most High.


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And if my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:


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(for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them:) and if I also permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom-


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(Oh that I had a hearer!) And if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and as to the written charge which I had against anyone,


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and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking from [him],


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then let the thistles come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.


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Then Elihu the son of Barachiel, the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram, of the land of Uz, was angered: and he was very angry with Job, because he justified himself before the Lord.


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And he was also very angry with his three friends, because they were not able to return answers to Job, yet set him down for an ungodly man.


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And Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, and he was angered in his wrath.


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And Elihu the Buzite the son of Barachiel answered and said, I am younger in age, and you are older, therefore I kept silent, fearing to declare to you my own knowledge.


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I have paid close attention to you; and behold, not one of you convinced Job, or answered his words-


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And my belly is as a skin of sweet wine, bound up and ready to burst; or as a brazier's laboring bellows.


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The Divine Spirit is that which formed me, and the breath of the Almighty [is] that which teaches me.


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But you have said in my ears, (I have heard the voice of your words) because you say, I am pure, not having sinned;


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For how do you say, I am righteous, yet He has not listened to me? For He that is above mortals is eternal.


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[sending] a dream, or in the meditation of the night (as when a dreadful alarm happens to fall upon men, while sleeping on the bed),


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Though there should be a thousand messengers of death, not one of them shall wound him: if he should purpose in his heart to turn to the Lord, and declare to man his fault, and show his folly;


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He will support him, that he should not perish, and will restore his body as [fresh] plaster upon a wall; and He will fill his bones with marrow.


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And He will make his flesh tender as that of a babe, and He will restore him among men in his full strength.


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And he shall pray to the Lord, and his prayer shall be accepted by Him; he shall enter with a cheerful countenance, with a full expression [of] [praise]: for He will render to men their due.


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Even then a man shall blame himself, saying, What kind of things have I done? And He has not punished me according to the full amount of my sins.


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[Saying], I have not sinned, nor committed ungodliness, nor had fellowship with workers of iniquity, to go with the ungodly.


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For you should not say, There shall be no visitation of a man, whereas [there is] a visitation on him from the Lord.


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Therefore listen to me, you that are wise in heart: far be it from me to sin before the Lord, and to pervert righteousness before the Almighty.


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And do you think that the Lord will do wrong, or will the Almighty who made the earth pervert judgment?


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He is ungodly that says to a king, You are a transgressor, [that says] to princes, O most ungodly one.


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[Such a one] as would not reverence the face of an honorable man, neither knows how to give honor to the great, so as that their persons should be respected.


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But it shall turn out [as] vanity to them, to cry and beseech a man; for they dealt unlawfully, the poor being turned aside [from their right].


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For the Lord looks down upon all men, who comprehends unsearchable things, glorious also and excellent things without number.


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And He will give quiet, and who will condemn? And He will hide His face, and who shall see Him? Whether it be done against a nation, or against a man, also:


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For there is one that says to the Mighty One, I have received [blessings]; I will not take a pledge:


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Will He take vengeance for it on you, whereas you will put it far [from you]? For you shall choose, and not I; and whatever you know, speak thus.


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that we add not to our sins: for iniquity will be reckoned against us, if we speak many words before the Lord.


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What is this that you think is right? Who are you that you have said, I am righteous before the Lord?


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They that are oppressed of a multitude will be ready to cry out; they will call for help because of the arm of many.


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He beholds them that perform lawless deeds, and He will save me: and do you plead before Him, if you can praise Him, as it is [possible] even now?


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He will not by any means preserve the life of the ungodly, and He will grant the judgment of the poor.


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He will not turn away His eyes from the righteous, but [they shall be] with kings on the throne, and He will establish them in triumph, and they shall be exalted.


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And He shall recount to them their works, and their transgressions, for such will act with violence.


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If they should hear and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honor.


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But He preserves not the ungodly; because they are not willing to know the Lord, and because, when reproved, they were disobedient.


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And the hypocrites in heart will array wrath [against themselves]; they will not cry, because He has bound them.


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[there is] a deep gulf and a rushing stream beneath it, and your table came down full of fatness. Judgment shall not fail from the righteous,


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but there shall be wrath upon the ungodly, by reason of the ungodliness of the bribes which they received for iniquities.


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The ancient heavens shall flow, and the clouds overshadow innumerable mortals: [ 36:28A] He has fixed a time to cattle, and they know the order of rest. [ 36:28B] Yet by all these things your understanding is not astonished, neither is your mind disturbed in your body.


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The Lord will declare concerning this to His friend: [but there is] a portion also for unrighteousness.


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After Him shall be a cry with a loud voice; He shall thunder with the voice of His excellency, yet He shall not cause men to pass away, for one shall hear His voice.


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The Mighty One shall thunder wonderfully with His voice: for He has done great things which we knew not;


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for He says to the snow, Fall on the earth, and the stormy rain, and the storm of the showers of His might.


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And from the breath of the Mighty One He will send frost; and He guides the water in whatever way He pleases.


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And He will carry round the encircling clouds by His governance, to perform their works: whatsoever He shall command them,


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this has been appointed by Him on the earth, whether for correction, or for His land, or if He shall find him [an object] for mercy.


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Will you establish with Him foundations for the ancient heavens? They are [as] strong as a cast iron mirror.


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But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from Him in the clouds.


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and we do not find another His equal in strength: as for Him that judges justly, do you not think that He listens?


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And after Elihu had ceased from speaking, the Lord spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds, [saying],


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Who is this that hides counsel from Me, and confines words in [his] heart, and thinks to conceal [them] from Me?


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And I said to it, To this point you shall come, but you shall not go beyond, but your waves shall be confined within you.


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Or did I order the morning light in your time; and did the morning star [then first] see his appointed place;


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Or did you take [the] clay of the ground, and form a living creature [with it], and set it with the power of speech upon the earth?


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And do the gates of death open to you out of fear; and did the porters of hell quake when they saw you?


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And have you been instructed in the breadth of the [whole earth] under heaven? Tell me now, what is the extent of it?


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And is there a store of them, for you against the time of your enemies, for the day of wars and battle?


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And from where proceeds the frost? Or where is the south wind dispersed over the whole world under heaven?


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to rain upon the land where there is no man, the wilderness, where there is not a man in it; so as to feed the untrodden and uninhabited land,


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And will you send lightnings, and they shall go? And shall they say to you, What is [your pleasure]?


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And who has prepared food for the raven? For its young ones wander and cry to the Lord, in search of food.


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[Say] if you know the time of the bringing forth of the wild goats of the rock, and if you have marked the calving of the hinds:


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and if you have numbered the full months of their being with young, and if you have relieved their pangs:


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Their young will break forth; they will be multiplied with offspring: [their young] will go forth, and will not return to them.


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She has hardened herself against her young ones, as though she bereaved not herself: she labors in vain without fear.


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And when the trumpet sounds, he says, Aha! And afar off, he smells the war with prancing and neighing.


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And does the hawk remain steady by your wisdom, having spread out her wings unmoved, looking toward the region of the south?


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And his young ones roll themselves in blood, and wherever the carcasses may be, immediately they are found.


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[ 39:32] Will [anyone] pervert judgment with the Mighty One? And he that reproves God, let him answer it.


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[ 39:34] Why do I yet plead? Being rebuked even while reproving the Lord: hearing such things, whereas I am nothing: and what shall I answer to these [arguments]? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.


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[ 40:3] Do not set aside My judgment: and do you think that I have dealt with you in any other way, than that you might appear to be righteous?


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[ 40:17] And the great trees make a shadow over him with their branches, and so do the bushes of the field.


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[ 40:18] If there should be a flood, he will not perceive it; he trusts that the Jordan will rush up into his mouth.


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[ 40:19] [Yet one] shall take him in his sight; one shall catch him with a cord, and pierce his nose.


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[ 40:26] And all the ships come together would not be able to bear the mere skin of his tail, neither [shall they carry] his head in fishing vessels.


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[ 40:27] But you shall lay your hand upon him once, remembering the war that is waged by his mouth; and let it not be done anymore.


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[ 41:3] I will not be silent because of him: though because of his power one shall pity his antagonist.


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[ 41:4] Who will open the face of his garment? And who can enter within the fold of his breastplate?


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[ 41:8] They will remain united each to the other: they are closely joined, and cannot be separated.


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[ 41:10] Out of his mouth proceed as it were burning lamps, and as it were hearths of fire are cast abroad.


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[ 41:14] The flesh also of his body is joined together: if one pours violence upon him, he shall not be moved.


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[ 41:16] And when he turns, [he is] a terror to the four-footed wild beasts which leap upon the earth.


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[ 41:17] If spears should come against him, men will effect nothing, [neither with] the spear or the breast plate.


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[ 41:21] His lair is [formed of] sharp points, and all the gold of the sea under him is an immense [quantity] of clay.


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For who is he that hides counsel from You? Or who keeps back his words, and thinks to hide them from You? And who will tell me what I knew not, great and wonderful things which I understood not?


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And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, You have sinned, and your two friends, for you have not said anything true before Me, as My servant Job has.


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Now then take seven bullocks, and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and he shall offer a burnt offering for you. And My servant Job shall pray for you, for I will only accept him: for but his sake, I would have destroyed you, for you have not spoken the truth against My servant Job.


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So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Minaean, went and did as the Lord commanded them: and He pardoned their sin for the sake of Job.


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And the Lord prospered Job. And when he prayed also for his friends, He forgave them [their] sin: and the Lord gave Job twice as much, even double of what he had before.


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And all his brothers and sisters heard all that had happened to him, and they came to him, and so did all that had known him from the first; and they ate and drank with him, and comforted him, and wondered at all that the Lord had brought upon him: and each one gave him a lamb, and four drachmas of gold, even of unstamped [gold].


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And the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning: and his livestock consisted of fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys of the pastures.


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And there were not found in comparison with the daughters of Job, fairer [women] than they in all the world: and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.


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And Job lived after his affliction one hundred and seventy years: and all the years he lived were two hundred and forty: and Job saw his sons and his sons' sons, [to] the fourth generation.


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And Job died, an old man and full of days: [ 42:17A] and it is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up. [ 42:17B] This man is described in the Syriac book as living in the land of Uz, on the borders of Edom and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; [ 42:17C] and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraham. [ 42:17D] And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balak, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balak, Jobab, who is called Job, and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Teman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Midian in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. [ 42:17E] And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thaemanites, Bildad sovereign of the Sauchaeans, and Zophar king of the Minaeans.


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Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of evil men.


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And he shall be as a tree planted by the brooks of waters, which shall yield its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall off; and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.


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Not so [for] the ungodly- not so; but rather as the chaff which the wind scatters away from the face of the earth.


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The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against His Christ;


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declaring the ordinance of the Lord: the Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You.


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Ask of Me, and I shall give You the nations [for] Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth [for] Your possession.


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Accept correction, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you should perish from the righteous way. Whenever His wrath shall be suddenly kindled, blessed are all they that trust in Him.


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A Psalm of David, when he fled from the presence of his son Absalom. O Lord, why are they that afflict me multiplied? Many rise up against me.


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Arise, O Lord; deliver me, my God; for You have struck all who were my enemies without cause; You have broken the teeth of sinners.


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For the end, A Song of David among the Psalms. When I called upon [Him], the God of my righteousness heard me; You have made room for me in tribulation; pity me, and hearken to my prayer.


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O you sons of men, how long [will you be] slow to hear? Why do you love vanity, and seek falsehood? Pause.


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But know that the Lord has done wondrous things for His holy one: the Lord will hear me when I cry to Him.


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Many say, Who will show us good things? The light of Your countenance, O Lord, has been manifested towards us.


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You have put gladness into my heart: they have been satisfied with the fruit of their grain and wine and oil.


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For the end, A Psalm of David, concerning her that inherits. Hearken to my words, O Lord, attend to my cry.


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Neither shall the transgressors continue in Your sight. You hate, O Lord, all them that work iniquity.


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But I will enter into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; I will worship in Your fear toward Your holy temple.


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For there is no truth in their mouth; their heart is vain; their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have used deceit.


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Judge them, O God; let them fail of their counsels: cast them out according to the abundance of their ungodliness; for they have provoked You, O Lord.


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But let all that trust in You be glad in You: they shall rejoice forever, and You shall dwell among them; and all that love Your name shall rejoice in You.


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For the end, A Psalm of David among the Hymns for the eighth. O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, neither chasten me in Your anger.


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Let all my enemies be put to shame and greatly troubled: let them be turned back and grievously put to shame speedily.


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A Psalm of David, which he sang to the Lord because of the words of Cush the Benjamite. O Lord my God, in You have I trusted: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me,


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if I have requited with evil those who requited me [with good]; may I then perish empty by means of my enemies.


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Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; and let him trample my life on the ground, and lay my glory in the dust. Pause.


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Arise, O Lord, in Your wrath; be exalted in the utmost boundaries of my enemies: awake, O Lord my God, according to the decree which You did command.


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The Lord shall judge the nations: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to my innocence that is in me.


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Oh let the wickedness of sinners come to an end; and [then] You shall direct the righteous, O God that searches the hearts and minds.


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Behold, [the wicked] has travailed with unrighteousness; he has conceived trouble, and has brought forth iniquity.


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I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness; I will sing to the name of the Lord Most High.


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For the end, concerning the winepresses, A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Your name in all the earth! For Your magnificence is exalted above the heavens.


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Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have perfected praise, because of Your enemies; that You might put down the enemy and avenger.


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For I will regard the heavens, the work of Your fingers; the moon and stars, which You have established.


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the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, the [creatures] passing through the paths of the sea.


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For the end, A Psalm of David, concerning the secrets of the Son. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all Your wonderful works.


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You have rebuked the nations, and the ungodly one has perished; You have blotted out their name forever, even forever and ever.


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The swords of the enemy have failed utterly; and you have destroyed cities: their memorial has been destroyed with a noise,


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And let them that know Your name hope in You- for You, O Lord, have not failed them that diligently seek You.


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For He remembered them, [in] making inquisition for blood; He has not forgotten the supplication of the poor.


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Have mercy upon me, O Lord; look upon my affliction [which I suffer] from my enemies, You that lift me up from the gates of death:


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that I may declare all Your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in Your salvation.


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The heathen are caught in the destruction which they planned: in the very snare which they hid is their foot taken.


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For the poor shall not be forgotten forever; the patience of the needy ones shall not perish forever.


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While the ungodly one acts proudly, the poor is hotly pursued; [the wicked] are taken in the crafty counsels which they imagine.


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Because the sinner praises himself for the desires of his heart; and the unjust one blesses himself.


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The sinner has provoked the Lord: according to the abundance of his pride he will not seek after [Him]; God is not before him.


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His ways are profane at all times; Your judgments are removed from before him: he will gain the mastery over all his enemies.


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For he has said in his heart, I shall not be moved, [continuing] without adversity from generation to generation.


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He lies in wait with rich [men] in secret places, in order to slay the innocent: his eyes are set against the poor.


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He lies in wait in secret as a lion in his den: he lies in wait to ravish the poor, to ravish the poor when he draws him [after him]: he will bring him down in his snare.


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You see [it]; for You observe trouble and wrath, to deliver them into Your hands; the poor has been left to You; You are a helper to the orphan.


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to plead for the orphan and afflicted, that man may no more boast upon the earth. [In the Septuagint, Psalms 9 and 10 are combined, and the Psalm numbers differ from this point on. [The Apostles' Bible] follows the traditional Psalm divisions, to avoid confusion.]


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For the end, A Psalm of David. In the Lord I have put my trust: how will you say to my soul, Flee to the mountains as a sparrow?


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For behold the sinners have bent their [bow], they have prepared their arrows for the quiver, to shoot secretly at the upright in heart.


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The Lord is in His holy temple; as for the Lord, His throne is in heaven: His eyes look upon the poor, His eyelids test the sons of men.


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He shall rain upon sinners snares, fire, and brimstone, and a stormy blast [shall be] the portion of their cup.


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For the end, A Psalm of David, upon the eighth. Save me, O Lord; for the godly man has failed; for truth is diminished from among the children of men.


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Everyone has spoken vanity to his neighbor: their lips are deceitful, they have spoken with a double heart.


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Because of the misery of the poor, and because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, says the Lord, I will set [them] in safety; I will speak [to them] openly.


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The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles; as silver tried in the fire, proved [in] a furnace of earth, purified seven times.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord, will You forget me? Forever? How long will You turn away Your face from me?


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How long shall I take counsel in my soul, [having] sorrows in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?


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lest at any time my enemy say, I have prevailed against him: my persecutors will exalt if ever I should be moved.


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I will sing to the Lord who has dealt bountifully with me, and I will sing psalms to the name of the Lord Most High.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted [themselves], and have become abominable in their devices; there is none that does good, there is not so much as one.


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The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after God.


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They have all gone out of the way, they have together become corrupt, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.


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Will not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they would eat bread? They have not called upon the Lord.


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Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Zion? When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice, and Israel be glad.


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A Psalm of David. O Lord, who shall sojourn in Your tabernacle? And who shall dwell in Your holy mountain?


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Who has not spoken craftily with his tongue, neither has done evil to his neighbor, nor taken up a reproach against them that dwell nearest to him.


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In his sight an evil worker is set at nought, but he honors them that fear the Lord. He swears to his neighbor, and disappoints [him] not.


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He has not lent his money on usury, and has not received bribes against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.


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Their weaknesses have been multiplied; afterward they hastened. I will by no means assemble their bloody meetings, neither will I make mention of their names with my lips.


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The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: You are He that restores my inheritance to me.


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because You will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.


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You have made known to me the ways of life; You will fill me with joy with Your countenance: at Your right hand [there are] delights forever.


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A Prayer of David. Hearken, O Lord of my righteousness, attend to my petition; give ear to my prayer not [uttered] with deceitful lips.


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You has tested my heart; You have visited [me] in the night; You have tried me as with fire, and unrighteousness has not been found in me; [I am purposed] that my mouth shall not speak [amiss.]


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Keep me as the apple of Your eye from those that resist Your right hand; You shall screen me by the covering of Your wings,


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They have now cast me out and compassed me round about. They have set their eyes [so as] to bow them down to the ground.


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They laid wait for me as a lion ready for prey, and like a lion's whelp dwelling in secret [places].


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Arise, O Lord, prevent them, and cast them down; deliver my soul from the ungodly; [draw] Your sword,


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because of the enemies of Your hand. O Lord, destroy them from the earth; scatter them in their life, though their belly has been filled with Your hidden [treasures]; they have been satisfied with uncleanness, and have left the remnant [of their possessions] to their babes.


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For the end, [A Psalm] of David, the servant of the Lord; [the words] which he spoke to the Lord, [even] the words of this song, in the day in which the Lord delivered him out the hand of all his enemies, and out the hand of Saul. And he said: I will love You, O Lord, my strength.


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The Lord is my firm support, and my refuge, and my deliverer; my God is my helper, I will hope in Him; [He is] my defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my helper.


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And when I was afflicted I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: He heard my voice out of His holy temple, and my cry shall enter before Him, into His ears.


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Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them.


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There went up a smoke in His wrath, and fire burst into a flame at His presence; coals were kindled at it.


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And He made darkness His secret place; round about Him was His tabernacle, [even] dark water in the clouds of the air.


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And the springs of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O Lord, at the blasting of the breath of Your wrath.


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He will deliver me from my mighty enemies, and from them that hate me; for they are stronger than I.


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And the Lord shall recompense me according to my righteousness; even according to the purity of my hands shall He recompense me.


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And the Lord shall recompense me according to my righteousness, and according to the purity of my hands before His eyes.


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[As for] my God, His way is perfect: the oracles of the Lord are tried in the fire; He is a protector of all them that hope in Him.


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And You have made me secure in my salvation; and Your right hand has helped me, and Your correction has upheld me to the end; yea, Your correction itself shall instruct me.


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For You have girded me with strength for war; You have beaten down under me all that rose up against me.


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Deliver me from the gain sayings of the people; You shall make me head of the Gentiles: a people whom I knew not served me,


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my deliverer from angry enemies; You shall set me on high above them that rise up against me; You shall deliver me from the unrighteous man.


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[God] magnifies the deliverances of His king; and deals mercifully with David His anointed, and His seed, forever.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands.


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In the sun He has set His tabernacle; and He came forth as a bridegroom out of His chamber; He will exalt as a giant to run His course.


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His going forth is from the extremity of heaven, and His circuit to the [other] end of heaven; and no one shall be hidden from His heat.


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The law of the Lord is perfect, converting souls; the testimony of the Lord is faithful, instructing babes.


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The ordinances of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes.


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The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, [and] justified altogether.


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And spare Your servant [from the attack] of strangers; if they do not gain the dominion over me, then shall I be blameless, and I shall be clear from great sin.


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So shall the sayings of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing continually before You, O Lord my helper, and my redeemer.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. May the Lord hear you in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend you.


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We will rejoice in Your salvation, and in the name of our God shall we be magnified: May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.


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Now I know that the Lord has saved His Christ; He shall hear Him from His holy heaven: the salvation of His right hand is mighty.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. O Lord, the king shall rejoice in Your strength; and in Your salvation he shall greatly exalt.


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You have granted him the desire of his soul, and have not withheld from him the request of his lips. Pause.


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For You have blessed him with blessings of goodness; You have set upon his head a crown of precious stone.


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For You will give him a blessing forever and ever; You will gladden him with joy with Your countenance.


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You shall make them as a fiery oven at the time of Your presence; the Lord shall trouble them in His anger, and fire shall devour them.


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For they intended evil against You; they imagined a device which they shall by no means be able to perform.


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For the end, concerning the morning aid, A Psalm of David. O God, my God, attend to me; why have You forsaken me? The account of my transgressions is far from my salvation.


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O my God, I will cry to You by day, but You will not hear; and by night, and [it shall] not [be reckoned] to me [as] folly.


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I am poured out like water, and all My bones are loosened; My heart in the midst of My belly has become like melting wax.


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My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and My tongue is glued to My throat; and You have brought Me down to the dust of death.


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For many dogs have compassed Me; the assembly of the evildoers has enclosed Me; they pierced My hands and My feet.


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You that fear the Lord, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him; let all the seed of Israel fear Him.


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For He has not despised nor been angry at the supplication of the poor; nor turned away His face from Me; but when I cried to Him, He heard Me.


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The poor shall eat and be satisfied; and they shall praise the Lord that seek Him; their heart shall live forever.


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All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him.


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All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and worshipped; all that go down to the earth shall fall down before Him; my soul also lives to him.


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Yea, though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.


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You have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; and Your cup cheers me like the best [wine].


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Your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.


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A Psalm of David on the first day of the week. The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness; the world, and all that dwell in it.


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He that is innocent in his hands and pure in his heart; who has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbor.


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Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.


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Lift up your gates, you princes; and be lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.


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O my God, I have trusted in You; let me not be confounded, neither let my enemies laugh me to scorn.


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For none of them that wait on You shall in any way be ashamed; let them be ashamed that transgress without cause.


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Lead me in Your truth, and teach me; for You are God my Savior; and I have waited on You all the day.


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Remember not the sins of my youth, nor [my sins] of ignorance; remember me according to Your mercy, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord.


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[A Psalm] of David. Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in my innocence; and hoping in the Lord I shall not be moved.


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[A Psalm] of David, before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?


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When evildoers drew near against me to eat up my flesh, my persecutors and my enemies, they fainted and fell.


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Though an army should set itself in array against me, my heart shall not be afraid; Though war should rise up against me, in this am I confident.


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One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I earnestly seek; that I should dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, that I should behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and survey His temple.


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For in the day of my afflictions He hid me in His tabernacle; He sheltered me in the secret of His tabernacle; He set me up on a rock.


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And now, behold, He has lifted up my head over my enemies; I went round and offered in His tabernacle the sacrifice of joy; I will sing, [I will] sing psalms unto the Lord.


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Turn not Your face away from me, turn not away from Your servant in anger; be my helper, forsake me not; and, O God my Savior, overlook me not.


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Deliver me not over to the desire of them that afflict me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me, and injustice has lied within herself.


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[A Psalm] of David. To You, O Lord, have I cried; my God, be not silent toward me; lest You be silent toward me, and so I should be likened to them that go down to the pit.


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Hearken to the voice of my supplication, when I pray to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy temple.


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Draw not away my soul with sinners, and destroy me not with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors, but evil are in their hearts.


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Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them according to the works of their hands; render their recompense unto them.


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Because they have not attended to the works of the Lord, even to the works of His hands, You shall pull them down, and shall not build them up.


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The Lord is my helper and my defender; my heart has hoped in Him, and I am helped; my flesh has revived, and willingly will I give praise to Him.


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A Psalm of David, [on the occasion] of the solemn assembly of the Tabernacle. Bring to the Lord, you sons of God, bring to the Lord young rams; bring to the Lord glory and honor.


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The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory has thundered; the Lord is upon many waters.


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And He will beat them small, [even] Lebanon itself, like a calf; and the beloved one is as a young unicorn.


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The voice of the Lord strengthens the deer, and will uncover the thickets; and in His temple everyone speaks [of His] glory.


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For the end, A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will exalt You, O Lord; for You have lifted me up, and not caused my enemies to rejoice over me.


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O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Hades, You have delivered me from [among] them that go down to the pit.


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For anger is in His wrath, but life in His favor; weeping shall tarry for the evening, but joy comes in the morning.


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O Lord, in Your good pleasure You added strength to my beauty; but You turned away Your face, and I was troubled.


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What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to destruction? Shall the dust give praise to You? Or shall it declare Your truth?


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You have turned my mourning into joy for me; You have removed my sackcloth, and have clothed me with gladness;


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that my glory may sing praise to You, and I may not be pierced [with sorrow]. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.


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For the end, A Psalm of David, [an utterance] of extreme fear. O Lord, I have hoped in You; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness and rescue me.


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Incline Your ear to me; make haste to rescue me; be to me my protecting God, and a fortress of defense to save me.


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For You are my strength and my refuge; and You shall guide me for Your name's sake, and maintain me.


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You shall bring me out of the snare which they have hidden for me; for You, O Lord, are my defender.


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I will exalt and be glad in Your mercy; for You have looked upon my affliction; You have saved my soul from distresses.


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For my life is spent with grief, and my years with groanings; my strength has been weakened through poverty, and my bones are troubled.


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I became a reproach among all my enemies, but exceedingly so to my neighbors, and a fear to my acquaintance; they that saw me outside fled from me.


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For I heard the slander of many that dwelt round about; when they were gathered together against me, they took counsel to take my life.


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O Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I have called upon You; let the ungodly be ashamed, and brought down to Hades.


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Let the deceitful lips become dumb, which speak iniquity against the righteous with pride and scorn.


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How abundant is the multitude of Your goodness, O Lord, which You have laid up for them that fear You! You have wrought [it] out for them that hope on You, in the presence of the sons of men.


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You will hide them in the secret of Your presence from the vexation of man; You will screen them in a tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.


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But I said in my extreme fear, I am cast out from the sight of Your eyes; therefore You listened, O Lord, to the voice of my supplication when I cried to You.


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Love the Lord, all you His saints; for the Lord seeks [those that are] truthful, and He recompenses them that deal very proudly.


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[A Psalm] of instruction by David. Blessed [are they] whose transgressions are forgiven, and who sins are covered.


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For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; I became thoroughly miserable while a thorn was fastened in [me]. Pause.


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I acknowledged my sin, and hid not my iniquity; I said, I will confess my iniquity to the Lord; and You forgave the ungodliness of my heart. Pause.


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Therefore shall every holy one pray to You in a fit time; only in the deluge of many waters they shall not come near to Him.


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You are my refuge from the affliction that encompasses me; my joy, to deliver me from them that have compassed me. Pause.


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Be not as the horse and mule, which have no understanding; [but you must] constrain their jaws with bit and bridle, lest they should come near to you.


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Be glad in the Lord, and exalt, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you that are upright in heart!


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By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the breath of His [mouth].


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The Lord frustrates the counsels of the nations; He brings to nought the reasonings of the people, and brings to nought the counsels of princes.


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But the counsel of the Lord endures forever, the thoughts of His heart from generation to generation.


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A king is not saved by reason of a great host; and a giant shall not be delivered by the greatness of his strength.


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[A Psalm] of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he departed. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be continually in my mouth.


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The rich have become poor and hungry; but they that seek the Lord diligently shall not lack any good thing. Pause.


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but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord hearkened to them,


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Bring forth a sword, and stop [the way] against them that persecute me; say to my soul, I am your salvation.


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Let them that seek my soul be ashamed and confounded; let them that devise evils against me be turned back and put to shame.


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For without cause they have hid for me their destructive snare; without a cause they have reproached my soul.


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Let a snare which they know not come upon them; and the net which they hid take them; and let them fall into the very same snare.


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All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like You? Delivering the poor out of the hand of them that are stronger than he, yea, the poor and needy one from them that spoil him.


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But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer shall return to my [own] bosom.


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I behaved agreeably towards them as [if it had been] our neighbor [or] brother; I humbled myself as one mourning and sad of countenance.


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Yet they rejoiced against me, and plagues were plentifully brought against me, and I knew [it] not; they were scattered, but repented not.


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O Lord, when will You look upon me? Deliver my soul from their mischief, my only begotten one from the lions.


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Let not them that are my enemies rejoice against me without a cause; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes.


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Judge me, O Lord, according to Your righteousness, O Lord my God; and let them not rejoice against me.


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Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, aha, [it is pleasing] to our soul; neither let them say, We have devoured him.


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Let them be confounded and ashamed together that rejoice at my afflictions; let them be clothed with shame and confusion that speak great swelling words against me.


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Let them that rejoice in my righteousness exalt and be glad; and let them say continually, The Lord be magnified, who desires the peace of His servant.


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For the end, [A Psalm], by David the servant of the Lord. The transgressor, that he may sin, says within himself, [that] there is no fear of God before his eyes.


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The words of his mouth are transgression and deceit; he is not inclined to understand [how] to do good.


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Your righteousness is as the mountains of God, Your judgments are as a great deep; O Lord, You will preserve men and beasts.


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How have You multiplied Your mercy, O God! So the children of men shall trust in the shelter of Your wings.


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They shall be fully satisfied with the fatness of Your house; and You shall cause them to drink of the full stream of Your delights.


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Submit yourself to the Lord, and make supplication to Him; do not fret because of him that prospers in his way, at the man that does unlawful deeds.


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And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and you shall seek for his place, and shall not find [it].


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Sinners have drawn their swords; they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, [and] to slay the upright in heart.


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For the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honored and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke.


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For those that bless Him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse Him shall be utterly destroyed.


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I was [once] young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.


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For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake His saints; they shall be preserved forever; the blameless shall be avenged, but the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.


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Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you shall see [it].


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But the transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together; the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.


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But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; and He is their defender in the time of affliction.


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And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; and He shall rescue them from sinners, and save them, because they have hoped in Him.


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A Psalm of David for remembrance concerning the Sabbath day. O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, neither chasten me in Your anger.


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For there is no health in my flesh because of Your anger; there is no peace to my bones because of my sins.


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For my transgressions have gone over my head; they have pressed heavily upon me like a weighty burden.


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My friends and my neighbors drew near before me, and stood sill; and my nearest of kin stood afar off.


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While they pressed hard upon me that sought my soul; and they that sought my hurt spoke vanities, and devised deceits all the day.


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For I said, Lest my enemies rejoice against me; for when my feet were moved, they spoke boastfully against me.


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For the end, A Song of David, to Jeduthun. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I set a guard on my mouth, while the sinner stood in my presence.


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Behold, You have made my days old; and my existence [is] as nothing before You; indeed, every man living [is] altogether vanity. Pause.


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Surely man walks in a shadow; nay, he is disquieted in vain; he lays up treasures, and knows not for whom he shall gather them.


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You chasten man with rebukes for iniquity, and You make his life to consume away like a spider's web; nay, every man is disquieted in vain. Pause.


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O Lord, hearken to my prayer and my supplication; attend to my tears; be not silent, for I am a sojourner in the land, and a stranger, as all my fathers [were].


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For the end, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; and He attended to me, and hearkened to my supplication.


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And He brought me up out of a pit of misery, and from miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.


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And He put a new song into my mouth, [even] a hymn to our God; many shall see [it] and fear, and shall hope in the Lord.


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Blessed [is] the man whose hope is in the name of the Lord, and [who] has not regarded vanities, nor turned aside to lies.


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O Lord my God, You have multiplied Your wonderful works, and in Your thoughts there is none who shall be likened to You; I declared and spoke [of them]; they exceeded in number.


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Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; but a body You have prepared for me; whole burnt offering and [sacrifice] for sin You did not require.


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I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo! I will not refrain my lips; O Lord, You know my righteousness.


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I have not hid Your truth within my heart, and I have declared Your salvation; I have not hid Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.


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But You, O Lord, remove not Your compassion far from me; Your mercy and Your truth have helped me continually.


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For innumerable evils have encompassed me; my transgressions have taken hold of me, and I could not see; they are multiplied more than the hairs of my head; and my heart has failed me.


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Let those that seek my soul, to destroy it, be ashamed and confounded together; let those that wish me evil be turned backward and put to shame.


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Let all those that seek You, O Lord, exalt and rejoice in You; and let them that love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified!


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But I am poor and needy; the Lord will take care of me; You are my helper, and my defender, O my God; do not delay.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. Blessed [is the man] who thinks on the poor and needy; the Lord shall deliver him in an evil day.


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May the Lord preserve him and keep him alive, and bless him on the earth, and not deliver him into the hands of his enemy.


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And if he came to see [me], his heart spoke vainly; he gathered iniquity to himself; he went forth and spoke in like manner.


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For the end, [A Psalm] of instruction, for the sons of Korah. As the deer earnestly desires the fountains of water, so my soul earnestly longs for You, O God.


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I remembered these things, and poured out my soul in me, for I will go to the place of Your wondrous tabernacle, [even] to the house of God, with a voice of exaltation and thanksgiving and of the sound of those who keep festival.


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Why are you downcast, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God; for I will give thanks to Him; [He is] the salvation of my countenance.


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O my God, my soul has been troubled within me; therefore will I remember You from the land of the Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the little hill.


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Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your billows and Your waves have gone over me.


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By day the Lord will command His mercy, and manifest [it] by night; with me [is] prayer to the God of my life.


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I will say to God, You are my helper; why have You forgotten me? Why do I mourn, while the enemy oppresses [me]?


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While my bones were breaking, they that afflicted me reproached me; while they said to me daily, Where is your God?


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God; for I will give thanks to Him; [He is] the health of my countenance, and my God.


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A Psalm of David. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause, against an ungodly nation; deliver me from the unjust and crafty;


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for You are my strength; why have You cast me off? And why do I go mourning, while the enemy oppresses [me]?


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Send forth Your light and Your truth; they have led me, and brought me to Your holy mountain, and to Your tabernacle.


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And I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gladdens my youth; I will give thanks to You on the harp, O God, my God.


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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why do you trouble me? Hope in God; for I will give thanks to Him, [who is] the health of my countenance, [and] my God.


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For the end, A Psalm for instruction, for the sons of Korah. O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, the deeds which You did in their days, in the days of old.


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Your hand utterly destroyed the heathen, and You planted them; You afflicted the nations, and cast them out.


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For they inherited not the land by their [own] sword, and their [own] arm did not deliver them; but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You were well pleased with them.


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In You will we push down our enemies, and in Your name will we bring to nought them that rise up against us.


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All these things have come upon us; but we have not forgotten You, neither have we dealt unrighteously in Your covenant.


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If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread out our hands to a strange god; shall not God search these things out?


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For the end, for alternate [strains] by the sons of Korah; for instruction, A song concerning the beloved. My heart has uttered a good matter; I declare my works to the king; my tongue is the pen of a quick writer.


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You are more beautiful than the sons of men; grace has been shed forth on Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever.


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and bend [Your bow], and prosper, and reign, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Your right hand shall guide You wonderfully.


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Your weapons are sharpened, O Mighty One, (the nations shall fall under You) [they are] in the heart of the king's enemies.


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Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Your kingdom is the scepter of righteousness.


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You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness beyond Your companions.


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with which kings' daughters have gladdened You for Your honor; the queen stood by on Your right hand, clothed in vesture wrought with gold, and arrayed in many colors.


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And the daughter of Tyre shall adorn Him with gifts; the rich of the people of the land shall supplicate your favor.


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in embroidered [clothing]; virgins shall be brought to the king after her; her fellows shall be brought to You.


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They shall make mention of Your name from generation to generation; therefore shall the nations give thanks to You forever, even forever and ever.


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For the end, for the sons of Korah; A Psalm concerning secret things. God is our refuge and strength, a help in the afflictions that have come heavily upon us.


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Therefore will we not fear when the earth is troubled, and the mountains are removed into the depths of the seas.


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Putting an end to wars as to the ends of the earth; He will crush the bow, and break in pieces the weapon, and burn the bucklers with fire.


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Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.


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For the end, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with a voice of exaltation.


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The rulers of the people are assembled with the God of Abraham; for God's mighty ones of the earth have been greatly exalted.


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A Psalm of praise for the sons of Korah on the second [day] of the week. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.


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The city of the great King is well planted [on] the mountains of Zion, with the joy of the whole earth, [on] the sides of the north.


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As we have heard, so have we also seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God has founded it forever. Pause.


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According to Your name, O God, so is also Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.


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For the end, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear these words, all you nations, give ear, all you that dwell upon the earth;


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When he shall see wise men dying, the fool and the senseless one shall perish together; and they shall leave their wealth to strangers.


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And their tombs are their houses forever, [even] their tabernacles to all generations; they have called their lands after their own names.


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And man being in honor, understands not; he is compared to the senseless cattle, and is likened unto them.


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They have laid [them] as sheep in Hades; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning, and their help shall fail in Hades from their glory.


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Man that is in honor, understands not; he is compared to the senseless cattle, and is likened unto them.


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A Psalm of Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down.


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God, our God, shall come manifestly, and shall not keep silent; a fire shall be kindled before Him, and round about Him there shall be a very great tempest.


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I will not reprove you on account of your sacrifices; for your whole burnt offerings are before Me continually.


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And call upon Me in the day of affliction; and I shall deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. Pause.


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But to the sinner God has said, Why do you declare My ordinances, and take up My covenant in your mouth?


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These things you did, and I kept silent; you thought wickedly that I should be like you, [but] I will reprove you, and set [your offenses] before you.


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Now consider these things, all you that forget God, lest He tear [you], and there be none to deliver.


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The sacrifice of praise will glorify Me; and that is the way in which I will show to him the salvation of God.


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For the end, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, when he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; and according to the multitude of Your compassions, blot out my transgression.


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Against You alone have I sinned, and done evil before You; that You might be justified in Your words, and might overcome when You are judged.


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You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be purified; You shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.


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Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; [and] my tongue shall joyfully declare Your righteousness.


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For if You desired sacrifice, I would have given [it]; You will not take pleasure in whole burnt offerings.


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Then shall You be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, offering, and whole burnt sacrifices; then shall they offer calves upon Your altar.


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For the end, [A Psalm] of instruction by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, David has gone to the house of Abimelech. Why do you, O mighty man, boast of iniquity in your mischief? All the day


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You have loved wickedness more than goodness; unrighteousness better than to speak righteousness. Pause.


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Therefore may God destroy you forever, may He pluck you up and utterly remove you from [your] dwelling, and your root from the land of the living. Pause.


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Behold, the man who made not God his help; but trusted in the abundance of his wealth, and strengthened himself in his vanity.


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But I am as a fruitful olive in the house of God; I have trusted in the mercy of God forever, even forevermore.


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I will give thanks to You forever, for You have done [it]; and I will wait on Your name; for [it is] good before the saints.


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For the end, [A Psalm] of David upon Mahalath, of instruction. The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They have corrupted [themselves,] and have become abominable in iniquities; there is none that does good.


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God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any that understood, or sought after God.


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They have all gone out of the way, they have together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, there is not even one.


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Will none of the workers of iniquity know, who devour My people as they would eat bread? They have not called upon God. There were they greatly afraid, where there was no fear;


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Who will bring the salvation of Israel out of Zion? When the Lord turns the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.


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For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Lo, is not David hiding with us? Save me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your might.


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For strangers have risen up against me, and mighty men have sought my life; they have not set God before them. Pause.


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For You have delivered me out of all [my] afflictions, and my eye has seen [its desire] upon my enemies.


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For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David. Hearken, O God, to my prayer; and disregard not my supplication.


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because of the voice of the enemy, and because of the oppression of the sinner; for they brought iniquity against me, and were wrathfully angry with me.


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Day and night he shall go round about it upon its walls; iniquity and sorrow and unrighteousness [are] in the midst of it;


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For if an enemy had reproached me, I would have endured it; and if one who hated [me] had spoken vauntingly against me, I would have hid myself from him.


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Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into Hades, for iniquity is in their dwellings, in the midst of them.


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Evening and morning and at noon I will declare and make known [my needs]; and He shall hear my voice.


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He shall deliver my soul in peace from them that draw near to me; for they were with me in many [cases].


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God shall hear, and bring them low, [even] He that has existed from eternity. Pause. For they suffer no recourse, and [therefore] they have not feared God.


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They were scattered at the anger of His countenance, and his heart drew near to them. His words were smoother than oil, yet they are darts.


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Cast your cares upon the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.


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But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloody and crafty men shall not live out half their days; but I will hope in You, O Lord.


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For the end, concerning the people that were removed from the sanctuary, by David for a memorial, when the Philistines caught him in Gath. Have mercy upon me, O God; for man has trodden me down; all the day long his warring has afflicted me.


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My enemies have trodden me down all the day from the dawning of the day; for there are many warring against me.


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In God (I will praise [His] word); all the day long have I hoped in God; I will not fear; what shall man do to me?


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They will dwell near and hide [themselves]; they will watch my steps, accordingly as I have waited patiently in my soul.


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O God, I have declared my life to You; You have set my tears before You, even according to Your promise.


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My enemies shall be turned back, in the day that I shall call upon You; behold, I know that You are my God.


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For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from sliding, that I should be well-pleasing before God in the land of the living.


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For the end. Destroy not; by David, for a memorial, when he fled from the presence of Saul, to the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; for my soul has trusted in You; and in the shadow of Your wings will I hope, until the iniquity has passed away.


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He sent from heaven and saved me; He reproached them that trampled on me; God has sent forth His mercy and His truth;


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and He has delivered my soul from the midst of [the lion's] whelps; I lay down to sleep, [though] troubled. [As for] the sons of men, their teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.


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They have prepared snares for my feet, and have bowed down my soul; they have dug a pit before my face, and fallen into it [themselves]. Pause.


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For the end. Destroy not; by David, for a memorial. If you do indeed speak righteousness, [then] do you judge rightly, you sons of men?


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They shall utterly pass away like water running through; he shall bend his bow till they shall fail.


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The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the ungodly; he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.


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And a man shall say, Verily then there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judges them in the earth.


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For the end. Destroy not; by David for a memorial, when Saul sent, and watched his house to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O God; and ransom me from those that rise up against me.


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For behold, they have hunted after my soul; violent men have set upon me; neither [is it] my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord.


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And You, Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, draw near to visit all the heathen; do not pity any that work iniquity. Pause.


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Behold, they shall utter a voice with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips; for who, [they say], has heard?


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Slay them not, lest they forget Your law; scatter them by Your power; and bring them down, O Lord, my defender.


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And for [their] cursing and falsehood shall utter destruction be denounced; [they shall fall] by the wrath of utter destruction, and shall not be; so shall they know that the God of Jacob is Lord to the ends of the earth. Pause.


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They shall be scattered here and there for food; and if they are not satisfied, they shall even murmur.


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But I will sing to Your strength, and in the morning will I rejoice [in] Your mercy; for You have been my supporter, and my refuge in the day of my affliction.


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For the end, for them that shall yet be changed; for an inscription by David for instruction, when he [had] burned Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria of Zobah; and Joab [had] returned and struck twelve thousand[in] the Valley of Salt. O God, You have rejected and destroyed us; You have been angry, yet [You] have pitied us.


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God has spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice, and divide Shechem, and measure out the Valley of Tents.


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Judah is My king; Moab is the caldron of My hope; over Edom will I stretch out My shoe; the Philistines have been subjected to Me.


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From the ends of the earth have I cried to You, when my heart was in trouble; You lifted me up on a rock; You guided me;


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I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; I will shelter myself under the shadow of Your wings. Pause.


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For the end, A Psalm of David to Jeduthun. Shall not my soul be subjected to God? For from Him is my salvation.


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They only took counsel to set at nought my honor. I ran in thirst; with their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed. Pause.


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Hope in Him, all you congregation of the people; pour out your hearts before Him, for God is our helper. Pause.


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But the sons of men are vain; the sons of men are false, so as to be deceitful in the balances; they are all alike, [formed] out of vanity.


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Trust not in unrighteousness, and lust not after robberies. If wealth should flow in, set not your heart upon it.


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A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Edom. O God, my God, I cry to You early; my soul has thirsted for You: how often has my flesh [longed] after You, in a barren and trackless and dry land!


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But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone that swears by Him shall be praised; for the mouth of them that speak unjust things has been stopped.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O God, when I make my petition to You; deliver my soul from fear of the enemy.


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You have sheltered me from the conspiracy of them that do wickedly; from the multitude of them that work iniquity;


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They have set up for themselves an evil matter, they have given counsel to hide snares; they have said, Who shall see them?


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They have searched out iniquity; they have wearied themselves with searching diligently, a man shall approach and the heart is deep,


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The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord, and hope in Him, and all the upright in heart shall be praised.


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For the end, A Psalm [and] Song of David. Praise becomes You, O God, in Zion; and to You shall the vow be performed.


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Blessed [is he] whom You have chosen and adopted; he shall dwell in Your courts; we shall be filled with the good things of Your house; Your temple is holy.


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[You are] wonderful in righteousness. Hearken to us, O God our Savior; the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them [that are] on the sea afar off;


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The nations shall be troubled, and they that inhabit the ends [of the earth] shall be afraid of the signs; You will cause the outgoings of morning and evening to rejoice.


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You have visited the earth, and saturated it; You have abundantly enriched it. The river of God is filled with water; You have prepared their food, for thus is the preparation [of it].


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You will bless the crown of the year [because] of Your goodness; and Your plains shall be filled with fatness.


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The rams of the flock are clothed [with wool], and the valleys shall abound in grain; they shall cry aloud; yea, they shall sing hymns.


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Say unto God, How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.


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who turns the sea into dry land; they shall go through the river on foot; there shall we rejoice in Him,


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who by His power is Lord over the ages, His eyes look upon the nations; let not them that provoke [Him] be exalted in themselves. Pause.


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You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through the fire and water; but You brought us out into [a place of] refreshment.


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I will offer to You whole burnt sacrifices full of marrow, with incense and rams; I will sacrifice to You oxen with goats. Pause.


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For the end, A Psalm of David among the Hymns. God be merciful to us, and bless us; [and] cause His face to shine upon us. Pause.


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Let the nations rejoice and exalt, for You shall judge the people in equity, and shall guide the nations on the earth. Pause.


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For the end, A Psalm of a Song by David. Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Him flee from before Him.


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As smoke vanishes, let them vanish: as wax melts before the fire, so let the sinners perish from before God.


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Sing to God, sing praises to His name: make a way for Him that rides upon the west (the Lord is His name) and rejoice before Him. They shall be troubled before the face of Him,


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God settles the solitary in a house; leading forth prisoners mightily, also them that act provokingly, [even] them that dwell in tombs.


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the earth quaked; yea, the heavens dropped [water] at the presence of the God of Sinai, at the presence of the God of Israel.


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O God, You will grant to Your inheritance a gracious rain; for it was weary, but You have refreshed it.


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The king of the forces of the beloved [will] even [grant them] for the beauty of the house to divide the spoils.


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Even if you should lie among the lots, [you shall have] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her breast with yellow gold.


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Why do you conceive [evil], you swelling mountains? [This is] the mountain which God has delighted to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell [in it] forever.


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The chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of rejoicing ones; the Lord is among them, in Sinai, in the holy place.


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You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive, You have received gifts among men, yea, for [they were] rebellious, that You might dwell among them.


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Blessed be the Lord God, blessed be the Lord daily; and the God of our salvation shall prosper us. Pause.


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But God shall crust the heads of His enemies; the hairy crown of them that go on in their trespasses.


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The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring [My people] again through the depths of the sea.


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That your foot may be dipped in blood, [and] the tongue of your dogs [be stained] with that of [your] enemies.


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The princes went first, next before the players on instruments, in the midst of damsels playing on timbrels.


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There is Benjamin the younger [one] in ecstasy, the princes of Judah their rulers, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.


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Rebuke the wild beasts of the reed; let the crowd of bulls with the heifers of the nations [be rebuked], so that they who have been proved with silver may not be shut out; scatter the nations that wish for wars.


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Ambassadors shall arrive out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten [to stretch out] her hand readily to God.


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Sing to God that rides on the heaven of heavens, eastward: lo, He will utter a mighty sound with His voice.


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God is wonderful in His holy [places], the God of Israel; He will give power and strength to His people; blessed be God.


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For the end, [A Psalm] of David, for alternate [strains]. Save me, O God; for the waters have come in to my soul.


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I am stuck fast in deep mire, and there is no standing: I have come in to the depths of the sea, and a storm has overwhelmed me.


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Those that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; my enemies that persecute me unrighteously are strengthened. Then I restored that which I took not away.


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Let not them that wait on You, O Lord of hosts, be ashamed on my account; let not them that seek You, be ashamed on my account, O God of Israel.


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For the zeal of Your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached You have fallen upon me.


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But I [will cry] to You, O Lord, in my prayer; O God, it is a propitious time: in the multitude of Your mercy hear me, in the truth of Your salvation.


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Save me from the mire, that I stick not [in it;] let me be delivered from them that hate me, and from the deep waters.


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Let not the floodwater drown me, nor let the deep swallow me up; neither let the well shut its mouth upon me.


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Hear me, O Lord; for Your mercy is good: according to the multitude of Your compassions, look upon me.


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My soul has waited for reproach and misery; and I waited for one to grieve with me, but there was none; and for one to comfort me, but I found none.


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For God will save Zion, and the cities of Judah shall be built; and [men] shall dwell there, and inherit it.


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Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek my soul; let them be turned backward and put to shame, [those] that wish me evil.


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Let all that seek You rejoice and be glad in You: and let those that love Your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.


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By David, [A Psalm sung by] the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive. O Lord, I have hoped in You; let me never be put to shame.


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Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the sinner, from the hand of the transgressor and unjust man.


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On You have I been stayed from the womb: from the belly of my mother You have been my protector: of You is my praise [offered] continually.


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For my enemies have spoken against me; and they that lay wait for my soul have taken counsel together,


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Let those that plot [evil] against my soul be ashamed and utterly fail; let those that seek my hurt be clothed with shame and dishonor.


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My mouth shall declare Your righteousness openly, [and] Your salvation all the day; for I am not acquainted with the affairs [of men].


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even until I am old and advanced in years. O God, forsake me not; until I have declared Your [mighty] arm to all the generation that is to come;


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even Your power and Your righteousness, O God, up to the highest [heavens, even] the mighty works which You have done; O God, who is like You?


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What many and great afflictions have You shown me! Yet You turned and revived me, and brought me again from the depths of the earth.


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You multiplied Your righteousness, and turned and comforted me, and brought me again out of the depths of the earth.


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I will also therefore give thanks to You, O God, [because of] Your truth, on an instrument of psalmody; I will sing psalms to You on the harp, O Holy One of Israel.


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Moreover also my tongue shall dwell all the day upon Your righteousness; when they shall be ashamed and confounded that seek my hurt.


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He shall judge the poor of the people in righteousness, and save the children of the needy; and shall bring low the false accuser.


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The kings of Tarshish, and the isles, shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and Sheba shall offer gifts.


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He shall redeem their souls from oppression and injustice, and their name [shall be] precious before Him.


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And He shall live, and the gold of Arabia shall be given to Him, and [men] shall pray for Him continually; [and] all the day shall they praise Him.


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There shall be an establishment on the earth on the tops of the mountains; its fruit shall be exalted above Lebanon, and those of the city shall flourish as grass of the earth.


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Let His name be blessed forever; His name shall endure longer than the sun, and all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.


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And blessed is His glorious name forever, even forever and ever; and all the earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.


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Therefore pride has possessed them; they have clothed themselves with their injustice and ungodliness.


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If I said, I will speak thus; behold, I [should] have broken covenant with the generation of Your children.


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Surely You have appointed [judgments] to them because of their crafty dealings; You have cast them down when they were lifted up.


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How have they become desolate! Suddenly they have failed; they have perished because of their iniquity.


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My heart and my flesh have failed; [but] God [is the strength] of my heart, and God is my portion forever.


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For behold, they that remove themselves far from You shall perish; You have destroyed everyone that goes a whoring from You.


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But it is good for me to cleave close to God, to put my trust in the Lord; that I may proclaim all Your praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion.


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[A Psalm] of instruction, of Asaph. Why have You rejected [us], O God, forever? [Why] has Your wrath been kindled against the sheep of Your pasture?


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Remember Your congregation which You have purchased from the beginning; You ransomed the rod of Your inheritance, this Mount Zion where You have dwelt.


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Lift up Your hands against their pride continually; [because of] all that the enemy has done wickedly in Your holy places.


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And they that hate You have boasted in the midst of Your feast; they have set up their standards for signs,


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they cut down its doors at once with axes as in a wood of trees; they have broken it down with hatchet and stone cutter.


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They have burned Your sanctuary with fire to the ground; they have profaned the habitation of Your name.


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They have said in their heart, [even] all their kindred together, Come, let us abolish the feasts of the Lord from the earth.


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Remember this Your creation; an enemy has reproached the Lord, and a foolish people have provoked Your name.


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Deliver not to the wild beasts a soul that gives praise to You: forget not forever the souls of Your poor.


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Look upon Your covenant; for the dark [places] of the earth are filled with the habitations of iniquity.


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Arise, O God, plead Your cause; remember Your reproaches that come from the foolish one all the day.


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Forget not the voice of Your enemies; let the pride of them that hate You continually ascend before You.


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For the end, Destroy not, A Psalm of a Song of Asaph. We will give thanks to You, O God, we will give thanks, and call upon Your name.


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For [there is] a cup in the hand of the Lord, full of unmingled wine; and He has turned [it] from side to side, but its dregs have not been wholly poured out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink [them].


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For the end, among the Hymns, A Psalm of Asaph; a Song for the Assyrian. God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.


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All the simple ones in heart were troubled; all the men of wealth have slept their sleep, and have found nothing in their hands.


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For the inward thought of man shall give thanks to You, and the memorial of his inward thought shall keep a feast to You.


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[even] to Him that is awesome, and that takes away the spirits of princes; to Him that is awesome among the kings of the earth.


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For the end, for Idithun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried to the Lord with my voice, yea, my voice [was addressed] to God; and He gave heed to me.


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In the day of my affliction I earnestly sought the Lord; [even] with my hands by night before Him, and I was not deceived; my soul refused to be comforted.


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The voice of Your thunder was abroad, and around Your lightnings appeared to the world; the earth trembled and quaked.


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[A Psalm] of instruction, of Asaph. Give heed, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth.


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They were not hid from their children to a second generation; [the fathers] declaring the praises of the Lord, and His mighty acts, and His wonders which He has done.


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And He raised up a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, to make it known to their children;


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that another generation might know, even the sons which should be born; and they should arise and declare them to their children.


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That they might set their hope on God, and not forget the works of God, but diligently seek His commandments.


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That they should not be as their fathers, a perverse and provoking generation; a generation which set not its heart aright, and its spirit was not steadfast with God.


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Forasmuch as He struck the rock, and the waters flowed, and the torrents ran abundantly; will He be able also to give bread, or prepare a table for His people?


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Therefore the Lord heard, and was provoked: and fire was kindled in Jacob, and wrath went up against Israel.


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then the indignation of God rose up against them, and slew the fattest of them, and overthrew the choice men of Israel.


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But He is compassionate, and will forgive their sins, and will not destroy [them;] yea, He will frequently turn away His wrath, and will not kindle all His anger.


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He sent out against them the fury of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and affliction, a message by evil angels.


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He made a way for His wrath; He spared not their souls from death, but consigned their cattle to death;


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and He struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt; the firstfruits of their labors in the tents of Ham.


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And He brought them in to the mountain of His sanctuary, this mountain which His right hand had purchased.


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And He cast out the nations from before them, and made them to inherit by a line of inheritance, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.


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And they turned back, and broke covenant, even as also their fathers; they became like a crooked bow.


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He took him from following the ewes great with young, to be the shepherd of Jacob His servant, and Israel His inheritance.


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A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen have come into Your inheritance; they have polluted Your holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a storehouse of fruits.


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They have given the dead bodies of Your servants [to be] food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of Your holy ones for the wild beasts of the earth.


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Pour out Your wrath upon the heathen that have not known You, and upon the kingdoms which have not called upon Your name.


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Remember not our old transgressions; let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us; for we are greatly impoverished.


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Help us, O God our Savior; for the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver us; and be merciful to our sins, for Your name's sake.


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Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? And let the avenging of Your servant's blood that has been shed be known among the heathen before our eyes.


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Let the groaning of the prisoners come in before You; according to the greatness of Your power, preserve the sons of the slain.


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Repay to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, with which they have reproached You, O Lord.


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For we are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture; we will give You thanks forever; we will declare Your praise throughout all generations.


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For the end, for alternate [strains], a testimony of Asaph, A Psalm concerning the Assyrian. Attend, O Shepherd of Israel, who guides Joseph like a flock; You who sit upon the cherubim, manifest Yourself;


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and restore that which Your right hand has planted, and look on the son of man whom You have strengthened for Yourself.


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Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, and upon the son of man whom You have strengthened for Yourself.


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For the end, A Psalm for Asaph, concerning the winepresses. Rejoice in God our helper; shout aloud to the God of Jacob.


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He made it [to be] a testimony in Joseph, when he came forth out of the land of Egypt; he heard a language which he understood not.


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You called upon Me in trouble, and I delivered you; I heard you in the secret place of the storm; I proved you at the Water of Strife. Pause.


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Hear, My people, and I will speak to you, O Israel; and I will testify to you; if you will hearken to Me;


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


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I would have put down their enemies very quickly, and would have laid My hand upon those that afflicted them.


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They know not, nor understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth shall be shaken.


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A Song of a Psalm of Asaph. O God, who shall be compared to You? Be not silent, neither be still, O God.


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Against Your people they have craftily imagined a device, and have taken counsel against Your saints.


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They have said, Come, and let us utterly destroy them out of the nation; and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.


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For the end, A Psalm for the sons of Korah, concerning the winepresses. How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!


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My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh have exalted in the living God.


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Yea, the sparrow has found himself a home, and the turtledove a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, [even] Your altars, O Lord of hosts my King, and my God.


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the Valley of Weeping, to the place which He has appointed, for [there] the Lawgiver shall grant blessings.


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For one day in Your courts is better than thousands. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God, than dwell in the tents of sinners.


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For the Lord loves mercy and truth; God will give grace and glory; the Lord will not withhold good things from them that walk in innocence.


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For the end, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O Lord, You have taken pleasure in Your land; You have turned back the captivity of Jacob.


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I will hear what the Lord God will say concerning me; for He shall speak peace to His people, and to His saints, and to those that turn their heart toward Him.


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All nations whom You have made shall come and shall worship before You, O Lord; and shall glorify Your name.


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Guide me, O Lord, in Your way, and I will walk in Your truth; let my heart rejoice, that I may fear Your name.


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O God, transgressors have risen up against me, and an assembly of violent [men] have sought my life; and have not set You before them.


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Look upon me, and have mercy upon me; give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your handmaid.


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Establish with me a token for good; and let them that hate me see [it] and be ashamed; because You, O Lord, have helped me, and comforted me.


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I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold, also the Philistines, and Tyre, and the people of the Ethiopians; these were born there.


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A man shall say, Zion [is my] mother; and [such] a man was born in her; and the Highest Himself has founded her.


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The Lord shall recount [it] in the writing of the people, and of these princes that were born in her.


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A song of a Psalm for the sons of Korah for the end, upon Mahaleth for responsive [strains], of instruction for Heman the Israelite. O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried by day and in the night before You.


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free among the dead, as the slain ones cast out, who sleep in the tomb; whom You remember no more; and they are rejected from Your hand.


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You have removed my acquaintance far from me; they have made me an abomination to themselves; I have been delivered up, and have not gone forth.


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My eyes are dimmed from poverty; but I cried out to You, O Lord, all the day; I spread forth my hands to You.


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Will You work wonders for the dead? Or shall physicians raise [them] up, that they shall praise You?


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I am poor and in troubles from my youth; and having been exalted, I was brought low and into despair.


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[A Psalm] of instruction for Ethan the Israelite. I will sing of Your mercies, O Lord, forever; I will declare Your truth with my mouth to all generations.


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For who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord? And who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God?


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God is glorified in the council of the saints; great and terrible toward all that are round about Him.


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You have brought down the proud as one that is slain; and with the arm of Your power You have scattered Your enemies.


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Justice and judgment are the establishment of Your throne; mercy and truth shall go before Your face.


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Blessed are the people that knows the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.


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Then You spoke in a vision to Your children, and said, I have laid help on a mighty one; I have exalted one chosen out of My people.


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The enemy shall have no advantage against him; and the son of transgression shall not hurt him again.


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Neither will I by any means profane My covenant; and I will not make void the things that proceed out of My lips.


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You have overthrown the covenant of Your servant; You have profaned his sanctuary, [casting it] to the ground.


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What man is there who shall live, and not see death? Shall [anyone] deliver his soul from the hand of Hades? Pause.


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Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I have borne in my bosom, [even the reproach] of many nations;


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with which Your enemies have reviled, O Lord; with which they have reviled the recompense of Your anointed.


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Before the mountains existed, and [before] the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, You are [God].


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For a thousand years in Your sight are like the yesterday which is past, and as a watch in the night.


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In the morning let it flower, and pass away; in the evening let it droop, let it be withered and dried up.


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For all our days are gone, and we have passed away in Your wrath; our years have spun out their tale as a spider.


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[As for] the days of our years, in them are seventy years; and if [men should be] in strength, eighty years; and the greater part of them would be labor and trouble; for weakness overtakes us, and we shall be chastened.


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And [who knows how] to number [his days] because of the fear of Your wrath? So manifest Your right hand, and those that are instructed in wisdom in the heart.


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let us rejoice in all our days, in return for the days in which You afflicted us, the years in which we saw evil.


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Praise of a Song, by David. He that dwells in the help of the Highest, shall sojourn under the shelter of the God of heaven.


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He shall overshadow you with His shoulders, and You shall trust under His wings; His truth shall cover you with a shield.


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[nor] of the [evil] thing that walks in darkness; [nor] of calamity, and the evil spirit at noonday.


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A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.


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He shall call upon Me, and I will hearken to him; I am with him in affliction; and I will deliver him, and glorify him.


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A Psalm of a Song for the Sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;


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For You, O Lord, have made me glad with Your work; and in the operations of Your hands will I rejoice.


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When the sinners spring up as the grass, and all the workers of iniquity have watched; [it is] that they may be utterly destroyed forever.


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For the day before the Sabbath, when the land was [first] inhabited, the praise of a Song by David. The Lord reigns; He has clothed Himself with honor; the Lord has clothed and girded Himself with strength; for He has established the world, which shall not be moved.


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at the voices of many waters; the billows of the sea are wonderful; the Lord is wonderful in high places.


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A Psalm of David for the fourth [day] of the week. The Lord is a God of vengeance; the God of vengeance has declared Himself.


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Who will rise up for me against the transgressors? Or who will stand up with me against the workers of iniquity?


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Your mercy, O Lord, has helped me. O Lord, according to the multitude of my griefs within my heart, Your consolation has soothed my soul.


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And He will recompense to them their iniquity and their wickedness; the Lord our God shall utterly destroy them.


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The praise of a Song by David. Come, let us rejoice in the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to God our Savior.


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For the Lord is a great God, and a great King over all gods; for the Lord will not cast off His people.


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Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, according to the day of trial in the wilderness;


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Forty years was I grieved with this generation, and said, They do always err in their heart, and they have not known My ways.


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When the house was built after the Captivity, a Song of David. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.


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Say among the heathen, The Lord reigns; for He has established the world so that it shall not be moved; He shall judge the people in righteousness.


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The plains shall rejoice, and all things in them; then shall all the trees of the wood exalt before the presence of the Lord;


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for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth; He shall judge the world in righteousness, and the people with His truth.


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For David, when his land was established. The Lord reigns, let the earth exalt, let many islands rejoice.


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Clouds and darkness are round about Him; righteousness and judgment are the establishment of His throne.


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The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.


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Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship Him, all you His angels.


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You that love the Lord, hate evil; the Lord preserves the souls of His saints; He shall deliver them from the hand of sinners.


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A Psalm of David. Sing to the Lord a new song; for the Lord has wrought wonderful works, His right hand, and His holy arm, have wrought salvation for Him.


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The Lord has made known His salvation, He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.


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He has remembered His mercy to Jacob, and His truth to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.


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For He has come to judge the earth; He shall judge the world in righteousness, and the nations in uprightness.


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A Psalm of David. The Lord reigns; let the people tremble! [It is He] that sits upon the cherubim, let the earth be moved.


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And the king's honor loves judgment; You have prepared equity, You have established judgment and justice in Jacob.


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Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among them that call upon His name; they called upon the Lord, and He heard them.


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He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies, and the ordinances which He gave them.


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O Lord our God, You heard them; O God, You became propitious to them, though You took vengeance on all their devices.


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Know that the Lord, He is God; He made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] His people, and the sheep of His pasture.


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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; give thanks to Him, praise His name.


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For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting; and His truth [endures] from generation to generation.


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and I will be wise in a blameless way. When will You come to me? I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.


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A perverse heart has not cleaved to me; I have not known an evil man, forasmuch as he turns away from me.


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Him that secretly speaks against his neighbor, him have I driven from [me]; he that is proud in look and insatiable in heart- with him I have not eaten.


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My eyes [shall be] upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he that walked in a perfect way, the same ministered to me.


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He that is proud dwelled not in the midst of my house; the unjust speaker prospered not in my sight.


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Early did I slay all the sinners of the land, that I might destroy out of the city of the Lord all that work iniquity.


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A Prayer for the Poor; when he is deeply afflicted, and pours out his supplication before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You.


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Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day [when] I shall call upon You, speedily hear me.


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I have become like an owl in a ruined house. I have watched, and have become as a sparrow dwelling alone on a roof.


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You shall arise, and have mercy upon Zion; for [it is] time to have mercy upon her, for the appointed time has come.


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Let this be written for another generation; and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord.


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In the beginning You, O Lord, laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands.


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They shall perish, but You remain; and [they all] shall grow old like a garment; and as a vesture shall You fold them, and they shall be changed.


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who satisfies your desire with good things; [so that] your youth shall be renewed like [that] of the eagle.


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For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has [so] increased His mercy toward them that fear Him.


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But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children;


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Bless the Lord, all you His angels, mighty in strength, who do His bidding, [ready] to hearken to the voice of His words.


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[A Psalm] of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, You are very great; You have clothed Yourself with praise and honor;


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Who covers His chambers with waters; who makes the clouds His chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind.


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You have set a boundary which they shall not pass, neither shall they turn again to cover the earth.


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They shall give drink to all the wild beasts of the field; the wild donkeys shall take [of them] to [quench] their thirst.


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He waters the mountains from His chambers; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of Your works.


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He makes grass to grow for the cattle, and green herbs for the service of men, to bring bread out of the earth;


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and wine makes glad the heart of man, to make his face cheerful with oil; and bread strengthens man's heart.


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How great are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom have You done them all; the earth is filled with Your creation.


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When You have given [it to] them, they will gather [it]; and when You have opened Your hand, they shall all be filled with good.


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But when You have turned away Your face, they shall be troubled; You will take away their breath, and they shall fail, and return to their dust.


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You shall send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created; and You shall renew the face of the earth.


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Let the sinners fail from off the earth, and transgressors, so that they shall be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.


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that we may behold the good of Your elect, that we may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that we may glory with Your inheritance.


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Our fathers in Egypt understood not Your wonders, and remembered not the multitude of Your mercy; but provoked [Him] as they went up by the Red Sea.


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And He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up; so He led them through the deep as through the wilderness.


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And He saved them out of the hand of them that hated [them], and redeemed them out of the hand of the enemy.


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So He said that He would have destroyed them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn [Him] away from the fierceness of His anger, so that He should not destroy them.


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They were joined also to Baal of Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. And they provoked Him with their deeds;


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and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was defiled with blood,


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Many a time He delivered them; but they provoked Him by their counsel, and they were brought low by their iniquities.


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Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.


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Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting; and all the people shall say, Amen, Amen.


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He helped them out of the way of their iniquity; for they were brought low because of their iniquities.


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And He blesses them, and they multiply exceedingly, and He diminishes not the number of their cattle.


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Contempt is poured upon their princes, and He causes them to wander in a desert, and in a trackless land.


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Song of a Psalm by David. O God, my heart is ready, my heart is ready; I will sing and sing psalms with my glory.


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That Your beloved may be delivered; save with Your right hand, and hear me. God has spoken in His sanctuary.


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Moab is the caldron of My hope; over Edom will I cast My sandal; the Philistines are made subject to Me.


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for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the crafty have been opened against me; they have spoken against me with a crafty tongue.


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Let his children wander without a dwelling place and beg; let them be cast out of their habitations.


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Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.


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Because he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the needy and poor man, [that] he might even slay the broken in heart.


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He loved cursing also, and it shall come upon him; and he took not pleasure in blessing, so it shall be removed far from him.


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Yea, he put on cursing as a garment, and it has come as water into his bowels, and as oil into his bones.


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Let it be to him as a garment which he puts on, and as a girdle with which he girds himself continually.


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This is the dealing of the Lord with those who falsely accuse me, and of them that speak evil against my soul.


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Let them curse, but You shall bless; let them that rise up against me be ashamed, but let Your servant rejoice.


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Let those that falsely accuse me be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their shame as with a mantle.


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I will give thanks to the Lord abundantly with my mouth; and in the midst of many I will praise Him.


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A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.


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With You is dominion in the day of Your power, in the splendors of Your saints; I have begotten You from the womb before the morning.


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He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill up [the number of] corpses, He shall crush the heads of many on the earth.


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Alleluia. I will give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and [in] the congregation.


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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and all that act accordingly have a good understanding; His praise endures forever and ever.


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He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.


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The sinner shall see and be angry, he shall gnash his teeth, and consume away; the desire of the sinner shall perish.


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they have hands, but they cannot handle; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot speak through their throat.


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The Lord has remembered us, and blessed us; He has blessed the house of Israel, He has blessed the house of Aaron.


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O Lord, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, and the son of Your handmaid; You have burst my bonds.


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They compassed me about as bees [do] a honeycomb, and they burst into flame as fire among thorns; but in the name of the Lord I repulsed them.


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The voice of exaltation and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous; the right hand of the Lord has done mightily.


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God is the Lord, and He has shined upon us; celebrate the feast with thick [branches, binding the victims] even to the horns of the altar.


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You are my God, and I will give You thanks; You are my God, and I will exalt You. I will give thanks to You, for You have heard me, and have become my salvation.


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Blessed are they that search out His testimonies; they will diligently seek Him with the whole heart.


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I will give You thanks with uprightness of heart, when I have learned the judgments of Your righteousness.


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The injustice of the proud has been multiplied against me; but I will search out Your commandments with all my heart.


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I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteousness, and [that] You in truthfulness have afflicted me.


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Let the proud be ashamed; for they transgressed against me unjustly; but I will meditate on Your commandments.


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How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment for me on them that persecute me?


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I have reckoned all the sinners of the earth as transgressors; therefore have I loved Your testimonies.


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I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant; for I have not forgotten Your commandments.


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I was peaceable among them that hated peace; when I spoke to them, they warred against me without a cause.


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For from there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.


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Behold, as the eyes of servants [are directed] to the hands of their masters, [and] as the eyes of a maidservant to the hands of her mistress; so our eyes [are directed] to the Lord our God, until He has mercy upon us.


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[Yea], our soul has been exceedingly filled [with it]: [let] the reproach [be] to them that are at ease, and contempt to the proud.


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Our soul has been delivered as a sparrow from the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are delivered.


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A Song of Degrees. They that trust in the Lord [shall be] as Mount Zion: he that dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved.


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The mountains are round about her, and [so] the Lord is round about His people, from this time forth and forever.


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For the Lord will not allow the rod of sinners to be upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous should stretch forth their hands to iniquity.


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But them that turn aside to crooked ways the Lord will lead away with the workers of iniquity; [but] peace [shall be] upon Israel.


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A Song of Degrees. When the Lord turned the captivity of Zion, we became as those that are comforted.


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Then was our mouth filled with joy, and our tongue with exaltation; then would they say among the Gentiles, The Lord has done great things among them.


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They went on and wept as they cast their seeds; but they shall surely come with exaltation, bringing their sheaves [with them].


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A Song of Degrees. Except the Lord build the house, they that build labor in vain: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman watches in vain.


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It is vain for you to rise early; you rise up after resting, you that eat the bread of grief; while He gives sleep to His beloved.


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Blessed is the man who shall satisfy his desire with them; they shall not be ashamed when they shall speak to their enemies in the gates.


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Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine on the sides of your house; your children as young olive-plants round about your table.


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May the Lord bless you out of Zion; and may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life


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Neither do they that go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we have blessed you in the name of the Lord.


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A Song of Degrees. O Lord, my heart is not exalted, neither have my eyes been [haughtily] raised: neither have I exercised myself in great [matters], nor in things too wonderful for me.


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[I shall have sinned] if I have not been humble, but have exalted my soul; according to [the relation of] a weaned child to his mother, so will You recompense my soul.


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The Lord has sworn [in] truth to David, and He will not annul it, [saying], Of the fruit of your body will I set [a king] upon your throne.


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If your children will keep My covenant, and these My testimonies which I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.


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A Song of Degrees. See now! What is so good, or what so pleasant, as for brethren to dwell together?


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[It is] as ointment on the head, that ran down to the beard, [even] the beard of Aaron; that ran down to the fringe of his clothing.


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As the dew of Hermon that comes down on the mountains of Zion; for there, the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.


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A Song of Degrees. Behold now, bless the Lord, all the servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.


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Who brings up clouds from the extremity of the earth; He has made lightnings for the rain; He brings [the] winds out of His treasures.


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For David, [A Psalm] of Jeremiah. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat; and wept when we remembered Zion.


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For there they that had taken us captive asked of us the words of a song; and they that had carried us away [asked] a hymn, [saying], Sing us [one] of the songs of Zion.


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May my tongue cleave to my throat, if I do not remember you; if I do not prefer Jerusalem as the chief of my joy.


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Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze [it], raze [it], even to its foundations.


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A Psalm for David, of Aggaeus and Zacharias. I will give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; and I will sing psalms to You before the angels; for You have heard all the words of my mouth.


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I will worship toward Your holy temple, and give thanks to Your name, on account of Your mercy and Your truth; for You have magnified Your holy name above all things.


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In whatsoever day I shall call upon You, hear me speedily; You shall abundantly provide me with Your power in my soul.


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Let all the kings of the earth, O Lord, give thanks unto You; for they have heard all the words of Your mouth.


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Though I should walk in the midst of affliction, You will revive me; You have stretched forth Your hands against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand has saved me.


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O Lord, You shall recompense [them] on my behalf: Your mercy, O Lord, [endures] forever: do not overlook the works of Your hands.


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If I should spread my wings [to fly] straight forward, and sojourn at the extremity of the sea, [it would be vain],


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For darkness will not be darkness with You; but night will be light as day. As its darkness, so shall its light [be to You].


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I will give You thanks; for You are fearfully wondrous; wondrous are Your works; and my soul knows [it] well.


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My bones, which You made in secret, were not hidden from You, nor my substance, in the lowest parts of the earth.


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Your eyes saw my unwrought [substance], and all [men] shall be written in Your book; they shall be formed by day, though [there should for a time] be no one among them.


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For the end, A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.


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They have sharpened their tongue as [the tongue] of a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Pause.


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Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the sinner; rescue me from unjust men; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.


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The proud have hid a snare for me, and have stretched out ropes [for] snares for my feet; they set a stumbling block for me near the path. Pause.


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Deliver me not, O Lord, to the sinner, according to my desire; they have devised [mischief] against me; forsake me not, lest they should be exalted. Pause.


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Coals of fire shall fall upon them on the earth; and You shall cast them down in afflictions; they shall not bear up [under them].


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A talkative man shall not prosper on the earth: evils shall hunt the unrighteous man to destruction.


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A Psalm of David. O Lord, I have cried to You; hear me: attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry to You.


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Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense; the lifting up of my hands [as] an evening sacrifice.


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Incline not my heart to evil things, to employ pretexts for sins, with men who work iniquity: and let me not unite with their choice ones.


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The righteous shall chasten me with mercy, and reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head: for yet shall my prayer also be in their pleasures.


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Their mighty ones have been swallowed up near the rock: they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.


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As a lump of earth is crushed upon the ground, our bones have been scattered by the [mouth of] the grave.


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Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.


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[A Psalm] of instruction for David, when he was in the cave- A Prayer. I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord.


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When my spirit was fainting within me, then You knew my paths; in the very way in which I was walking, they hid a snare for me.


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I looked on [my] right hand, and behold, for there was none that noticed me; refuge failed me; and there was none that cared for my soul.


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Attend to my supplication, for I am brought very low; deliver me from them that persecute me; for they are stronger than I.


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Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name, O Lord; the righteous shall wait for me, until You recompense me.


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A Psalm of David, when his son pursued him. O Lord, attend to my prayer; hearken to my supplication in Your truth; hear me in Your righteousness.


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And enter not into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight shall no [man] living be justified.


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For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has brought my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in a dark [place], as those that have been long dead.


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I remembered the days of old; and I meditated on all Your doings: [yea], I meditated on the works of Your hands.


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Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit has failed; do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like them that go down to the pit.


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Cause me to hear Your mercy in the morning; for I have hoped in You; make known to me, O Lord, the way in which I should walk; for I have lifted up my soul to You.


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Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God; Your good Spirit shall guide me in the straight [way].


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You shall revive me, O Lord, for Your name's sake; in Your righteousness You shall bring my soul out of affliction.


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And in Your mercy You will destroy my enemies, and will destroy all those that afflict my soul; for I am Your servant.


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[A Psalm] of David concerning Goliath. Blessed [be] the Lord my God, who instructs my hands for battle, [and] my fingers for war.


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My mercy, and my refuge; my helper, and my deliverer; my protector, in whom I have trusted; who subdues my people under me.


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Send forth Your hand from on high; rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hand of strange children;


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Deliver me, and rescue me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity;


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whose children are as plants, strengthened in their youth: their daughters are beautiful, sumptuously adorned after the likeness of a temple.


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Their garners are full, and bursting with one kind of store after another; their sheep are prolific, multiplying in their streets.


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David's [Psalm of] praise. I will exalt You, my God, my king; and I will bless Your name forever and ever.


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They shall utter the memory of the abundance of Your goodness, and shall exalt in Your righteousness.


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Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion [endures] throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in His words, and holy in all His works.


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He will perform the desire of them that fear Him: and He will hear their supplication, and save them.


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My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.


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His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all his thoughts shall perish.


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who executes judgment for the wronged: who gives food to the hungry. The Lord looses the fettered ones.


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The Lord gives wisdom to the blind; the Lord sets up the broken down; the Lord loves the righteous:; the Lord preserves the strangers;


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Alleluia, [A Psalm] of Aggaeus and Zacharias. Praise the Lord! For singing psalms is a good thing; let praise be sweetly sung to our God.


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who covers the heaven with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who causes grass to spring up on the mountains, [and green herb for the service of men];


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He will not take pleasure in the strength of a horse; neither is He well-pleased with the legs of a man.


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He shall send out His word, and melt them; He shall blow [with] His wind, and the waters shall flow.


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Alleluia, [A Psalm] of Aggaeus and Zacharias. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest.


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Let them praise the name of the Lord; for He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created.


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He has established them forever, even forever and ever; He has made an ordinance, and it shall not pass away.


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let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His praise is above the earth and heaven,


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and He shall exalt the horn of His people, [there is] a hymn for all His saints, [even] of the children of Israel, a people who draw near to Him.


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Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. [ 151:0] [This Psalm is a genuine one of David, though supernumerary, composed when he fought in single combat with Goliath.] [ 151:1] I was small among my brothers, and youngest in my father's house: I tended my father's sheep. [ 151:2] My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a psaltery. [ 151:3] And who shall tell my Lord? The Lord Himself, He Himself hears. [ 151:4] He sent forth His angel, and took me from my father's sheep, and He anointed me with the oil of His anointing. [ 151:5] My brothers were handsome and tall; but the Lord did not take pleasure in them. [ 151:6] I went forth to meet the Philistine; and he cursed me by his idols. [ 151:7] But I drew his own sword, and beheaded him, and removed the reproach from the children of Israel.


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For by the hearing of these a wise man will be wiser, and a man of understanding will gain direction;


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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and [there is] good understanding to all that practice it: and godliness toward God is the beginning of discernment; but the ungodly will nullify wisdom and instruction.


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If they should exhort you, saying, Come with us, partake in blood, and let us unjustly hide the just man in the earth:


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For they that are concerned in murder store up evils for themselves; and the overthrow of transgressors is evil.


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These are the ways of all that perform lawless deeds; for by ungodliness they destroy their own life.


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And she makes proclamation on the top of the walls, and sits by the gates of princes; and at the gates of the city boldly says,


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So long as the simple cleave to justice, they shall not be ashamed: but the foolish being lovers of haughtiness, having become ungodly have hated knowledge, and have become subject to reproofs.


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therefore I also will laugh at your destruction; and I will rejoice against you when ruin comes upon you:


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yea when dismay suddenly comes upon you, and your overthrow shall arrive like a tempest; and when tribulation and distress shall come upon you, or when ruin shall come upon you.


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For it shall be that when you call upon me, I will not listen to you: wicked men shall seek me, but shall not find me.


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Therefore shall they eat the fruits of their own way, and shall be filled with their own ungodliness.


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For because they wronged the simple, they shall be slain; and an inquisition shall ruin the ungodly.


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your ear shall hearken to wisdom; you shall also apply your heart to understanding, and shall apply it to the instruction of your son.


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to remove you far from the straight way, and to estrange you from a righteous purpose. [My] son, let not evil counsel overtake you,


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None that go by her shall return, neither shall they take hold of right paths, for they have not apprehended of the years of life.


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The paths of the ungodly shall perish out of the earth, and transgressors shall be driven away from it.


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that your storehouses may be completely filled with grain, and that your presses may burst forth with wine.


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And she is more valuable than precious stones: no evil thing shall resist her. She is well known to all that approach her, and no precious thing is equal to her in value.


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For length of days and years of life are in her right hand, and in her left hand are wealth and glory. [ 3:16A] Out of her mouth proceeds righteousness, and she carries law and mercy upon her tongue.


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She is a tree of life to all that lay hold of her, and she is a secure help to all that stay themselves on her, as on the Lord.


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that your soul may live, and that there may be grace around your neck; [ 3:22A] and it shall be health to your flesh, and safety to your bones:


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And you shall not be afraid of alarm coming upon you, neither of approaching attacks of ungodly men.


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Do not say, Come back another time, tomorrow I will give; while you are able [today] to do [him] good; for you know not what the next day will bring forth.


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who spoke and instructed me, [saying], Let our speech be fixed in your heart, keep our commandments, forget them not:


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Hear, [my] son, and receive my words, and the years of your life shall be increased, that the resources of your life may be many.


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But the ways of the righteous shine like light; they go forth and shine, until the day has fully come.


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Turn not aside to the right hand, nor to the left, but turn away your foot from an evil way: [ 4:27A] for God knows the ways on the right hand, but those on the left are crooked: [ 4:27B] and He will make your ways straight, and will guide your steps in peace.


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that you may keep good understanding, and the discretion of my lips gives you a charge. Give no heed to a worthless woman,


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For the feet of folly lead those who deal with her down to the grave with death, and her steps are not established.


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Let [your] loving deer and your graceful colt company with you, and let her be considered your own, and be with you at all times, for ravished with her love you shall be greatly increased.


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Such a man dies with the uninstructed, and he is cast forth from the abundance of his own substance, and has perished through folly.


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[My] son, do what I command you, and deliver yourself; for on your friend's account you have come into the power of evil men: faint not, but stir up even your friend for whom you have become surety.


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he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays up abundant supplies in harvest. [ 6:8A] Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; [ 6:8B] whose labors kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: [ 6:8C] though weak in body, she is advanced by honoring wisdom.


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You sleep a little, and you rest a little, and you slumber a short time, and you fold your arms over your breast a little.


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Then poverty comes upon you as an evil traveler, and your need as a swift courier. [ 6:11A] But if you be diligent, your harvest shall arrive as a fountain, and poverty shall flee away as a bad courier.


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And the same winks with the eye, and makes a sign with his foot, and teaches with the beckonings of his fingers.


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Let not the desire of beauty overcome you, neither be caught by her eyes, or captivated with her eyelids.


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For the value of a harlot is as much as of one loaf of bread, and a woman hunts for the precious souls of men.


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So is he that goes in to a married woman; he shall not be held guiltless, neither anyone that touches her.


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It is not to be wondered at if one should be caught stealing, for he steals that when hungry, he may satisfy his soul:


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but if he should be caught, he shall repay sevenfold, and shall deliver himself by giving all his goods.


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[My] son, keep my words, and hide my commandments with you. [ 7:2] [My] son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong; and fear none but Him.


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that she may keep you from the strange and wicked woman, if she should assail you with flattering words.


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For she looks from a window out of her house into the streets, at one whom she may see of the senseless ones, a young man devoid of understanding,


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and the woman meets him having the appearance of a harlot, that causes the hearts of young men to flutter.


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For at one time she wanders outside, and at another time she lies in wait in the streets, at every corner.


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So with much conversation she prevailed on him to go astray, and with the snares of her lips forced him from [the right path].


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And he followed her, being gently led on, as that of an ox led to the slaughter, and as a dog to bonds, or as a deer shot in the liver with an arrow:


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The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, insolence, pride, and the ways of wicked men; and I hate the perverse ways of bad men.


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[It is] better to have my fruit than [to have] gold and precious stones; and my produce is better than choice silver.


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that I may divide substance to them that love me, and may fill their treasures with good things. [ 8:21A] If I declare to you the things that happen daily, I will remember also to recount the things of old.


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When He prepared the heaven, I was present with Him; and when He prepared His throne upon the winds;


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I was by Him, suiting myself to Him, I was that in which He took delight; and daily I rejoiced in His presence continually.


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Now then, [my] son, hear me: blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall keep my ways;


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But they that sin against me act wickedly against their own souls, and they that hate me love death.


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He that reproves evil [men] shall get dishonor to himself, and he that rebukes an ungodly [man] shall disgrace himself.


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Give an opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more [instruction].


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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: [ 9:10A] for to know the law is [the character] of a sound mind.


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Son, if you are wise for yourself, you shall also be wise for your neighbors; and if you should prove wicked, you alone will bear the evil. [ 9:12A] He that stays himself upon falsehoods, attempts to rule the winds, and the same will pursue birds in their fight: [ 9:12B] for he has forsaken the ways of his own vineyard, and he has caused the axles of his own cart to go astray; [ 9:12C] and he goes through a dry desert, and [a land] appointed to drought, and he gathers barrenness with his hands.


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saying, Whoever is [the] most senseless of you, let him turn aside to me; and I exhort those that want prudence, saying,


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But he knows that mighty men die by her, and he falls in with a snare of hell. [ 9:18A] But hasten away, do not delay in the place, neither fix your eye upon her; [ 9:18B] for thus shall you go through strange water; [ 9:18C] but abstain from strange water, and do not drink from a strange fountain, [ 9:18D] that you may live long, and years of life may be added to you.


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Poverty brings a man low, but the hands of the vigorous make rich. [ 10:4A] A son who is instructed shall be wise, and shall use the fool for a servant.


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The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just, but untimely grief shall cover the mouth of the ungodly.


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A wise man in heart will receive commandments, but he that is unguarded in his lips shall be overthrown in his perverseness.


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He that winks with his eyes deceitfully procures griefs for men, but he that reproves boldly is a peacemaker.


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[There is] a fountain of life in the hand of a righteous man, but destruction shall cover the mouth of the ungodly.


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The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous; it enriches him, and grief of heart shall not be added to it.


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When the storm passes by, the ungodly vanishes away; but the righteous turns aside and escapes forever.


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As a sour grape is hurtful to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so iniquity hurts those that practice it.


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When a just man dies he leaves regret, but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy.


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The righteousness of upright men delivers them, but transgressors are caught in their own destruction.


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In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens, but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous.


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A double-tongued man discloses the secret counsels of an assembly, but he that is faithful in spirit conceals matters.


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A gracious wife brings glory to her husband, but a woman hating righteousness is a theme of dishonor. The slothful come to want, but the diligent support themselves with wealth.


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Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord, but all they that are blameless in their ways are acceptable to Him.


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He that unjustly strikes hands shall not be unpunished, but he that sows righteousness shall receive a faithful reward.


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There are [some] who scatter their own, and make it more, and there are some also who gather, yet have less.


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He that devises good [counsels] seeks good favor, but as for him that seeks after evil, [evil] shall overtake him.


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He that deals not graciously with his own house shall inherit the wind, and the fool shall be servant to the wise man.


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Out of the fruit of righteousness grows a tree of life, but the souls of transgressors are cut off before their time.


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He that has found favor with the Lord is [made] better, but a transgressor shall be passed over in silence.


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A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband, but as a worm in wood, so a bad woman destroys her husband.


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The mouth of an understanding man is praised by a man, but he that is dull of heart is had in derision.


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He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread; but they that pursue vanities are void of understanding. [ 12:11A] He that enjoys himself in banquets of wine, shall leave dishonor in his own strongholds.


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For the sin of his lips a sinner falls into snare, but a righteous man escapes from them. [ 12:13A] He whose looks are gentle shall be pitied, but he that contends in the gates will afflict souls.


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The soul of a man shall be filled with good from the fruits of his mouth, and the recompense of his lips shall be given to him.


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A just arbitrator shall be his own friend, but mischief shall pursue sinners, and the way of ungodly men shall lead them astray.


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A good [man] shall eat of the fruits of righteousness, but the lives of transgressors shall perish before their time.


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He that keeps his own mouth keeps his own life, but he that is hasty with his lips shall bring terror upon himself.


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There are [some] who, having nothing, enrich themselves, and there are some who bring themselves down in [the midst of] much wealth.


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The righteous always have light, but the light of the ungodly is quenched. [ 13:9A] Crafty souls go astray in sins, but just men have pity, and are merciful.


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Wealth gotten hastily with iniquity is diminished, but he that gathers for himself with godliness shall be increased. The righteous [man] is merciful, and lends.


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Better is he that begins to help heartily, than he that promises and leads [another] to hope; for a good desire is a tree of life.


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He that slights a matter shall be slighted of it, but he that fears the commandment has health [of soul]. [ 13:13A] To a crafty son there shall be nothing good, but a wise servant shall have his way prosperous.


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Sound discretion gives favor, and to know the law is the part of a sound understanding, but the ways of scorners lead to destruction.


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A good man shall inherit children's children, and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just.


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Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean, but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent.


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You shall seek wisdom with bad men, and shall not find it, but discretion is easily available with the prudent.


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If a man's mind is intelligent, his soul is sorrowful; and when he rejoices, he has no fellowship with pride.


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The houses of ungodly men shall be utterly destroyed, but the tabernacles of them that walk uprightly shall stand.


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A wise man fears, and departs from evil, but the fool trusts in himself, and joins himself with the transgressor.


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Fools shall have mischief for their portion, but the prudent shall quickly take hold of understanding.


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They that go astray devise evils, but the good devise mercy and truth. The framers of evil do not understand mercy and truth, but compassion and faithfulness are with the framers of good.


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With everyone who is careful there is abundance, but the pleasure-taking and indolent shall be in want.


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The commandment of the Lord is a fountain of life, and it causes men to turn aside from the snare of death.


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The ungodly shall be driven away in his wickedness, but he who is secure in his own holiness is just.


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Anger slays even wise men, yet a submissive answer turns away wrath; but a grievous word stirs up anger.


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A fool scorns his father's instruction, but he that keeps his commandments is more prudent. In abounding righteousness is great strength, but the ungodly shall utterly perish from the earth.


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The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, but the prayers of them that walk honestly are acceptable to Him.


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The ways of an ungodly man are an abomination to the Lord, but He loves those that follow after righteousness.


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The instruction of the simple is known by them that pass by, but they that hate reproofs die disgracefully.


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An uninstructed person will not love those that reprove him, neither will he associate with the wise.


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When the heart rejoices, the countenance is cheerful, but when it is in sorrow, the countenance is sad.


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Better is a small portion with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures without the fear [of the Lord].


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Better is an entertainment of herbs with friendliness and kindness, than a feast of calves, with enmity.


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A passionate man stirs up strife; but [he that is] slow to anger appeases even a rising one. [ 15:18A] A man slow to anger will extinguish quarrels, but an ungodly man rather stirs [them] up.


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A bad man will by no means obey counsel, neither will he say anything seasonable, or of good report.


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An unrighteous thought is an abomination to the Lord, but the sayings of the pure are held in honor.


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A receiver of bribes destroys himself, but he that hates the receiving of bribes is safe. [ 15:27A] By alms and by faithful dealings sins are purged away, but by the fear of the Lord everyone departs from evil.


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The hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness, but the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things. [ 15:28A] The ways of righteous men are acceptable with the Lord, and through them even enemies become friends.


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God is far from the ungodly, but He hears the prayers of the righteous. [ 15:29A] Better are small receipts with righteousness, than abundant fruits with unrighteousness. [ 15:29B] Let the heart of a man think justly, that his steps may be rightly ordered of God.


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[ 15:33A] All the works of the humble man are manifest with God, but the ungodly shall perish in an evil day.


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Everyone that is proud in heart is unclean before God, and he that unjustly strikes hands with hand shall not be held guiltless.


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[ 16:5A] The beginning of a good way is to do justly, and it is more acceptable with God than to offer sacrifices.


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[ 16:5B] He that seeks the Lord shall find knowledge with righteousness, and they that rightly seek Him shall find peace.


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[ 16:5C] All of the works of the Lord [are done] with righteousness, and the ungodly [man] is kept for the evil day.


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The son of a king is in the light of life, and they that are in favor with him are as a cloud of latter rain.


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The brood of wisdom is more to be chosen than gold, and the brood of prudence more to be chosen than silver.


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The paths of life turn aside from evil, and the ways of righteousness are length of life. He that receives instruction shall be in prosperity, and he that regards reproofs shall be made wise. He that keeps his ways preserves his own soul, and he that loves his life will spare his mouth.


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The heart of the wise will discern the [things which proceed] from his own mouth, and on his lips he will wear knowledge.


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But the perverse bears destruction upon his own mouth: a foolish man digs up evil for himself, and treasures fire on his own lips.


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A perverse man spreads mischief, and will kindle a torch of deceit with mischief, and he separates friends.


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And the man that fixes his eyes devises perverse things, and marks out with his lips all evil: he is a furnace of wickedness.


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A man slow to anger is better than a strong man, and he that governs [his] temper better than he that takes a city.


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Better is a morsel with pleasure in peace, than a house [full] of many good things and unjust sacrifices, with strife.


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He that laughs at the poor provokes Him that made him, and he that rejoices at the destruction of another shall not be held guiltless; but he that has compassion shall find mercy.


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Children's children are the crown of old men; and their fathers are the glory of children. [ 17:6A] The faithful has the whole world full of wealth; but the faithless not even a farthing.


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He that conceals injuries seeks love, but he that hates to hide [them] separates friends and kindred.


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Why has the fool wealth? For a senseless man will not be able to purchase wisdom. [ 17:16A] He that exalts his own house seeks ruin, and he that turns aside from instruction shall fall into mischief.


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A friend loves at all times, and let brothers be useful in distress, for on this account are they born.


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A foolish man applauds and rejoices over himself, as he also that becomes surety would make himself responsible for his own friends.


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and the heart of a fool is grief to its possessor. A father rejoices not over an uninstructed son, but a wise son gladdens his mother.


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The ways of a man who unjustly receives gifts in his bosom do not prosper, and an ungodly man perverts the ways of righteousness.


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Wisdom shall be imputed to a fool who asks after wisdom, and he who holds his peace shall seem to be sensible.


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A man who wishes to separate from friends seeks excuses, but at all times he will be liable to reproach.


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When an ungodly man comes into a depth of evils, he despises [them]; but dishonor and reproach come upon him.


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[It is] not good to accept the person of the ungodly, nor is it holy to pervert justice in judgment.


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A righteous man accuses himself at the beginning of his speech, but when he has entered upon the attack, the adversary is reproved.


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A brother helped by a brother is as a strong and high city, and is as strong as a well-founded palace.


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A man fills his belly with the fruits of his mouth, and he shall be satisfied with the fruits of his lips.


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He that has found a good wife has found favors, and has received favor from God. [ 18:22A] He that puts away a good wife, puts away a good thing, and he that keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.


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Everyone who hates his poor brother shall also be far from friendship. Good understanding will draw near to them that know it, and a sensible man will find it. He that does much harm perfects mischief, and he that used provoking words shall not escape.


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Delight does not suit a fool, nor [is it seemly] if a servant should begin to rule with haughtiness.


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He that has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will recompense to him according to his gift.


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The fear of the Lord is life to a man; and he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not seen.


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When a pestilent character is scourged, a simple man is made wiser, and if you reprove a wise man, he will understand discretion.


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He that dishonors his father, and drives away his mother, shall be disgraced and shall be exposed to reproach.


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He that becomes surety for a foolish child will despise the ordinance, and the mouth of ungodly men shall drink down judgment.


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The threat of a king differs not from the rage of a lion; and he that provokes him sins against his own soul.


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Diverse weights and diverse measures, both of them are an abomination before the Lord, and so is he that makes them.


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A youth [when in company] with a godly man, will be restrained in his devices, and then his way will be straight.


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It is a snare to a man hastily to consecrate some of his own property: for [in that case] repentance comes after vowing.


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[It is] better to dwell in a corner on the housetop, than in plastered rooms with unrighteousness, and in an open house.


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When an intemperate man is punished the simple becomes wiser, and a wise man understanding will receive knowledge.


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A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly, and despises the ungodly for their wickedness.


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He that stops his ears from hearing the poor, himself also shall cry, and there shall be none to hear [him].


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A bold and self-willed and insolent man is called a pest, and he that remembers injuries is a transgressor.


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An ungodly man entertains evil desires all the day, but the righteous is unsparingly merciful and compassionate.


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An intelligent man seeing a bad man severely punished is himself instructed, but fools pass by and are punished.


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He that sows wickedness shall reap troubles, and shall fully receive the punishment of his deeds. [ 22:8A] God loves a cheerful and liberal man; but a man shall fully prove the folly of his works.


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He that has pity on the poor shall himself be maintained, for he has given of his own bread to the poor. [ 22:9A] He that gives liberally secures victory an honor, but he takes away the life of them that posses them.


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Cast out a pestilent person from the council, and strife shall go out with him; for when he sits in the council he dishonors all.


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The Lord loves holy hearts, and all blameless persons are acceptable to Him; a king rules with his lips.


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The mouth of a transgressor is a deep pit, and he that is hated of the Lord shall fall into it. [ 22:14A] Evil ways are before a man, and he does not like to turn away from them, but it is needful to turn aside from a perverse and bad way.


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He that oppresses the poor, increases his own substance, yet gives to the rich so as to make it less.


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that you may know that they are good, and if you take them to heart, they shall also gladden you on your lips;


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I therefore teach you truth, and knowledge good to hear, that you may answer words of truth to them that question you.


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It is fit that an observant man and [one] diligent in his business should attend on kings, and not attend on slothful men.


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and apply your hand, knowing that it behooves you to prepare such [meats]; but if you are very insatiable,


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If you should fix your eye upon him, he will disappear; for wings like an eagle's are prepared for him, and he returns to the house of his master.


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so he eats and drinks as if anyone should swallow a hair, and do not bring him in to yourself, nor eat your morsel with him;


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for every drunkard and whoremonger shall be poor, and every sluggard shall clothe himself with tatters and ragged garments.


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Listen, [my] son, to your father which begot you, and despise not [your mother] because she has grown old.


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Who [has] woe? Who has trouble? Who has quarrels? And who complains and disputes? Who has bruises without a cause? Whose eyes are livid?


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[Are] not [those] of them that stay long at wine? Are not those of them that haunt [the places] where banquets are? Be not drunk with wine; but converse with just men, and converse with them openly.


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For if you should set your eyes on bowls and cups, you shall afterwards go more naked than a pestle.


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But at last [such a one] stretches himself out as one smitten by a serpent, and venom is diffused through him as by a horned serpent.


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And you shall say, They struck me, and I was not pained; and they mocked me, and I knew it not: when will it be morning, that I may go and seek those with whom I may go in company?


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Wisdom and good understanding are in the gates of the wise; the wise turn not aside from the mouth of the Lord,


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Deliver them that are led away to death, and redeem them that are appointed to be slain; spare not [your help].


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But if you should say, I know not this man; know that the Lord knows the hearts of all; and He that formed breath for all, He knows all things, who renders to every man according to his works.


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Thus shall you perceive wisdom in your soul: for if you find it, your end shall be good, and hope shall not fail you.


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Bring not an ungodly man into the dwelling of the righteous: neither be deceived by the feeding of the belly.


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For a righteous man will fall seven times, and rise [again], but the ungodly shall be without strength in troubles.


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For they will suddenly punish the ungodly, and who can know the vengeance [inflicted] by both? [ 24:22A] A son that keeps the commandment shall escape destruction, for [such a one] has fully received it. [ 24:22B] Let no falsehood be spoken by the king from the tongue; yea, let no falsehood proceed from his tongue. [ 24:22C] The king's tongue is a sword, and not one of flesh; and whosoever shall be given up to it shall be destroyed: [ 24:22D] for if his wrath should be provoked, he destroys men with cords, [ 24:22E] and devours men's bones, and burns them up as a flame, so that they are not even fit to be eaten by the young eagles. [ 24:22F] My son, honor my words, and receive them, and repent.


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And this thing I say to you that are wise, for you to learn: It is not good to show partiality in judgment.


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He that says of the ungodly, He is righteous, shall be cursed by peoples, and hateful among the nations.


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Prepare your works for your going forth, and prepare yourself for the field; and come after me, and you shall rebuild your house.


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Say not, As he has treated me, so will I treat him, and I will avenge myself on him for that in which he has injured me.


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If you let him alone, he will altogether remain barren and covered with weeds; and he becomes destitute, and his stone walls are broken down.


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The sluggard says, I slumber a little, and I sleep a little, and for a little while I fold my arms across my breast.


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for [it is] better for you that it should be said, Come up to me, than that one should humble you in the presence of the prince; speak of that which your eyes have seen.


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lest your friend continue to reproach you, so your quarrel and enmity shall not depart, but shall be to you like death. [ 25:10A] Favor and friendship set a man free, which you shall keep for yourself, lest you be made liable to reproach; but take heed to your ways peaceably.


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As a fall of snow in the time of harvest is good against heat, so a faithful messenger [refreshes] those that send him; for he helps the souls of his employers.


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[As] a club, and a dagger, and a pointed arrow, so also is a man who bears false witness against his friend.


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As vinegar is bad for a sore, so trouble befalling the body afflicts the heart. [ 25:20A] As a moth in a garment, and a worm in wood, so the grief of a man hurts the heart.


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As if one should stop a well, and corrupt a spring of water, so is it unseemly for a righteous man to fall before an ungodly man.


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As a city whose walls are broken down, and which is unfortified, so is a man who does anything without counsel.


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As when a dog returns to his own vomit, and becomes abominable, so is a fool who returns in his wickedness to his own sin. [ 26:11A] There is a shame that brings sin, and there is a shame that is glory and grace.


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A sluggard when sent on a journey says, [There is] a lion in the road, and [there are] murderers in the streets.


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As those who need correction put forth [fair] words to men, and he that first falls in with the proposal will be overthrown;


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so are all that lay wait for their own friends, and when they are discovered, say, I did it in jest.


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Though your enemy intreat you with a loud voice, consent not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.


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He that hides enmity frames deceit, but being easily discerned, exposes his own sins in the public assemblies.


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He that digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it, and he that rolls a stone, rolls it upon himself.


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As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a man is brought into bondage whenever he estranges himself from his own place.


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Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; better is a friend [that is] near than a brother living far off.


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Whosoever shall bless a friend in the morning with a loud voice, shall seem to differ nothing from one who curses him.


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On a stormy day drops of rain drive a man out of his house, so also does a railing woman [drive a man] out of his own house.


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He that plants a fig tree shall eat the fruits of it; so he that waits on his own master shall be honored.


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Hell and destruction are not filled, neither are the eyes of men ever satisfied. [ 27:20A] He that fixes his eye is an abomination to the Lord, and the uninstructed do not restrain their tongue.


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Fire is the trial for silver and gold, and a man is tried by the mouth of them that praise him. [ 27:21A] The heart of the transgressor seeks after mischief, but an upright heart seeks knowledge.


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Though you scourge a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, you will [still] in no way remove his folly from him.


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For a man has not strength and power forever; neither does he transmit it from generation to generation.


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so they that forsake the law praise ungodliness; but they that love the law fortify themselves with a wall.


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He that causes upright men to err in an evil way, himself shall fall into destruction; transgressors also shall pass by prosperity, but shall not enter into it.


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By reason of the help of righteous men great glory arises, but in the places of the ungodly men are caught.


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A king in need of revenues is a great oppressor, but he that hates injustice shall live a long time.


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He that becomes surety for a man charged with murder shall be in exile, and not in safety. [ 28:17A] Chasten your son, and he shall love you, and give honor to your soul: he shall not obey a sinful nation.


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He that tills his own land shall be satisfied with bread, but he that follows idleness shall have plenty of poverty.


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He that respects not the persons of the righteous is not good: such a one will sell a man for a morsel of bread.


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An envious man makes haste to be rich, and knows not that the merciful man will have the mastery over him.


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He that casts off father or mother, and thinks he does not sin, the same is partaker with an ungodly man.


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He that gives to the poor shall not be in need, but he that turns away his eye [from him] shall be in great distress.


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In the places of ungodly [men] the righteous mourn, but in their destruction the righteous shall be multiplied.


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A reprover is better than a stiff-necked man, for when the latter is suddenly set on fire, there shall be no remedy.


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A righteous man knows how to judge for the poor, but the ungodly understands not knowledge, and the poor man has not an understanding mind.


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A stubborn servant will not be reproved by words: for even if he understands, still he will not obey.


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He that shares with a thief hates his own soul, and if any, having heard an oath uttered, do not tell of it.


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[Those] fearing and reverencing men [unreasonably] have been overthrown, but he that trusts in the Lord shall rejoice. Ungodliness causes a man to stumble, but he that trusts in his master shall be safe.


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A righteous man is an abomination to an unrighteous man, and the direct way is an abomination to the sinner.


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Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who has gathered the winds in His bosom? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has dominion of all the ends of the earth? What is His name? Or what is the name of His children?


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Remove vanity and falsehood far from me, and give me neither wealth nor poverty, but appoint [to] me what is needful and sufficient:


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lest I be filled and become false, and say, Who sees me? Or be poor and steal, and swear vainly by the name of God.


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Deliver not a servant into the hands of his master, lest he curse you, and you be utterly destroyed.


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A wicked generation have swords for teeth and jaw-teeth as knives, so as to destroy and devour the lowly from the earth, and the poor of them from among men.


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The leech had three dearly beloved daughters, and these three did not satisfy her; and the fourth was not contented so as to say, Enough.


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The grave, and the love of a woman, and the earth not filled with water; water also and fire will not say, It is enough.


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The eye that laughs to scorn a father, and dishonors the old age of a mother, let the ravens of the valleys pick it out, and let the young eagles devour it.


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the track of a flying eagle; and the ways of a serpent on a rock; and the paths of a ship passing through the sea; and the ways of a man in [his] youth.


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Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who having washed herself from what she has done, says she has done nothing amiss.


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or if a maid-servant should cast out her own mistress, and if a hateful woman should marry a good man.


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And the lizard, which supports itself by its hands, and is easily taken, and dwells in the fortresses of kings.


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and a rooster walking in boldly among the hens, and the goat leading the herd; and a king publicly speaking before a nation.


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Churn the milk, and there shall be butter, and if you wring one's nostrils, there shall come out blood: so if you extort words, there will come forth quarrels and strife.


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What will you keep, my son, what? The words of God? My firstborn son, I speak to you: what? Son of my womb? What? Son of my vows?


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Give not your wealth to women, nor your mind and living to remorse. Do all things with counsel: drink wine with counsel.


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Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he tarries anywhere abroad: for all her household are clothed.


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She makes for her husband clothes of double texture, and garments for herself of fine linen and scarlet.


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And her husband becomes a distinguished [person] in the gates, when he sits in council with the old inhabitants of the land.


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She makes fine linens, and sells sashes to the Canaanites; she opens her mouth heedfully and with propriety, and controls her tongue.


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And her kindness to them sets up her children for them, and they grow rich, and her husband praises her.


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Many daughters have obtained wealth, many have wrought valiantly, but you have exceeded, you have surpassed all.


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Charms are false, and woman's beauty is vain: for it is a wise woman that is blessed, and let her praise the fear the Lord.


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arising there it proceeds southward, and goes round toward the north. The wind goes round and round, and the wind returns to its circuits.


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All the rivers run into the sea; and yet the sea is not filled. To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.


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All things are full of labor; a man will not be able to speak [of them.] Neither shall the eye be satisfied with seeing, neither shall the ear be filled with hearing.


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What is that which has been? The very thing which shall be. And what is that which has been done? The very thing which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.


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[Who is he] that shall speak and say, Behold, this is new? It has already been in the ages that have passed before us.


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There is no memorial to the first things; neither to the things that have been last shall their memorial be with them that shall at the last [time].


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And I applied my heart to seek out and examine by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven, for God has given to the sons of men a burdensome task to be afflicted with.


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I beheld all the works that were done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.


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I spoke in my heart, saying, Behold, I have attained, and acquired wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also I applied my heart to know wisdom and knowledge.


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And my heart knew much- wisdom, knowledge, parables and understanding: I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.


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For in the abundance of wisdom is abundance of knowledge; and he that increases knowledge will increase sorrow.


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I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure. And behold, this is also vanity.


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And I examined whether my heart would excite my flesh as [with] wine, (though my heart guided [me] in wisdom,) and [I desired] to lay hold of mirth, until I should see of what kind is the good to the sons of men, which they should do under the sun all the days of their life.


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I acquired servants and maidens, and servants were born to me in the house. Also I had abundant possessions of flocks and herds, beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem.


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Moreover I collected for myself both silver and gold, and the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces. I procured for myself singing men and singing women, and delights of the sons of men, a butler and female cupbearers.


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So I became great, and advanced beyond all that were before in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom was established to me.


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And whatever my eyes desired, I withheld not from them, I withheld not my heart from all my mirth; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my portion of all my labor.


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And I looked on all my works which my hands had done, and on my labor which I labored to perform, and behold, all was vanity and grasping for the wind, and there is no advantage under the sun.


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Then I looked on to see wisdom, and madness, and folly: for who is the man who will follow after counsel, in all things where in he employs it?


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The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness. And I perceived, even I, that one event shall happen to them all.


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And I said in my heart, As the event of the fool is, so shall it be to me, even to me. And to what purpose have I gained wisdom? Moreover, I said in my heart, This is also vanity, because the fool speaks of his abundance.


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For there is no remembrance of the wise man with the fool forever; forasmuch as now [in] the coming days all things are forgotten. And how shall the wise man die with the fool?


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So I hated life, because the work that was done under the sun was evil before me. For all is vanity and grasping for the wind.


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And I hated all of my labor which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.


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And who knows whether he will be wise, or a fool? And whether he will have power over all my labor in which I labored, and in which I grew wise under the sun? This is also vanity.


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For there is [such] a man that his labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in fortitude; [yet] this man shall give his portion to one who has not labored for it. This is also vanity and a great evil.


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For it happens to a man in all his labor, and in the purpose of his heart in which he labors under the sun.


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For all his days [are] sorrowful, and vexation of spirit is his; in the night also his heart rests not. This is also vanity.


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A man has nothing good to eat, and to drink, and to show his soul [as] good in his trouble. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God.


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For [God] has given wisdom, knowledge, and joy to the man who is good in His sight, but He has given to the sinner trouble, to add and to heap up, that He may give to him that is good before God; for this is also vanity and grasping for the wind.


text:
A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what has been planted;


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a time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;


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All the things which He has made are beautiful in His time. He has also set the whole world in their heart, that man might not find out the work which God has done from the beginning, even to the end.


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I know that whatsoever things God has done, they shall be forever. It is impossible to add to it, and it is impossible to take away from it; and God has done [it], that [men] should fear before Him.


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That which has been is now; and whatever things [are appointed] to be have already been; and God will seek out that which is past.


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And moreover I saw under the sun: [In] the place of judgment, wickedness [was] there; and in the place of righteousness, there was godliness.


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And I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the ungodly; for there is a time there for every action and for every work.


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I said in my heart, concerning the speech of the sons of men, God will judge them, and that to show that they are beasts.


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Also to them is the event of the sons of men, and the event of the brute; one event befalls them. As is the death of the one, so also the death of the other; and there is one breath to all; and what has the man more than the brute? Nothing; for all is vanity.


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And who has seen the spirit of the sons of men, whether it goes upward? And the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?


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And I saw that there was no good, but that wherein a man shall rejoice in his works, for it is his portion, for who shall bring him to see anything of that which shall be after him?


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So I returned, and saw all the oppressions that were done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of them that oppressed them was power; but they had no comforter.


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And I praised all the dead that had already died more than the living, as many as are alive until now.


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Better also than both these is he who has not yet been, who has not seen all the evil work that is done under the sun.


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And I saw all labor, and all the diligent work, that this is a man's envy from his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.


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There is one [alone], and there is not a second; yea, he has neither son nor brother: yet there is no end to all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with wealth. And for whom do I labor, and deprive my soul of good? This is also vanity, and an evil trouble.


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For if they fall, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him that is alone when he falls, and there is not a second to lift him up.


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And if one should prevail against [him], the two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord shall not be quickly broken.


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Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who knows not how to take heed any longer.


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For he shall come forth out of the house of the prisoners to reign, because [he] also that was in his kingdom has become poor.


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I beheld all the living who were walking under the sun, with the second youth who shall stand up in each one's place.


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There is no end to all the people, to all who were before them; and the last shall not rejoice in him; for this also is vanity and grasping for the wind.


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Keep your foot, whenever you go to the house of God; and [when you are] near to hear, let your sacrifice [be] better than the gift of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.


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Be not hasty with your mouth, and let not your heart be swift to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven above, and you [are] on earth; therefore let your words be few.


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Whenever you shall vow a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for [He has] no pleasure in fools. Pay, therefore, whatsoever you have vowed.


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Do not allow your mouth to lead your flesh to sin; and say not in the presence of God, It was an error; lest God be angry at your voice, and destroy the works of your hands.


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If you should see the oppression of the poor, and the wresting of judgment and of justice in the land, wonder not at the matter; for [there is] a high one to watch over him that is high, and high ones over them.


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He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who has loved gain, in the abundance thereof. This also is vanity.


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In the multitude of good they are increased that eat it, and what virtue has the owner, but the right of beholding [it] with his eyes?


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The sleep of a servant is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.


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There is an infirmity which I have seen under the sun, [namely], wealth kept for its owner to his [own] hurt.


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And that wealth shall perish in an evil trouble, and [the man] begets a son, and there is nothing in his hand.


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As he came forth naked from his mother's womb, he shall return back as he came, and he shall receive nothing for his labor, that it should go [with him] in his hand.


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And this is also an evil infirmity; for as he came, so also shall he return. And what is his gain, for which he labors in vain?


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Behold, I have seen good, that it is a fine thing [for a man] to eat and to drink, and to see good in all his labor in which he may labor under the sun; [all] the number of the days of his life which God has given to him; for it is his portion.


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Yea, and [as for] every man to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and has given to him power to eat thereof, and to receive his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.


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A man to whom God shall give wealth, and substance, and honor, and he lacks nothing for his soul of all things that he shall desire, yet God shall not give him power to eat of it, for a stranger shall devour it. This is vanity, and an evil infirmity.


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If a man beget a hundred [children], and live many years, yea, however abundant the days of his years shall be, yet [if] his soul shall not be satisfied with good, and also he have no burial; I said, An untimely birth is better than he.


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Though he has lived to the return of a thousand years, yet he has seen no good. Do not all go to one place?


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For [what] advantage has the wise man over the fool, since [even] the poor knows how to walk in the direction of life?


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The sight of the eyes is better than that which wanders in soul. This is also vanity, and grasping for the wind.


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If anything has been, its name has already been called. And it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is stronger than he.


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For who knows [what is] good for a man in his life, [during] the number of the life of the days of his vanity? And he has spent them as a shadow; for who shall tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?


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[It is] better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the banquet house. Since this is the end of every man, and the living man will apply good [warning] to his heart.


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Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart will be made better.


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The end of a matter is better than the beginning thereof; the patient is better than the high-minded.


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Do not say, What has happened, that the former days were better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.


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For wisdom in its shadow is as the shadow of silver, and the excellence of the knowledge of wisdom will give life to him that has it.


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In the day of prosperity live joyfully, and consider in the day of adversity. Consider, [I say], God also has caused the one to agree with the other for [this] reason, that man should find nothing after him.


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I have seen all things in the days of my vanity; there is a just man perishing in his justice, and there is an ungodly man remaining in his wickedness.


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It is well for you to hold fast by this; also by this defile not your hand; for to them that fear God all things shall come forth [well].


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Also take no heed to all the words which ungodly men shall speak, lest you hear your servant cursing you.


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For many times he shall trespass against you, and repeatedly shall he afflict your heart; for thus also have you cursed others.


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I and my heart went round about to know, and to examine, and to seek wisdom, and the account [of things], and to know the folly and trouble and madness of the ungodly man.


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And I find her [to be], and I will pronounce [to be] more bitter than death, the woman which is a snare, and her heart nets, [who has] a band in her hands. [He that is] good in the sight of God shall be delivered from her; but the sinner shall be caught by her.


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which my soul sought after, but I found not; for I have found one man of a thousand; but a woman in all these I have not found.


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Who knows the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated.


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Be not hasty; you shall go forth out of his presence. Stand not in an evil matter; for he will do whatsoever he shall please,


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He that keeps the commandment shall not know an evil thing; and the heart of the wise knows the time of judgment.


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There is no man that has power over the spirit to retain the spirit; and there is no power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in the day of the battle; neither shall wickedness deliver those who are given to it.


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So I saw all this, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun; all the things in which man has power over man, to afflict him.


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And then I saw the ungodly carried into the tombs, and [that] out of the holy place. And they departed, and were praised in the city, because they had done thus. This also is vanity.


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Because there is no contradiction made on the part of those who are quick to do evil, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully determined in them to do evil.


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He that has sinned has done evil from that time, and from long beforehand. Nevertheless I know, that it is well with them that fear God, that they may fear before Him.


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But it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, [which are but] a shadow; forasmuch as he fears not before God.


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There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just. I said, This is also vanity.


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Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry. And this shall attend him in his labor all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun.


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On this I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was done upon the earth; even though one sees no sleep day or night.


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And I beheld all the works of God, that a man shall not be able to discover the work which is done under the sun. Whatever things a man shall endeavor to seek, however a man may labor to seek it, yet he shall not find it. Moreover, [though] a wise man may speak of knowing it, he shall not be able to find it; for I applied all this to my heart, and my heart has seen all this.


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[I saw] that the righteous, the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God. Yea, there is no man that knows either love or hatred, [though] all are before their face.


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Vanity is in all. There is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath.


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There is this evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all. Yea, the heart of the sons of men is filled with evil, and madness is in their heart during their life, and after that [they go] to the dead.


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For who is he that has fellowship with all the living? There is hope [for him]; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.


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For the living will know that they shall die; but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them, for their memory is lost.


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Also their love and their hatred and their envy have now perished. Yea, there is no portion for them anymore, forever in all that is done under the sun.


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Go, eat your bread with mirth, and drink your wine with a joyful heart; for now God has favorably accepted your works.


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And see life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the life of your vanity, which are given to you under the sun; for that is your portion in your life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.


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Whatsoever your hand shall find to do, do with all your might; for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in Hades, where you are going.


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I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet wealth to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of knowledge; for time and chance will happen to them all.


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For surely man also knows not his time; as fish that are taken in an evil net, and as birds that are caught in a snare, even thus the sons of men are snared at an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.


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[Suppose there were] a little city, and few men in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great mounds against it;


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and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom: yet no man would remember that poor man.


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And I said, Wisdom is better than power; yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised, and his words are not listened to.


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Pestilent flies will corrupt a preparation of sweet ointment; [and] a little wisdom is more precious than great glory of folly.


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Yea, and whenever a fool walks down the road, his heart will fail him, and all that he thinks of is folly.


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If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, leave not your place; for soothing will put an end to great offenses.


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If the ax-head should fall off, then the man troubles his countenance, and he must put forth more strength; and [in that case] skill is of no advantage to a man.


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A fool moreover multiplies words. No man knows what has been, nor what will be. Who shall tell him what will come after him?


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Blessed are you, O land, whose king is a son of nobles, and whose princes shall eat seasonably, for strength, and shall not be ashamed.


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By slothful neglect a building will be brought low, and by idleness of the hands the house will fall to pieces.


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Men prepare bread for laughter, and wine and oil that the living should rejoice; but to money all things will humbly yield obedience.


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Even in your conscience, curse not the king; and curse not the rich in your bedchamber; for a bird of the air shall carry your voice, and that which has wings shall report your speech.


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Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not what evil there shall be upon the earth.


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If the clouds are filled with rain, they pour [it] out upon the earth; and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.


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Among whom none knows what is the way of the wind. As the bones [are hid] in the womb of a pregnant [woman], so you shall not know the works of God, [even] all things whatsoever He shall do.


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In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening let not your hand be slack; for you know not what sort shall prosper whether this or that, or whether both shall be good alike.


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For even if a man should live many years, [and] rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.


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Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, but not in the sight of your eyes: yet know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.


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Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and folly are vanity.


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And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of evil come, and the years overtake [you] in which you shall say, I have no pleasure in them.


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While the sun and light are not darkened, nor the moon and the stars; nor the clouds return after the rain;


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in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the mighty men shall become bent, and the grinding [women] cease because they have become few, and those looking out at the windows grow dim;


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and they shall shut the doors in the marketplace, because of the weakness of the voice of her that grinds [at the mill]; and he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow, and all the daughters of song shall be brought low;


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and they shall look up, and fears [shall be] in the way, and the almond tree shall blossom, and the locust shall increase, and the caper shall be scattered, because man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about the market.


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[Remember Him] before the silver cord is [let go], or the choice gold is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel is run down to the cistern;


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And because the Preacher was wise above [others, so it was] that he taught men excellent knowledge, and the ear will trace out the parables.


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The Preacher sought diligently to find out acceptable words, and a correct writing, [even] words of truth.


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The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails firmly fastened, which have been given from one shepherd by agreement.


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And moreover, my son, guard yourself by means of them; of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.


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For God will bring every work into judgment, with everything that has been overlooked, whether or evil.


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And the smell of your ointments is better than all spices: your name is ointment poured forth; therefore do the young maidens love you.


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They have drawn you: we will run after you, for the smell of your ointments: the king has brought me into his closet: let us rejoice and be glad in you; we will love your breasts more than wine: righteousness loves you.


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I am dark, but beautiful, you daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.


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Look not upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has looked unfavorably upon me: my mother's sons strove with me; they made me keeper in the vineyards; I have not kept my own vineyard.


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Tell me, [you] whom my soul loves, where you tend your flock, where you cause [them] to rest at noon, lest I become as one that is veiled by the flocks of your companions.


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If you know not yourself, you fair one among women, go forth by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed your little goats by the shepherd's tents.


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As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my kinsman among the sons. I desired his shadow, and sat down, and his fruit was sweet in my throat.


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I have charged you, you daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that you do not rouse or wake my love, until he please.


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My kinsman is like a gazelle or a young hart on the mountains of Bethel: behold, he is behind our wall, looking through the windows, peeping through the lattices.


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The flowers are seen in the land; the time of pruning has arrived; the voice of the turtle dove has been heard in our land.


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The fig tree has put forth its young figs, the vines put forth the tender grape, they yield a smell: arise, come, my companion, my fair one, my dove; yea, come.


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[You are] my dove, in the shelter of the rock, near the wall: show me your face, and cause me to hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is beautiful.


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Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, turn, my kinsman, be like to a gazelle or young hart on the mountains of the ravines.


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By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he hearkened not to me.


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I will rise now, and go about in the city, in the market places, and in the streets, and I will seek him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but I found him not.


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The watchmen who go their rounds in the city found me. I [said], Have you seen him whom my soul loves?


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It [was] as a little [while] after I parted from them, that I found him whom my soul loves: I held him, and did not let him go, until I brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.


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I have charged you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and by the virtues of the field, that you rouse not nor awake my love, until he please.


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Who is this that comes up from the wilderness as pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the perfumer?


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They all hold a sword, being expert in war: every man has his sword upon his thigh because of fear by night.


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He made the pillars of it silver, the bottom of it gold, the covering of it scarlet, in the midst of it a pavement of love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.


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Go forth, you daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him, in the day of his wedding, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.


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Behold, you are fair, my companion; behold, you are fair; your eyes are doves, beside your veil: your hair is as flocks of goats, that have appeared from Gilead.


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Your teeth are as flocks of shorn [sheep], that have gone up from the washing; all of them bearing twins, and there is not a barren one among them.


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Your lips are as a thread of scarlet, and your speech is comely: like the rind of a pomegranate is your cheek without your veil.


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Your neck is as the tower of David, that was built for an armory: a thousand shields hang upon it, and all darts of mighty men.


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Until the day dawn, and the shadows depart, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.


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Come from Lebanon, my bride, come from Lebanon: you shall come and pass from the top of Faith, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards.


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My sister, my spouse, you have ravished my heart; you have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.


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How beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my spouse! How much more beautiful are your breasts than wine, and the smell of your garments than all spices!


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Your lips drop honeycomb, my spouse: honey and milk are under your tongue; and the smell of your garments is as the smell of Lebanon.


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Your shoots are a garden of pomegranates, with the fruit of choice berries; camphor, with spikenard:


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spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon; with all woods of Lebanon, myrrh, aloes, with all chief spices:


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Let my kinsman come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his choice berries. I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spices; I have eaten my bread with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; yes, brethren, drink abundantly.


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I sleep, but my heart is awake: the voice of my kinsman knocks at the door, [saying], Open, open to me, my companion, my sister, my dove, my perfect one: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.


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I rose up to open to my kinsman; my hands dropped myrrh, my fingers choice myrrh, on the handles of the lock.


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I opened to my kinsman; my kinsman was gone: my soul failed at his speech: I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he answered me not.


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The watchman that make their rounds in the city found me, they struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.


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I have charged you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the powers and the virtues of the field: if you should find my kinsman, what are you to say to him? That I am wounded with love.


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What is your kinsman [more] than [another] kinsman, O fairest among women? What is your kinsman [more] than [another] kinsman, that you have so charged us?


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His cheeks are as bowls of spices pouring forth perfumes: his lips are lilies, dropping choice myrrh.


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His throat is most sweet, and altogether desirable. This is my kinsman, and this is my companion, O daughters of Jerusalem.


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[ 5:17] Where has your kinsman gone, O fairest among women? Where has your kinsman turned aside? [Tell us,] and we will seek him with you.


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[ 6:1] My kinsman has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spice, to feed [his flock] in the gardens, and to gather lilies.


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[ 6:3] You are fair, my companion, as Pleasure, beautiful as Jerusalem, terrible as armies set in array.


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[ 6:4] Turn away your eyes from before me, for they have ravished me: your hair is as flocks of goats which have appeared from Gilead.


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[ 6:5] Your teeth are as flocks of shorn [sheep], that have gone up from the washing, all of them bearing twins, and there is none barren among them: your lips are as a thread of scarlet, and your speech is comely.


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[ 6:8] My dove, my perfect one is one; she is the only one of her mother; she is the choice of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and the queens will pronounce her blessed, yes, and the concubines, and they will praise her.


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[ 6:9] Who is this that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, choice as the sun, terrible as [armies] set in array?


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[ 6:10] I went down to the garden of nuts, to look at the fruits of the valley, to see if the vine flowered, if the pomegranates blossomed.


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[ 6:11] There I will give you my breasts: my soul knew it not: it made me as the chariots of Aminadab.


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[ 6:12] Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, and we will look at you. What will you see in the Shulamite? She comes as bands of armies.


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Your steps are beautiful in shoes, O daughter of the prince: the joints of your thighs are like chains, the work of the craftsman.


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Your navel is as a turned bowl, not wanting liquor; your belly is as a heap of wheat set about with lilies.


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Your neck is as an ivory tower; your eyes are as pools in Heshbron, by the gates of the daughter of many: your nose is as the tower of Lebanon, looking toward Damascus.


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Your head upon you is as Carmel, and the curls of your hair like scarlet; the king is bound in the galleries.


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This is your greatness in your delights: you were made like a palm tree, and your breasts to cluster.


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I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its high boughs: and now shall your breasts be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of your nose as apples;


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Let us go early into the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, if the blossoms have appeared, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there will I give you my breasts.


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The mandrakes have given a smell, and at our doors are all kinds of choice fruits, new and old. O my kinsman, I have kept [them] for you.


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I would that you, O my kinsman, were he that nursed at the breasts of my mother; when I found you without, I would kiss you; yes, they should not despise me.


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I would take you, I would bring you into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me; I would make you to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranates.


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I have charged you, you daughters of Jerusalem, by the virtues of the field, that you do not stir up, nor awaken my love, until he please.


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Who is this that comes up all white, leaning on her kinsman? I raised you up under an apple tree; there your mother brought you forth; there she that bore you brought you forth.


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Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave, her shafts are shafts of fire, [even] the flames thereof.


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Much water will not be able to quench love, and rivers shall not drown it; if a man would give all his substance for love, men would utterly despise it.


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Our sister is little, and has no breasts; what shall we do for our sister, in the day wherein she shall be spoken for?


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If she is a wall, let us build upon her silver bulwarks; and if she is a door, let us carve for her cedar panels.


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Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he leased his vineyard to keepers; everyone was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver.


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My vineyard, even mine, is before me; Solomon [shall have] a thousand, and they that keep its fruit two hundred.


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The vision which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, which he saw concerning Judah, and Jerusalem, in the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, who reigned over Judah.


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Hear, O heaven, and hearken, O earth! For the Lord has spoken, [saying], I have begotten and reared up children, but they have rebelled against Me.


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The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's crib; but Israel does not know Me, and the people have not regarded Me.


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Alas, sinful nation, a people full of sins, an evil seed, lawless children; you have forsaken the Lord, and provoked the Holy One of Israel.


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Why should you be smitten anymore, transgressing more and more? The whole head is pained, and the whole heart sad.


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From the feet to the head, there is no soundness in them; neither wound, nor bruise, nor festering ulcer [are healed]; it is not possible to apply a plaister, nor oil, nor bandages.


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Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence, and it is made desolate, overthrown by strange nations.


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The daughter of Zion shall be deserted as a tent in a vineyard, and as a storehouse of fruits in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.


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And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and been made like Gomorrah.


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Of what [value] to Me is the abundance of your sacrifices? Says the Lord; I am full of whole burnt offerings of rams; and I delight not in the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats;


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neither shall you come [with these] to appear before Me; for who has required these things at your hands? You shall no more tread My court.


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Though you bring fine flour, [it is] futile; incense is an abomination to Me; I cannot bear your new moons, and your Sabbaths, and the great day;


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[your] fasting, and rest from work, your new moons also, and your feasts My soul hates; you have become loathsome to Me; I will no more pardon your sins.


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When you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away My eyes from you; and though you make many supplications, I will not hearken to you; for your hands are full of blood.


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Wash, and be clean; remove your iniquities from your souls before My eyes; cease from your iniquities;


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learn to do well; diligently seek judgment, deliver him that is suffering wrong, plead for the orphan, and obtain justice for the widow.


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And come, let us reason together, says the Lord; and though your sins be as purple, I will make them white as snow; and though they be as scarlet, I will make [them] white as wool.


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but if you be not willing, nor hearken to Me, a sword shall devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken this.


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How has the faithful city of Zion, [once] full of judgment, become a harlot! Where righteousness lodged, but now murderers.


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Your princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving bribes, seeking after rewards; not pleading for orphans, and not heeding the cause of widows.


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Therefore thus says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Woe to the mighty [men] of Israel; for My wrath shall not cease against My adversaries, and I will execute judgment on My enemies.


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And I will bring My hand upon you, and purge you completely, and I will destroy the rebellious, and I will take away all transgressors from you.


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And I will establish your judges as before, and your counselors as at the beginning; and afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful mother city of Zion.


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And the transgressors and the sinners shall be crushed together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be utterly consumed.


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For they shall be ashamed of their idols, which they delighted in, and they have been made ashamed of the gardens which they coveted.


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And their strength shall be as a thread of tow, and their works as sparks, and the transgressors and the sinners shall be burned up together, and there shall be none to quench [them].


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For in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious, and the house of God [shall be] on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come to it.


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And many nations shall go 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 tell us His way, and we will walk in it; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem.


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And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; and nation shall not take up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war anymore.


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For He has forsaken His people the house of Israel, because their land is filled as at the beginning with divinations, as the [land] of the Philistines, and many strange children were born to them.


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For their land is filled with silver and gold, and there was no number of their treasures; their land also is filled with horses, and there was no number of chariots.


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And the land is filled with abominations, [even] the works of their hands; and they have worshipped [the works] which their fingers made.


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Now therefore enter into the rocks, and hide yourselves in the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of His might, when He shall arise to strike mightily the earth.


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For the eyes of the Lord are high, but man is low; and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.


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For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and haughty, and upon everyone that is high and lifted up, and they shall be brought down;


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And every man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall fall; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.


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having carried [them] into the caves, and into the clefts of the rocks, and into the caverns of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of His might, when He shall arise to strike mightily the earth.


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For in that day a man shall cast forth his silver and gold abominations, which they made, [in order] to worship vanities and bats;


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to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of His might, when He shall arise to strike mightily the earth.


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Behold now, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the mighty man and mighty woman, the strength of bread, and the strength of water,


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the captain of fifty also, and the honorable counselor, and the wise artificer, and the intelligent hearer.


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And the people shall fall, man upon man, and [every] man upon his neighbor; the child shall insult the elder man, and the base [toward] the honorable.


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For a man shall lay hold of his brother, as one of his father's household, saying, You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let my food be under your [power].


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And he shall answer in that day, and say, I will not be your ruler; for I have no bread in my house, nor clothing; I will not be the ruler of this people.


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For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah has fallen, and their tongues [have spoken] with iniquity, disobedient [as they are] towards the Lord.


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Wherefore now their glory has been brought low, and the shame of their countenance has withstood them, and they have proclaimed their sin as Sodom, and made it manifest.


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Woe to their soul, for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying against themselves, Let us bind the just, for he is burdensome to us; therefore shall they eat the fruits of their works.


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O My people, your exactors strip you, and extortioners rule over you; O My people, they that pronounce you blessed lead you astray, and pervert the path of your feet.


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The Lord Himself shall enter into judgment with the elders of the people, and with their rulers; but why have you set My vineyard on fire, and [why is] the spoil of the poor in your houses?


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Thus says the Lord, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and have walked with an outstretched neck, and winking with their eyes, and jingling with their feet, at the same time drawing their garments in trains, and at the same time sporting with their feet;


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therefore the Lord will humble the chief daughters of Zion, and the Lord will expose their form in that day;


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and the Lord will take away the glory of their garments, the curls and the fringes, and the crescents,


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and the array of glorious ornaments, and the armlets, and the bracelets, and the wreathed work, and the finger rings, and the ornaments for the right hand,


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and the garments with purple grounds, and the shawls to be worn in the house, and the Spartan transparent dresses,


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and those made of fine linen, and the purple [ones], and the scarlet [ones], and the fine linen, interwoven with gold and purple, and the light coverings for couches.


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And instead of a sweet smell there shall be dust; and instead of a sash, you shall gird yourself with a rope; and instead of a golden ornament for your head, you shall have baldness on account of your works; and instead of a tunic with a scarlet ground, you shall gird yourself with sackcloth.


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And your most beautiful son whom you love shall fall by the sword; and your mighty men shall fall by the sword, and shall be brought low.


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And the stores of your ornaments shall mourn, and you shall be left alone, and shall be leveled to the ground.


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And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothes; only let your name be called upon us, [and] take away our reproach.


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And in that day God shall shine gloriously in counsel on the earth, to exalt and glorify the remnant of Israel.


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And it shall be, [that] the remnant left in Zion, and the remnant left in Jerusalem, [even] all that are appointed to life in Jerusalem, shall be called holy.


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For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and He shall purge out the blood from the midst of them, with the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of burning.


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And He shall come, and it shall be with regard to every place in Mount Zion, yea, all the region round about it shall a cloud overshadow by day, and [there shall be] as it were the smoke and light of fire burning by night; and upon all the glory shall be a defense.


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And it shall be for a shadow from the heat, and as a shelter and a hiding place from inclemency [of weather] and from rain.


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Now I will sing to [my] Beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. [My] Beloved had a vineyard on a high hill in a fertile place.


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And I made a hedge round it, and dug a trench, and planted a choice vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and dug a place for the wine vat in it; and I waited [for it] to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth thorns.


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What shall I do anymore to My vineyard, that I have not done to it? Whereas I expected [it] to bring forth grapes, but it has brought forth thorns.


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And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it shall be for a spoil; and I will pull down its walls, and it shall be [left] to be trodden down.


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And I will forsake My vineyard; and it shall not be pruned, nor dug, and thorns shall come up upon it as on barren land; and I will command the clouds to rain no rain upon it.


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For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah [His] beloved plant; I expected [it] to bring forth judgment, and it brought forth iniquity; and not righteousness, but a cry.


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Woe [to them] that join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbor's; will you dwell alone upon the land?


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For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts; for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses shall be desolate, and there shall be no inhabitants in them.


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For where ten yoke of oxen plow [the land] shall yield one jar full, and he that sows six homers shall produce three measures.


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Woe [to them] that rise up in the morning, and follow strong drink; who wait [at it till] evening; for the wine shall inflame them.


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For they drink wine with harp, and psaltery, and drums, and pipes; but they regard not the works of the Lord, and consider not the works of His hands.


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Therefore my people have been taken captive, because they know not the Lord; and there has been a multitude of dead [bodies], because of hunger and of thirst for water.


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Therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing; and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down [into it].


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And the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low.


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But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and the holy God shall be glorified in righteousness.


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And they that were spoiled shall be fed as bulls, and lambs shall feed on the waste places of them that are taken away.


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Woe [to them] that draw sins to them as with a long rope, and iniquities as with a thong of the heifer's yoke;


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who say, Let him speedily hasten what he will do, that we may see [it]; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know [it].


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Woe [to them] that call evil good, and good evil; who make darkness light, and light darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter.


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Therefore as stubble shall be burned by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust; for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel.


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Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against His people, and He reached forth His hand upon them, and struck them. And the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the streets; yet for all this His anger has not been turned away, but His hand is yet raised.


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Therefore shall He lift up a signal to the nations that are afar, and shall whistle for them from the end of the earth; and behold, they are coming very quickly.


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They shall not hunger nor be weary, neither shall they slumber nor sleep; neither shall they loose their sashes from their loins, neither shall their sandal straps be broken.


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Whose arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses' hoofs are counted as solid rock; their chariot wheels are as a storm.


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They rage as lions, and draw near as a lion's whelps; and he shall seize, and roar as a wild beast, and he shall cast [them] forth, and there shall be none to deliver them.


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And he shall roar on account of them in that day, as the sound of the swelling sea; and they shall look to the land, and behold, [there shall be] thick darkness in their perplexity.


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And it came to pass in the year in which King Uzziah died, [that] I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, and the house was full of His glory.


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And seraphim stood round about Him; each one had six wings; and with two they covered [their] face, and with two they covered [their] feet, and with two they flew.


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And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.


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And I said, Woe is me, for I am pricked to the heart; for being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips; and I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of hosts.


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Then one of the seraphim was sent to me, and he had in his hand a coal which he had taken off the altar with the tongs;


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and he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and will take away your iniquities, and will purge off your sins.


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And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people? And I said, behold, I am [here], send me. And He said, Go, and say to this people,


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You shall hear indeed, but you shall not understand; and you shall see indeed, but you shall not perceive.


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For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.


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And I said, How long, O Lord? And He said, Until cities are deserted by reason of them not being inhabited, and the houses by reason of there being no men, and the land shall be left desolate.


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And after this God shall remove the men far off, and they that are left upon the land shall be multiplied.


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And yet there shall be a tenth upon it, and again it shall be for a spoil, as a terebinth tree, and as an acorn when it falls out of its husk.


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And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz [the son] of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Aram, and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up against Jerusalem to war against it, but they could not take it.


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And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind.


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And the Lord said to Isaiah, Go forth to meet Ahaz; you, and your son Jashub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller's field.


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And you shall say to him, Take care to be quiet, and fear not, neither let your soul be disheartened because of these two smoking firebrands; for when My fierce anger is over, I will heal again.


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And [as for] the son of Aram, and the son of Remaliah, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, [saying],


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We will go up against Judah, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabel king over it;


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But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus [is] Rezin; and yet within sixty-five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from [being] a people.


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And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria the son of Romaliah; but if you believe not, neither will you at all understand.


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And he said, Hear now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? And how do you contend against the Lord?


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Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Emmanuel.


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For before the child shall know good or evil, He refuses evil, to choose the good; and the land shall be forsaken which you are afraid of because of the two kings.


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But God shall bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon the house of your father, days which have never come, from the day that Ephraim took away from Judah the king of the Assyrians.


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And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall call for the flies, which shall rule over a part of the river of Egypt, and for the bee which is in the land of the Assyrians.


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And they all shall enter into the clefts of the land, and into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves, and into every ravine.


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In that day the Lord shall shave with a hired razor the head of the king of Assyria beyond the river, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard.


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And it shall come to pass from their drinking an abundance of milk, [that] everyone that is left on the land shall eat butter and honey.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, [for] every place where there shall be a thousand vines at a thousand shekels, they shall become barren land and thorns.


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And every mountain shall be certainly plowed; and no fear shall come there; for there shall be from [among] the [barren] ground and thorns on which the cattle shall feed, and oxen shall tread.


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And the Lord said to me, Take to yourself a volume of a great new [book], and write in it with a man's pen concerning the making a rapid plunder of spoils; for it is close at hand.


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And I went in to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, Call his name, Spoil Quickly, Plunder Speedily.


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For before the child shall know [how] to call [his] father or [his] mother, [one] shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians.


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Because this people chooses not the water of Siloam that goes softly, but wills to have Rezin, and the son of Remaliah [to be] king over you;


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therefore behold, the Lord shall bring upon you the water of the river, strong and abundant, [even] the king of the Assyrians, and his glory; and he shall come up over every valley of yours, and shall walk over every wall of yours;


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and he shall take away from Judah [every] man who shall be able to lift up his head, [and everyone] able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of your land, [O] Immanuel.


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Know, you Gentiles, and be conquered; listen, even to the extremity of the earth; be conquered, after you strengthened yourselves; for even if you should again strengthen yourselves, you shall again be conquered.


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And whatever counsel you shall take, the Lord shall bring it to nought; and whatever word you shall speak, it shall not stand among you; for God is with us.


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Thus says the Lord, With a strong hand they revolt from the course of the way of this people, saying,


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Let them not say, [It is] hard, for whatsoever this people says, is hard; but do not fear their fear, neither be dismayed.


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And if you shall trust in Him, He shall be to you for a sanctuary; and you shall not come against [Him] as against a stumbling stone, neither as against the falling of a rock; but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and those who dwell in Jerusalem are in a pit.


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Therefore many among them shall be weak and fall, and be crushed; and they shall draw near, and men shall be taken securely.


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And [one] shall say, I will wait for God, who has turned away His face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in Him.


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Behold I and the children which God has given me; and they shall be [for] signs and wonders in the house of Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.


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And if they should say to you, Seek those who have in them a divining spirit, and them that speak out of the earth, them that speak vain words, who speak out of their belly; shall not a nation diligently seek their God? Why do they look to the dead concerning the living?


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For He has given the law for a help, that they should not speak according to this word, concerning which there are no gifts to give for it.


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And famine shall come sorely upon you, and it shall come to pass, [that] when you shall be hungry, you shall be grieved, and you shall speak evil of the prince and of your fathers' ordinances; and they shall look up to heaven above,


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and they shall look on the earth below, and behold severe distress, and darkness, affliction, and anguish, and darkness so that [no one] can see; and he that is in anguish shall not be distressed only for a season.


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Drink this first. Act quickly, O land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, and the rest [that inhabit] the seacoast, and [the land] beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.


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O people walking in darkness, behold a great light; you that dwell in the region [and] shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.


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The multitude of the people which you have brought down in your joy, they shall even rejoice before you as they that rejoice in harvest, and as they that divide the spoil.


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Because the yoke that was laid upon them has been taken away, and the rod that was on their neck; for he has broken the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Midian.


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For they shall compensate for every garment that has been acquired by deceit, and [all] garments with restitution; and they shall be willing, [even] if they were burned with fire.


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For a Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us, whose government is upon His shoulder; and His name is called the Messenger of great counsel; for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to Him.


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His government shall be great, and of His peace there is no end; [it shall be] upon the throne of David, and [upon] His kingdom, to establish it, and to support [it] with judgment and with righteousness, from this time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.


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And all the people of Ephraim, and those that dwelt in Samaria shall know, who say in their pride and lofty heart,


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The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.


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And God shall dash them down that rise up against Him on Mount Zion, and He shall scatter His enemies;


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[even] Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this [His] anger is not turned away, but still [His] hand is exalted.


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the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail.


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And they that pronounce this people blessed shall mislead them; and they mislead them that they may devour them.


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Therefore the Lord shall not take pleasure in their young men, neither shall He have pity on their orphans or on their widows; for they are all transgressors and wicked, and every mouth speaks unjustly. For all this [His] anger is not turned away, but [His] hand is yet exalted.


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And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass; and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills.


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The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burned by fire; no man shall pity his brother.


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But [one] shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm.


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For Manasseh shall eat [the flesh] of Ephraim, and Ephraim [the flesh] of Manasseh; for they shall besiege Judah together. For all this [His] anger is not turned away, but [His] hand is yet exalted.


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perverting the cause of the poor, violently seizing the judgment of the needy ones of My people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil.


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And what will they do in the day of visitation? For affliction shall come to you from afar; and to whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory,


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that you may not fall into captivity? For all this [His] wrath is not turned away, but [His] hand is yet exalted.


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I will send My wrath against a sinful nation, and I will command My people to take plunder and spoil, and to trample the cities, and to make dust out of them.


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But he does not mean so, neither did he devise thus in his heart; but his mind shall change, and [that] to destroy nations not a few.


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then shall he say, Have I not taken the country above Babylon and Chalanes, where the tower was built? And have I [not] taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria?


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As I have taken them, I will also take all the kingdoms; howl, you idols in Jerusalem, and in Samaria.


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And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has finished doing all things on Mount Zion and Jerusalem, [that] I will visit upon the proud heart, [even] upon the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the boastful haughtiness of his eyes.


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For he said, I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of [my] understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations, and will spoil their strength.


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And I will shake the inhabited cities; and I will take with My hand all the world as a nest; and I will even take them as eggs that have been left; and there is none that shall escape Me, or contradict Me.


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Shall the ax glorify itself without him that chops with it? Or shall the saw lift itself up without him that uses it, as if one should lift a rod or staff? But it shall not be so;


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but the Lord of hosts shall send dishonor upon your honor, and burning fire shall be kindled upon your glory.


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And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and He shall sanctify him with burning fire, and it shall devour the wood as grass.


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In that day the mountains shall be consumed, and the hills, and the forests, and [fire] shall devour [both] soul and body; and he that flees shall be as one fleeing from a burning flame.


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And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the remnant of Israel shall no more join themselves with, and the saved of Jacob shall no more trust in them that injured them; but they shall trust in the Holy God of Israel, in truth.


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He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness; because the Lord will make a short work in all the world.


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Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, Be not afraid, My people who dwell in Zion, of the Assyrians, because he shall smite you with a rod; for I am bringing a stroke upon you, that [you] may see the way of Egypt.


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For yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease; but My wrath shall be against their council.


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And God will stir up [enemies] against them, according to the stroke of Midian in the place of affliction; and His wrath shall be by the way of the sea, [even] to the way that leads to Egypt.


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And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his yoke shall be taken away from your shoulder, and his fear from you, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.


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For he shall arrive at the city of Aiath, and shall pass on to Migron, and shall lay up his stores in Michmash.


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And he shall pass by the valley, and shall arrive at Aiath; fear shall seize upon Ramah, the city of Saul.


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Exhort [them] today to remain in the way; exhort, [beckoning] the mountain with your hand, the daughter of Zion, even you hills that are in Jerusalem.


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Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will mightily confound the glorious ones; and the haughty in pride shall be crushed, and the lofty shall be brought low;


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And there shall come forth a Rod out of the root of Jesse, and a blossom shall come up from [his] root;


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and the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness shall fill Him;


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the spirit of the fear of God. He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report;


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but He shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the word of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He destroy the ungodly one.


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And the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the young calf and bull and lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them.


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And the ox and bear shall feed together; and their young shall be together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.


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And they shall not be hurt, nor shall they be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain; for the whole [world] is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.


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And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, and He that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles trust, and His rest shall be glorious.


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And it shall be in that day, [that] the Lord shall again show His hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left by the Assyrians, and [that] from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia.


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And He shall lift up a standard for the nations, and He shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and He shall gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.


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And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Judah shall perish; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not afflict Ephraim.


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And they shall fly in the ships of the Philistines; they shall at the same time spoil the sea, and them [that come] from the east, and Edom; and they shall lay their hands on Moab first; but the children of Ammon shall first obey [them].


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And the Lord shall make desolate the sea of Egypt; and He shall lay His hand on the river with a strong wind, and He shall smite the seven channels, so that men shall pass through it dry-shod.


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And there shall be a passage for His people that are left in Egypt; and it shall be to Israel as the day when he came forth out of the land of Egypt.


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And in that day you shall say, I [will] bless You, O Lord; for You were angry with me, but You have turned aside Your wrath, and have pitied me.


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Behold, my God is my Savior; I will trust in Him, and not be afraid; for the Lord is my glory and my praise, and has become my salvation.


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And in that day you shall say, sing to the Lord, call aloud upon His name, proclaim His glorious [deeds] among the Gentiles; make mention that His name is exalted.


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Exalt and rejoice, you that dwell in Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is exalted in the midst of her.


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Lift up a standard on the mountain of the plain, exalt the voice to them, beckon with the hand, open [the gates], you rulers.


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I give command, and I bring them; giants are coming to fulfill My wrath, rejoicing at the same time and insulting.


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A voice of many nations on the mountains, [even] like [to that] of many nations; a voice of kings and nations gathered together; the Lord of hosts has given command to a war-like nation,


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to come from a land afar off, from the utmost foundation of heaven; the Lord and His warriors [are coming] to destroy all the world.


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The elders shall be troubled, and pangs shall seize them, as of a woman in labor; and they shall mourn one to another, and shall be amazed, and shall change their countenance as a flame.


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For behold, the day of the Lord is coming which cannot be escaped, [a day] of wrath and anger, to make the world desolate, and to destroy sinners out of it.


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For the stars of heaven, and Orion, and all the host of heaven, shall not give their light; and it shall be dark at sunrise, and the moon shall not give her light.


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And I will command evils for the whole world, and [will visit] their sins on the ungodly; and I will destroy the pride of transgressors, and will bring low the pride of the haughty.


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And they that are left shall be more precious than gold tried in the fire; and a man shall be more precious than the stone that is in Ophir.


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For the heaven shall be enraged, and the earth shall be shaken from her foundation, because of the fierce anger of the Lord of hosts, in the day in which His wrath shall come on.


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And they that are left shall be as a fleeing fawn, and as a stray sheep, and there shall be none to gather [them]; so that a man shall turn back to his people, and a man shall flee to his own land.


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For whosoever shall be taken shall be overcome; and they that are gathered together shall fall by the sword.


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And they shall dash their children before their eyes; and they shall spoil their houses, and shall take their wives.


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Behold, I will stir up the Medes against you, who do not regard silver, neither have they need of gold.


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They shall break the bows of the young men; and they shall have no mercy on your children; nor shall their eyes spare your children.


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And Babylon, which is called glorious by the king of the Chaldeans, shall be as [when] God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.


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It shall never be inhabited, neither shall any enter into it for many generations; neither shall the Arabians pass through it; nor shall shepherds at all rest in it.


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But wild beasts shall rest there; and the houses shall be filled with howling; and monsters shall rest there, and demons shall dance there,


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and satyrs shall dwell there; and hedgehogs shall make their nests in their houses. It will come soon, and will not tarry.


