# verses

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Behold, he will ascend like an eagle and will fly. And he will spread his wings over Bozrah. And in that day, the heart of the strong ones of Idumea will be like the heart of a woman giving birth.”


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Against Damascus. “Hamath has been confounded, with Arpad. For they have heard a most grievous report. They have been stirred up like the sea. Because of anxiousness, they were not able to rest.


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Damascus has been broken. She has been turned to flight. Trembling has taken hold of her. Anguish and sorrows have seized her, like a woman giving birth.


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For this reason, her young men will fall in her streets. And all the men of battle will be silenced in that day, says the Lord of hosts.


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And I will kindle a fire at the wall of Damascus, and it will devour the defensive walls of Ben-hadad.”


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Against Kedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has struck down. Thus says the Lord: “Rise up and ascend to Kedar, and lay waste to the sons of the East.


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They will seize their tabernacles and their flocks. And they will take for themselves their tents, and all their vessels, and their camels. And they will call down a terror upon them on every side.


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Flee, go away urgently! Sit in deep pits, you who inhabit Hazor, says the Lord. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has undertaken a counsel against you, and he has devised plans against you.


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Rise up, and ascend to a nation that is quiet and lives in confidence, says the Lord. They have neither gates nor bars. They dwell alone.


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And their camels will be a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle will be a prey. And I will disperse, into every wind, those who have shaved their hair. And from all their confines, I will lead great destruction over them, says the Lord.


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And Hazor will be a habitation for serpents, deserted even unto eternity. No man will abide there, nor will a son of man tend it.”


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The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, saying:


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“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, and the summit of their strength.


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And I will lead the four winds over Elam, from the four corners of heaven. And I will scatter them into all these winds. And there will be no nation to which the fugitives of Elam will not travel.


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And I will cause Elam to be terrified before their enemies and in the sight of those who seek their life. And I will lead an evil over them, the wrath of my fury, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them, until I consume them.


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And I will set my throne in Elam, and I will perish the kings and princes from there, says the Lord.


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The word that the Lord has spoken about Babylon and about the land of the Chaldeans, by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.


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“Announce it among the Gentiles, and make it known. Lift up a sign. Proclaim it and do not conceal it. Say this: ‘Babylon has been captured. Bel has been confounded. Merodach has been conquered. Their graven things have been confounded. Their idols have not survived.’


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For a nation has ascended against her from the north, which will set her land in desolation. And there will be no one who may live within it, from man even to beast. For they have been removed and have gone away.


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In those days and in that time, says the Lord, the sons of Israel will advance, they and the sons of Judah together. Weeping as they walk, they will hurry on, and they will seek the Lord their God.


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They will ask the way to Zion; their faces will be set toward this place. They will arrive and will be joined to the Lord by an everlasting covenant, which nothing will wipe away into oblivion.


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My people have become a lost flock. Their shepherds have led them astray and have caused them to wander in the mountains. They have crossed from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place.


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All whom they have found, they have devoured. And their enemies have said: ‘We have not sinned. For it is they who have sinned against the Lord, the beauty of justice, and against the Lord, the hope of their fathers.’


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Withdraw from the midst of Babylon, and go forth from the land of the Chaldeans. And be like young goats before the flock.


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For behold, I am raising up, and I will lead against Babylon, a congregation of great nations from the land of the north. And they will be prepared against her, and from there she will be taken. Their arrows, like those of a strong man, a killer, will not return empty.


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For you exult and you speak great things, plundering my inheritance. For you have spread out like calves upon the grass, and you have bellowed like bulls.


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Your mother has been exceedingly shamed, and she who bore you has become equal to the dust. Behold, she will be the last among the nations, a desert, impassable and dry.


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By the wrath of the Lord, it will not be inhabited. Instead, it will be entirely desolate. Every one who passes by Babylon will be stupefied and will hiss over all her wounds.


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Prepare yourselves against Babylon, on every side, all you who bend the bow. Make war against her! You should not spare the arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord.


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Cry out against her! For where she has put forth a hand, her foundations have fallen, her walls have been destroyed. For it is the vengeance of the Lord. Take vengeance against her! Just as she has done, do so to her.


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Destroy the founder from Babylon, and the one who holds the sickle in the time of harvest. Before the face of the sword of the dove, each one will turn back to his people, and every one will flee to his own land.


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Israel is a scattered flock. The lions have driven him away. First, the king of Assyria devoured him. And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has taken away his bones.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will visit the king of Babylon and his land, just as I have visited the king of Assyria.


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And I will lead back Israel to his habitation. And he will pasture on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul will be satiated at mount Ephraim and Gilead.


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In those days and at that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel will be sought, and there will be none. And the sin of Judah will be sought, and none will be found. For I will be forgiving to them, whom I will leave behind.


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Ascend against the land of the rulers, and visit against its inhabitants! Scatter and destroy whatever has been left behind them, says the Lord, and act according to all that I have instructed you.


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How has the mallet of the entire earth been broken and crushed? How has Babylon been turned into a desert among the nations?


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I have ensnared you, and you have been captured, O Babylon, and you did not realize it. You have been discovered and seized, because you provoked the Lord.


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The Lord has opened his storehouse, and he has brought forth the instruments of his wrath. For there is work for the Lord, the God of hosts, within the land of the Chaldeans.


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Advance against her from the furthest regions! Open, so that those who will trample her may go out! Take stones from the road, and gather them into piles, and destroy her. And let there be nothing left of her.


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Scatter all her strong ones. Let them descend to the slaughter. Woe to them! For their day has arrived, the time of their visitation.


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It is the voice of those who are fleeing and of those who have escaped from the land of Babylon: to announce in Zion the revenge of the Lord our God, the revenge of his Temple.


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Announce it to the many in Babylon, to all who bend the bow. Stand together against her all around, and let no one escape. Repay her according to her work. In accord with all that she has done, do to her. For she has raised herself up against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.


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For this reason, her young men will fall in her streets. And all her men of war will be silenced, in that day, says the Lord.


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Behold, I am against you, O proud one, says the Lord, the God of hosts. For your day has arrived, the time of your visitation.


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And the proud one will fall and be ruined. And there will be no one who may lift him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour everything around him.”


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Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have endured calumny together. All who have seized them are holding them and refusing to release them.


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Their redeemer is strong. The Lord of hosts is his name. He will defend their case in judgment, so that he may terrify the land and disturb the inhabitants of Babylon.


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A sword is for the Chaldeans, says the Lord, and for the inhabitants of Babylon, and for her leaders, and for her wise ones.


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A sword is for her diviners, who will be fooled. A sword is for her strong ones, who will be afraid.


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A sword is for their horses, and for their chariots, and for all the common people who are in her midst. And they will be like women. A sword is for her storehouses, and they will be plundered.


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A drought is over her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and they glory in portents.


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Because of this, dragons will live there with the fig fauns, and ostriches will live in it. And it will no longer be inhabited, even in perpetuity, nor will it be raised up, even from generation to generation.


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Just as the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns, says the Lord, no man will live there, and a son of man will not tend it.


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Behold, a people arrives from the north, and a great nation. And many kings will rise up from the ends of the earth.


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They will take up the bow and the shield. They are cruel and merciless. Their voice will sound out, like the sea, and they will ride upon horses, like a man prepared for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon.


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The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, and his hands have been weakened. Anguish has overtaken him, like the pains of a woman giving birth.


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Behold, he will ascend like a lion from the arrogance of the Jordan to the robust beauty. For I will cause him to rush upon her suddenly. And who will be the elect one, whom I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who can endure me? And who is that pastor who can withstand my countenance?”


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Because of this, listen to the counsel of the Lord, which he has conceived in his mind against Babylon, and to his thoughts, which he has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: “Certainly the little ones of the flocks will pull them down, unless their habitation will have been destroyed with them.


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At the voice of the captivity of Babylon, the earth has been moved, and an outcry has been heard among the nations.”


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Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will raise up, over Babylon and over its inhabitants, who have lifted up their heart against me, something like a pestilent wind.


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And I will send winnowers into Babylon, and they will winnow her, and they will demolish her land. For they will overwhelm her from every side in the day of her affliction.


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Let him who draws the bow, not draw his bow. And let him who wears armor, not rise up. Do not spare her young men. Destroy her entire military.


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Yet Israel and Judah have not been widowed by their God, the Lord of hosts, though their land has been filled with transgression against the Holy One of Israel.


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Flee from the midst of Babylon! And let each one save his own life. Do not be silent about her iniquity. For it is the time of revenge from the Lord. He himself will repay her, in her turn.


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Babylon is a gold cup in the hand of the Lord, inebriating the entire earth. The nations have drunk from her wine, and therefore they have staggered.


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Suddenly, Babylon has fallen and been crushed. Wail over her! Take a balm to her pain, if perhaps she may be healed.”


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“We would have cured Babylon, but there is no cure. Let us abandon her, and let each one of us go to his own land. For her judgment has reached even to the heavens, and has been lifted up even to the clouds.


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The Lord has brought forth our justices. Come and let us describe in Zion the work of the Lord our God.”


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Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers. The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. And his mind is against Babylon, so that he may destroy her. For this is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.


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Upon the walls of Babylon, lift up a sign. Increase the watch! Rouse the watchmen! Prepare ambushes! For the Lord has planned and has accomplished all that he has spoken, against the inhabitants of Babylon.


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You who live above many waters, rich in treasures: your end has arrived, your measure has been cut short.


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The Lord of hosts has sworn by himself, saying: “For I will fill you with men as with locusts, and they will sing a rhythmic chant against you.”


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The One who made the earth by his strength, who prepared the world by his wisdom, and who stretched out the heavens by his prudence:


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when he utters his voice, the waters will be multiplied in the heavens. The One who lifts up the clouds from the ends of the earth: he has turned lightning into rain, and he has brought forth wind from his storehouses.


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Each man has become foolish before his own knowledge. Each sculptor has been confounded by his own sculpture. For what he has formed of them is a lie, and there is no spirit in them.


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The portion of Jacob is not like their portion. For the One who made all things is his portion, and Israel is the scepter of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name:


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“For me, you strike together the instruments of war; and with you, I will strike together nations; and with you, I will scatter the kingdoms.


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And with you, I will strike together the horse and his rider; and with you, I will strike together the chariot and its rider.


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And with you, I will strike together man and woman; and with you, I will strike together the old man and the boy; and with you, I will strike together the young man and the virgin.


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And with you, I will strike together the pastor and his flock; and with you, I will strike together the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you, I will strike together military leaders and civil leaders.


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And I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all their evil that they have done in Zion, before your eyes, says the Lord.


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Behold, I am against you, you pestilent mountain, says the Lord, for you are corrupting the entire earth. And I will extend my hand over you, and I will roll you down from the rocks, and I will make you into a burning mountain.


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And they will not take from you a stone for the corner, nor a stone for the foundations. Instead, you will be destroyed unto eternity,” says the Lord.


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Lift up a sign in the land! Sound the trumpet among the nations! Sanctify the nations against her. Announce against her the kings of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Number against her Taphsar. Lead in the horse, like the stinging locust.


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Sanctify the nations against her: the kings of Media, their military leaders, and all their civil leaders, and the entire land under their authority.


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And the earth will be shaken and will be disturbed. For the plan of the Lord against Babylon will awaken, so that he may make the land of Babylon desolate and uninhabitable.


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The strong ones of Babylon have ceased to do battle. They have lived in fortresses. Their health has been devoured, and they have become like women. Her tabernacles have been set ablaze; her bars have been broken.


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Runner will go forth to meet runner, and messenger will meet messenger, so as to tell the king of Babylon that his city has been captured, from one end to the other,


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and that the fords were seized in advance, and that the marshes have been burned with fire, and that the men of war have been set in disarray.


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For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor. This is the time of her threshing. A little while longer, and the time of her harvest will arrive.”


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“Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has consumed me, has devoured me. He has made me like an empty vessel. He has swallowed me like a dragon. He has filled his belly with my tender ones, and he has cast me out.


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This iniquity is against me, and so my flesh is upon Babylon,” says the habitation of Zion. “And my blood is upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will judge your case, and I will avenge your vengeance, and I will make her sea into a desert, and I will dry up her spring.


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And Babylon will become a tumult, the habitation of dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, because there is no inhabitant.


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In their heat, I will give them a drink, and I will inebriate them, so that they become drowsy, and sleep an everlasting sleep, and do not rise up, says the Lord.


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How was Sesac captured, and how was the renowned one of all the earth seized? How has Babylon become an astonishment among the nations?


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Her cities have become an astonishment, an uninhabited and desolate land, a land in which no one may live, nor may a son of man pass through it.


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And I will visit against Bel in Babylon, and I will cast from his mouth what he has swallowed. And the nations will no longer flow together before him. For even the wall of Babylon will also fall.


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Go forth from her midst, my people, so that each one may save his life from the wrath of the fury of the Lord.


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For otherwise, your heart may faint, and you may be afraid at the news that is heard in the land. And the news will arrive within a year, and after that year more news will arrive. And iniquity will be in the land, and one ruler will be over another ruler.


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Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, when I will visit against the graven images of Babylon. And her entire land will be confounded, and all her slain will fall in her midst.


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And the heavens and the earth, and all the things that are in them, will give praise over Babylon. For despoilers will approach her from the north, says the Lord.


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And in the manner that Babylon has caused the slain to fall in Israel, so the slain of Babylon will fall over the entire earth.


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You who have fled from the sword, approach, do not stand still. Remember from afar the Lord, and let Jerusalem rise up in your heart.


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We have been confounded, for we heard reproach. Shame has covered our faces, for strangers have overwhelmed the holiness of the house of the Lord.


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Because of this, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will visit against her graven images, and within all her land the wounded will groan.


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If Babylon were to ascend to heaven, and establish her strength on high, her despoilers would go forth from me, says the Lord.”


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For the Lord has despoiled Babylon, and he has perished the great voice from her. And their wave will make a sound like many waters. Their voice has uttered a noise.


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For the despoiler has overwhelmed her, that is, Babylon, and her strong ones have been apprehended, and their bow has been weakened. For the Lord, the powerful revenger, will certainly repay.


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“And I will inebriate her leaders, and her wise ones, and her military rulers, and her civil rulers, and her strong ones. And they will sleep an everlasting sleep, and they will not awaken,” says the King: the Lord of hosts is his name.


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Thus says the Lord of hosts: “That very wide wall of Babylon will be utterly overturned, and her exalted gates will be burned with fire, and the labors of the people will be as nothing, and the labors of the nations will be sent into the fire and will perish.”


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The word that Jeremiah, the prophet, instructed to Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he traveled with king Zedekiah into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was the leader of the prophets.


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And Jeremiah wrote in one book all the evil that was to overwhelm Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.


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And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: “When you will enter into Babylon, and you will see and read all these words,


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you will say: ‘O Lord, you have spoken against this place so that you may destroy it, so that there would not be anyone, from man even to beast, who may live in it, and so that it may be desolate forever.’


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And when you will have completed reading this book, you will tie a stone to it, and you will cast it into the midst of the Euphrates.


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And you will say: ‘So shall Babylon be submerged! And she will not rise up before the face of the affliction that I will lead over her. And she will be broken.’ ” The words of Jeremiah thus far.


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Zedekiah was a son of twenty-one years when he first began to reign. And he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.


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And so the fury of the Lord was toward Jerusalem, and toward Judah, even until he cast them away from his face. And Zedekiah drew away from the king of Babylon.


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And it happened that, in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, he and his entire army, came against Jerusalem. And they besieged it, and they built fortifications against it, on every side.


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Then, in the fourth month, on the ninth of the month, a famine gripped the city. And there was no nourishment for the people of the land.


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And the city was broken, and all the men of war fled, and they departed from the city at night by way of the gate which is between the two walls, and which leads to the king’s garden, while the Chaldeans were besieging the city all around, and they went away by the road that leads to the wilderness.


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But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king. And they overtook Zedekiah in the desert which is near Jericho. And all of his companions fled away from him.


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And when they had captured the king, they led him away to the king of Babylon at Riblah, which is in the land of Hamath. And he spoke a judgment against him.


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And the king of Babylon cut the throats of the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also killed all the leaders of Judah at Riblah.


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And he plucked out the eyes of Zedekiah, and he bound him with shackles, and the king of Babylon led him away to Babylon, and he placed him in the prison house, even until the day of his death.


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Then, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, which is the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, arrived. And he was standing before the king of Babylon at Jerusalem.


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And he set fire to the house of the Lord, and to the house of the king, and to all the houses of Jerusalem. And every great house he burned with fire.


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And the entire army of the Chaldeans, who were with the chief of the military, destroyed the entire wall all around Jerusalem.


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Then Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, took away some of the poor people, and some of the rest of the common people, who had remained in the city, and some of the fugitives, who had fled over to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.


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Yet truly, some of the poor of the land, Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, left behind as vinedressers and farmers.


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The Chaldeans also broke apart the bronze pillars that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the sea of brass that was in the house of the Lord. And they took all the brass of these things to Babylon.


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And they took the cooking pots, and the hooks, and the psalteries, and the bowls, and the little mortars, and all the bronze vessels that had been used in the ministry.


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And the chief of the military took the water pots, and the censers, and the pitchers, and the basins, and the lampstands, and the mortars, and the little cups, whatever was gold, for the gold, and whatever was silver, for the silver,


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as well as the two pillars, and the one brass sea, and the twelve oxen of brass that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord. There was no weight of brass left behind out of all these vessels.


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Now concerning the pillars, one pillar was eighteen cubits high, and a cord of twelve cubits encircled it. Moreover, its thickness was four fingers, and the interior was hollow.


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And heads of brass were upon both. And the height of one head was five cubits. And little nets with pomegranates were upon the heads all around, all of brass. The second pillar was similar, and the pomegranates.


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And there were ninety-six pomegranates hanging down; and there were one hundred pomegranates in all, surrounded by the little nets.


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And the chief of the military took Seraiah, the first priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the vestibule.


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He also took from the city one eunuch who was in charge of the men of war, and seven men among those who served before the face of the king, who were found in the city, and a scribe, a leader of the military, who tested the new recruits, and sixty men from the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.


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Then Nebuzaradan, the chief of the military, took them, and he led them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.


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And the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah, in the land of Hamath. And Judah was carried away from his land.


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This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews;


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in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, the chief of the military, carried away of the Jews seven hundred forty-five souls. Therefore, all the souls were four thousand six hundred.


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And it happened that, in the thirty-seventh year of the transmigration of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, Evilmerodach, the king of Babylon, in the very first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, and he brought him out of the prison house.


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And he spoke with him for good, and he set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were after him in Babylon.


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And for his meals, a continual provision was allotted to him by the king of Babylon, a measure for every single day, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.


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ALEPH. O how a city once filled with people now sits alone! The Governess of the Gentiles has become like a widow. The Prince of the provinces has been placed under tribute.


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BETH. Weeping, she has wept through the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. There is no one to be a comfort to her and to all her beloved. All her friends have spurned her, and they have become her enemies.


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GHIMEL. Judah has migrated because of affliction and great servitude. She has lived among the nations and not found rest. All of her persecutors have apprehended her, amid torments.


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DALETH. The pathways of Zion mourn, because there are none who approach for the solemnity. All her gates are destroyed. Her priests groan. Her virgins are filthy. And she is overwhelmed with bitterness.


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HE. Her enemies have been made her leaders; her adversaries have been enriched. For the Lord has spoken against her, because of the multitude of her iniquities. Her little ones have been led into captivity before the face of the tribulator.


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VAU. And all her elegance has departed, from the daughter of Zion. Her leaders have become like rams that cannot find pasture, and they have gone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.


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ZAIN. Jerusalem has remembered the days of her affliction and the betrayal of all her desirable ones, whom she held from the days of antiquity, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and there was no one to be a helper. The enemies have looked upon her and mocked her Sabbaths.


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HETH. Jerusalem has sinned a grievous sin. Because of this, she has become unstable. All who glorified her have spurned her, because they have looked upon her disgrace. Then she groaned and turned away again.


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TETH. Her filth is on her feet, and her end has not been remembered. She has been vehemently put down, having no consolation. O Lord, look upon my affliction, for the adversary has been lifted up.


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JOD. The enemy has sent his hand against all her desirable ones. For she has watched the Gentiles enter her sanctuary, even though you instructed that they should not enter into your church.


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CAPH. All her people are groaning and seeking bread. They have given up whatever was precious in exchange for food, so as to remain alive. See, O Lord, and consider, for I have become vile.


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LAMED. O all you who pass by the way, attend, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. For he has made me a vintage, just as the Lord has spoken in the day of his furious anger.


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MEM. From on high, he has sent fire into my bones, and he has educated me. He has spread a net for my feet; he has turned me back. He has placed me in desolation, consumed by grief, all day long.


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NUN. Vigilant is the yoke of my iniquities. They have been folded together in his hand and imposed on my neck. My virtue has been weakened. The Lord has given me into a hand, out of which I am not able to rise.


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SAMECH. The Lord has taken away all of my great ones from my midst. He has called forth time against me, so as to crush my elect ones. The Lord has trampled the winepress, which was for the virgin daughter of Judah.


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AIN. For this I weep, and my eyes bring forth water. For the consoler has been far away from me, changing my soul. My sons have become lost, because the enemy has prevailed.


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PHE. Zion has reached out her hands; there is no one to console her. The Lord has given orders against Jacob; his enemies are all around him. Jerusalem among them is like a woman made unclean by menstruation.


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SADE. The Lord is just, for it is I who has provoked his mouth to wrath. I beg all people to listen and to see my sorrow. My virgins and my youths have gone into captivity.


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COPH. I called for my friends, but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have been consumed in the city. For they were seeking their food, so as to revive their life.


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RES. See, O Lord, that I am in tribulation. My bowels have been disturbed, my heart has been subverted within me, for I am filled with bitterness. Outside, the sword puts to death, and at home there is a similar death.


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SIN. They have heard that I groan and that there is no one to console me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune; they have rejoiced that you caused it. You have brought in a day of consolation, and so they shall become like me.


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THAU. Let all their evil enter before you. And make vintage of them, just as you made vintage of me, because of all my iniquities. For my sighs are many, and my heart is grieving.


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ALEPH. O how the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with gloom in his fury! O how he has thrown down from heaven to earth the famous one of Israel, and he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his fury.


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BETH. The Lord has cast down, and he has not been lenient, with all the beauties of Jacob. In his fury, he has destroyed the fortifications of the virgin of Judah, and he has thrown them down to the ground. He has polluted the kingdom and its leaders.


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GHIMEL. In the anger of his fury, he has broken the entire horn of Israel. He has drawn back his right hand before the face of the enemy. And he has kindled within Jacob a flaming fire, devouring all around.


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DALETH. He has bent his bow like an enemy. He has fixed his right hand like an adversary. And he has cut down all that was beautiful to behold in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion. He has poured out his indignation like fire.


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HE. The Lord has become like an enemy. He has thrown down Israel. He has thrown down all of his defenses. He has torn apart his fortifications. And he has filled the daughter of Judah with humbled men and humbled women.


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VAU. And he has torn apart her tent like a garden. He has demolished her tabernacle. In Zion, the Lord has delivered feast and Sabbath into oblivion, and king and priest into disgrace, and into the indignation of his fury.


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ZAIN. The Lord has pushed away his own altar. He has cursed his own sanctuary. He has delivered the walls of its towers into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as if on the day of a solemnity.


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HETH. The Lord has decided to tear down the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out his measuring line, and he has not turn away his hand from perdition. And the rampart has mourned, and with the wall it has been torn apart.


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TETH. Her gates have been buried in the ground. He has ruined and crushed its bars. Her king and her princes are with the Gentiles. There is no law, and her prophets have found no vision from the Lord.


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JOD. The elders of the daughter of Zion have become idle; they sit on the ground. They have sprinkled their heads with ashes. They have been wrapped with haircloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have cast their heads down to the ground.


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CAPH. My eyes have exhausted their tears. My internal organs have become disturbed. My liver has been poured out on the earth, over the grief of the daughter of my people, when the little ones and the infants passed away in the streets of the town.


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LAMED. They said to their mothers, “Where is the wheat and the wine?” when they fell like the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their lives into the bosoms of their mothers.


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MEM. To what shall I compare you, or to what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, so as to console you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your destruction is as great as the sea. Who will cure you?


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NUN. Your prophets have seen false and foolish things for you. And they have not laid open your iniquity, so as to provoke you to repentance. Yet they have seen for you false revelations and banishments.


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SAMECH. All those who passed by the way have clapped their hands over you. They have hissed and shook their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city of perfect dignity, the joy of all the earth?”


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PHE. All your enemies have opened their mouth over you. They have hissed and gnashed their teeth, and they said: “We will devour her. Yes, this is the day we waited for. We have found it, we have seen it.”


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AIN. The Lord has done what he decided to do. He has fulfilled his word, which he instructed since the days of antiquity. He has destroyed, and he has not been lenient, and he has caused the enemy to rejoice over you, and he has exalted the horn of your adversaries.


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SADE. Their heart cried out to the Lord from the walls of the daughter of Zion. Let tears run down like a torrent throughout the day and the night. Do not give rest to yourself, and do not allow the pupil of your eye to cease.


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COPH. Rise up. Give praise in the night, in the first of the watches. Pour out your heart like water before the sight of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him on behalf of the souls of your little ones, who have passed away from famine at the head of all the crossroads.


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RES. O Lord, see and consider those whom you have made into a such vintage. So then, shall women eat their own fruit, little ones measured by the palm of the hand? Shall priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?


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SIN. The boy and the old man lie down on the ground outside. My virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your fury. You have struck down, and you have not shown pity.


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THAU. You have called, as if to a day of solemnity, those who would terrify me all around. And there was no one, in the day of the fury of the Lord, who escaped or was left behind. Those whom I educated and nourished, my enemy has consumed.


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GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.


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CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.


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SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.


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ALEPH. O how the gold has become dulled, the finest color has been altered, the stones of the sanctuary have been scattered at the head of every street.


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BETH. The famous sons of Zion, and those clothed with the foremost gold: how they have become like earthen vessels, the work of the hands of a potter.


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GHIMEL. Yet even savages expose their breast and give milk to their young. But the daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostrich in the desert.


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DALETH. The tongue of the infant adheres to his palate out of thirst. The little ones have asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them.


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HE. Those who were fed indulgently have passed away in the roads. Those who were nourished with saffron have welcomed filth.


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VAU. And the iniquity of the daughter of my people has been made greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and yet hands did not take captives in her.


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ZAIN. Her Nazirites were whiter than snow, shinier than milk, more ruddy than ancient ivory, more beautiful than sapphire.


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HETH. Their face has been blacked more than coals, and they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has adhered to their bones; it dried out and became like wood.


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TETH. It was better for those slain by the sword, than for those put to death by famine. For these waste away, being consumed by the sterility of the land.


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JOD. The hands of pitiable women have boiled their sons. They became their food in the grief of the daughter of my people.


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CAPH. The Lord has completed his fury; he has poured out the wrath of his indignation. And he has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations.


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LAMED. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, did not believe that the adversary and the enemy would enter through the gates of Jerusalem.


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MEM. It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, who have shed the blood of the just in her midst.


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NUN. They have wandered in the streets like the blind; they have been defiled with blood. And when they were not able, they held their garments.


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SAMECH. “Go back, you polluted ones!” they cried out to them. “Go back, go away, do not touch!” Of course, they argued, and being removed, they said among the Gentiles, “He will no longer dwell among them.”


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PHE. The face of the Lord has divided them. He will no longer respect them. They were not ashamed before the faces of the priests, nor did they take pity on the elderly.


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AIN. While we were still standing, our eyes failed, expecting help for us in vain, when we looked attentively toward a nation that was not able to save.


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SADE. Our footsteps have slipped on the paths of our own streets. Our end draws near. Our days have been completed, for our end has arrived.


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COPH. Our persecutors have been swifter than the eagles of the sky. They have been pursuing us above the mountains; they have lain in wait for us in the desert.


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RES. The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, has been captured by our sins; to him, we said, “In your shadow, we will live among the Gentiles.”


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SIN. Be glad and rejoice, O daughter of Edom, who dwells in the Land of Uz. The cup will also pass to you; you will be inebriated as well as naked.


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THAU. Your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion. He will no longer send you away to captivity. He has visited your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he has uncovered your sins.


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And it happened that, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives beside the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God.


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the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, a priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, next to the river Chebar. And the hand of the Lord was over him there.


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And I saw, and behold, a whirlwind arrived from the north. And a great cloud, wrapped in fire and brightness, was all around it. And from its midst, that is, from the midst of the fire, there was something with the appearance of amber.


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And in its midst, there was the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: the likeness of a man was in them.


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Their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like the sole of the foot of a calf, and they sparkled with the appearance of glowing brass.


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And they had the hands of a man under their wings on the four sides. And they had faces with the wings on the four sides.


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And their wings were joined to one another. They did not turn as they went. Instead, each one advanced before his face.


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But as for the likeness of their face, there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of each of the four, then the face of an ox on the left of each of the four, and the face of an eagle above each of the four.


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Their faces and their wings were extended above: two wings of each one were joined together, and two covered their bodies.


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And each one of them advanced before his face. Wherever the impetus of the spirit was to go, there they went. And they did not turn as they advanced.


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And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like that of burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps. This was the vision dashing in the midst of the living creatures, a bright fire, with lightning going forth from the fire.


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And as I beheld the living creatures, there appeared above the earth, next to the living creatures, one wheel having four faces.


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And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like the appearance of the sea. And each of the four were similar to one another. And their appearance and work was like a wheel in the center of a wheel.


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Also, the size and height and appearance of the wheels was dreadful. And the entire body was full of eyes all around each of the four.


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And when the living creatures advanced, the wheels advanced together with them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels, too, were lifted up at the same time.


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Wherever the spirit went, as the spirit was going forth to that place, the wheels, too, were lifted up together, so as to follow them. For the spirit of life was in the wheels.


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When going forth, they went forth, and when standing still, they stood still. And when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels, too, were lifted up together, so as to follow them. For the spirit of life was in the wheels.


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And above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of a firmament: similar to crystal, but dreadful to behold, and extending over their heads from above.


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And their wings were straight under the firmament, one toward the other. One of them was covered by two wings on his body, and the other was covered similarly.


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And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the sublime God. When they walked, it was like the sound of a multitude, like the sound of an army. And when they stood still, their wings were let down.


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For when a voice came from above the firmament, which was over their heads, they stood still, and they put down their wings.


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And above the firmament, which was suspended over their heads, there was the likeness of a throne, with the appearance of the sapphire stone. And over the likeness of the throne, there was a likeness with the appearance of a man above it.


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And I saw something with the appearance of amber, with the likeness of fire within it and all around it. And from his waist and upward, and from his waist downward, I saw something with the appearance of fire shining all around.


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There was the appearance of the rainbow, as when it is in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the splendor on every side.


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This was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking. And he said to me: “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”


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And after this was spoken to me, the Spirit entered into me, and he set me on my feet. And I heard him speaking to me,


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and saying: “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to an apostate nation, which has withdrawn from me. They and their fathers have betrayed my covenant, even to this day.


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And those to whom I am sending you are sons with a hard face and an unyielding heart. And you shall say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God.’


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Perhaps it may be that they will hear, and perhaps they may be quieted. For they are a provoking house. And they shall know that there has been a prophet in their midst.


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But as for you, son of man, you should not fear them, and you should not dread their words. For you are among unbelievers and subversives, and you are living with scorpions. You should not fear their words, and you should not dread their faces. For they are a provoking house.


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Therefore, you shall speak my words to them, so that perhaps they may hear and be quieted. For they are provoking.


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But as for you, son of man, listen to all that I say to you. And do not choose to be provoking, as that house is a provoker. Open your mouth, and eat whatever I give to you.”


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And I looked, and behold: a hand was put forth toward me; there was a scroll rolled up in it. And he spread it out before me, and there was writing on the inside and on the outside. And there were written in it lamentations, and verses, and woes.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, eat whatever you will find; eat this scroll, and, going forth, speak to the sons of Israel.”


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And he said to me: “Son of man, your stomach shall eat, and your interior shall be filled with this scroll, which I am giving to you.” And I ate it, and in my mouth it became as sweet as honey.


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For you will be sent, not to a people of profound words or of an unknown language, but to the house of Israel,


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and not to many peoples of profound words or of an unknown language, whose words you would not be able to understand. But if you were sent to them, they would listen to you.


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Yet the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you. For they are not willing to listen to me. Certainly, the entire house of Israel has a brazen forehead and a hardened heart.


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Behold, I have made your face stronger than their faces, and your forehead harder than their foreheads.


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I have made your face like hardened iron and like flint. You should not fear them, and you should not have dread before their face. For they are a provoking house.”


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And he said to me: “Son of man, listen with your ears, and take into your heart, all my words, which I am speaking to you.


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And go forth and enter to those of the transmigration, to the sons of your people. And you shall speak to them. And you shall say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Perhaps it may be that they will listen and be quieted.”


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And the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great commotion, saying, “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from his place,”


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and the voice of the wings of the living creatures striking against one another, and the voice of the wheels following the living creatures, and the voice of a great commotion.


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Then the Spirit lifted me and took me away. And I went forth in bitterness, with the indignation of my spirit. For the hand of the Lord was with me, strengthening me.


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And I went to those of the transmigration, to the stockpile of new crops, to those who were living beside the river Chebar. And I sat where they were sitting. And I remained there for seven days, while mourning in their midst.


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“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. And so, you shall listen to the word from my mouth, and you shall announce it to them from me.


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If, when I say to the impious man, ‘You shall certainly die,’ you do not announce it to him, and you do not speak so that he may turn aside from his impious way and live, then the same impious man will die in his iniquity. But I will attribute his blood to your hand.


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But if you announce it to the impious man, and he is not converted from his impiety and from his impious way, then indeed he will die in his iniquity. But you will have delivered your own soul.


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Moreover, if the just man turns aside from his justice and commits iniquity, I will place a stumbling block before him. He shall die, because you have not announced to him. He shall die in his sin, and his justices that he did shall not be remembered. Yet truly, I will attribute his blood to your hand.


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But if you announce to the just man, so that the just man may not sin, and he does not sin, then he shall certainly live, because you have announced to him. And you will have delivered your own soul.”


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And the hand of the Lord was over me. And he said to me: “Rise up, and go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”


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And I rose up, and I went out to the plain. And behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory that I saw beside the river Chebar. And I fell upon my face.


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And the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet. And he spoke to me, and he said to me: “Enter and enclose yourself in the midst of your house.


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And as for you, son of man, behold: they shall put chains upon you and bind you with them. And you shall not go out from their midst.


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And I will cause your tongue to adhere to the roof of your mouth. And you will be mute, not like a man who reproaches. For they are a provoking house.


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But when I will speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Whoever is listening, let him hear. And whoever is quieted, let him be quieted. For they are a provoking house.”


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“And as for you, son of man, take up for yourself a tablet, and you shall set it before you. And you shall draw upon it the city of Jerusalem.


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And you shall set up a blockade against it, and you shall build fortifications, and you shall put together a rampart, and you shall encamp opposite it, and you shall place battering rams around it.


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And you shall take up for yourself an iron frying pan, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city. And harden your face against it, and it shall be under a siege, and you shall surround it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.


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And you shall sleep on your left side. And you shall place the iniquities of the house of Israel on it by the number of days that you will sleep on it. And you shall take upon yourself their iniquity.


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For I have given to you the years of their iniquity, by the number of the days: three hundred and ninety days. And you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.


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And when you will have completed this, you shall sleep a second time, on your right side, and you shall assume the iniquity of the house of Judah for forty days: one day for each year; one day, I say, for each year, have I given to you.


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And you shall turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be extended. And you shall prophesy against it.


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Behold, I have surrounded you with chains. And you shall not turn yourself from one side to the other side, until you have completed the days of your siege.


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And you shall take for yourself wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and vetch. And you shall set them in one vessel, and you shall make for yourself bread by the number of days that you will sleep upon your side: three hundred and ninety days shall you shall eat from it.


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But your food, which you will eat, shall be in weight twenty staters a day. You shall eat it from time to time.


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And you shall drink water by measure, one sixth part of a hin. You shall drink it from time to time.


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And you shall eat it like barley bread baked under ashes. And you shall cover it, in their sight, with the dung that goes out of a man.”


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And the Lord said: “So shall the sons of Israel eat their bread, polluted among the Gentiles, to whom I will cast them out.”


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And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Behold, my soul has not been polluted, and from my infancy even until now, I have not eaten anything that has died of itself, nor that which has been torn up by beasts, and no unclean flesh at all has entered into my mouth.”


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And he said to me: “Behold, I have given to you cow manure in place of human dung, and you shall make your bread with it.”


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And he said to me: “Son of man, behold: I will crush the staff of bread in Jerusalem. And they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety. And they will drink water by measure and with anguish.


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So then, when bread and water fail, each one may fall against his brother. And they shall waste away in their iniquities.”


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“And as for you, son of man, obtain for yourself a sharp knife for shaving hair, and you shall take it and draw it across your head and across your beard. And you shall obtain for yourself a balance for weighing, and you shall divide the hair.


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A third part you shall burn with fire in the midst of the city, according to the completion of the days of the siege. And you shall take a third part, and you shall cut it with the knife all around. Yet truly, the other third, you shall scatter to the wind, for I will unsheathe the sword after them.


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And again, you shall take from them, and you shall throw them into the midst of the fire, and you shall burn them with fire. And from it, there shall go forth a fire to the entire house of Israel.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “This is Jerusalem. I have placed her in the midst of the Gentiles and of the lands all around her.


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And she has despised my judgments, so as to be more impious than the Gentiles, and my precepts, more so than the lands that are all around her. For they have cast aside my judgments, and they have not walked in my precepts.”


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For this reason, thus says the Lord God: “Since you have surpassed the Gentiles who are all around you, and have not walked in my precepts, and have not accomplished my judgments, and have not even acted in accord with the judgments of the Gentiles who are all around you:


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therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I myself will accomplish judgments in your midst, in the sight of the Gentiles.


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And I will do in you what I have not done before, and the likes of which I will not do again, because of all your abominations.


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Therefore, the fathers shall consume the sons in your midst, and the sons shall consume their fathers. And I will execute judgments in you, and I will winnow your entire remnant in every wind.


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Therefore, as I myself live says the Lord God, because you have violated my sanctuary with all your offenses and with all your abominations, I also will break into pieces, and my eye will not be lenient, and I will not take pity.


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One third part of you will die by pestilence or be consumed by famine in your midst. And one third part of you will fall by the sword all around you. Yet truly, one third part of you I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.


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And I will fulfill my fury, and I will cause my indignation to rest upon them, and I will be consoled. And they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my zeal, when I will have fulfilled my indignation in them.


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And I will make you desolate, and a disgrace among the Gentiles, who are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.


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And you shall be a disgrace and a blasphemy, an example and an astonishment, among the Gentiles, who are all around you, when I will have executed judgments in you, in fury and in indignation and with rebukes of wrath.


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I, the Lord, have spoken. At that time, I will send among them the most grievous arrows of famine, which shall bring death, and which I will send so that I may destroy you. And I will gather a famine over you, and I will crush the staff of bread among you.


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And I will send among you famine and very harmful beasts, even unto utter ruin. And pestilence and blood shall pass through you. And I will bring the sword over you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”


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and you shall say: O mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and hills and cliffs and valleys: Behold, I will lead over you the sword. And I will destroy your exalted places.


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And I will demolish your altars. And your graven images will be broken apart. And I will throw down your slain before your idols.


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And I will lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel before the face of your idols. And I will scatter your bones around your altars.


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In all of your habitations, the cities will be made desolate, and the exalted places will be torn down and scattered. And your altars will be broken and destroyed. And your idols will cease to exist. And your shrines will be crushed. And your works will be wiped away.


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And I will leave among you those who will escape the sword among the Gentiles, when I will have dispersed you upon the earth.


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And your liberated shall remember me among the nations to which they were led away as captives. For I have crushed their heart, which fornicated and withdrew from me, and their eyes, which fornicated after their idols. And they will be displeased with themselves over the evils that they have done by all their abominations.


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Thus says the Lord God: “Strike with your hand, and stomp with your foot, and say: ‘Alas, to all the abominations of the evils of the house of Israel!’ For they will fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.


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Whoever is far away will die of pestilence. But whoever is near will fall by the sword. And whoever remains and is besieged will die by famine. And I will fulfill my indignation among them.


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And you shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain will be in the midst of your idols, all around your altars, on every exalted hill, and on the summits of all the mountains, and under every dense tree, and under every leafy oak: the places where they burned sweet-smelling incense to all their idols.


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And I will extend my hand over them. And I will make the earth desolate and destitute: from the desert of Riblah to all their dwelling places. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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“And as for you, son of man: Thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: The end is coming, the end is coming, over the four regions of the earth.


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Now the end is over you, and I will send my fury upon you. And I will judge you according to your ways. And I will place all your abominations before you.


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And my eye will not be lenient over you, and I will not take pity. Instead, I will set your ways upon you, and your abominations will be in your midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”


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Destruction is coming over you, who live upon the earth. The time is approaching, the day of slaughter is near, and it is not of the glory of the mountains.


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Now, very soon, I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I will fulfill my fury in you. And I will judge you according to your ways, and I will set upon you all your crimes.


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And my eye will not be lenient, nor will I take pity. Instead, I will place your ways upon you, and your abominations will be in your midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord, who is striking.


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Behold, the day! Behold, it approaches! Destruction has gone forth, the rod has blossomed, arrogance has germinated.


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Iniquity has risen up into a rod of impiety. There shall be nothing left of them, and of their people, and of the sound of them. And there shall be no rest for them.


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The time is approaching; the day is very near. Whoever buys should not rejoice. And whoever sells should not mourn. For wrath is over all of their people.


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For whoever sells will not return to what he has sold, but as yet their life will be among the living. For the vision concerning their entire multitude will not turn back. And man will not be strengthened in the iniquity of his life.


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Sound the trumpet! Let everyone be prepared! And yet there is no one who may go to battle. For my wrath is over all their people.


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The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword. And whoever is in the city will be devoured by the pestilence and the famine.


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And those who flee from among them will be saved. And they will be among the mountains, like doves in steep valleys, with everyone of them trembling, each one because of his iniquity.


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And they will wrap themselves with haircloth, and dread will cover them. And shame will be upon every face, and baldness will be upon all of their heads.


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Their silver will be thrown away, and their gold will be like a dunghill. Their silver and their gold will have no power to free them in the day of the fury of the Lord. They will not satisfy their soul, and their bellies will not be filled, because of the scandal of their iniquity.


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And they have set arrogance as the ornament of their necklaces, and they have made images of their abominations and graven idols. Because of this, I have let it be an uncleanness for them.


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And I will give it into the hands of foreigners as a spoil, and to the impious of the earth as a prey, and they will defile it.


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And I will avert my face from them, and they will violate my place of mystery. And untamed persons will enter into it, and they will defile it.


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Cause it to be closed. For the land has been filled with the judgment of blood, and the city is full of iniquity.


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And I will lead in the most sinful among the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses. And I will cause the arrogance of the powerful to be quieted. And they will possess their sanctuaries.


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Disturbance will follow after disturbance, and rumor after rumor. And they will seek the vision of the prophet, and the law will perish from the priest, and counsel will perish from the elders.


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The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with grief, and the hands of the people of the earth will be greatly disturbed. I will act toward them in accord with their own way, and I will judge them in accord with their own judgments. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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And it happened that, in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, and the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.


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And I saw, and behold, there was an image with the appearance of fire. From the appearance of his waist, and downward, there was fire. And from his waist, and upward, there was the appearance of splendor, like the sight of amber.


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And as the image of a hand went out, it took hold of me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven. And he brought me into Jerusalem, within a vision of God, next to the inner gate that looked toward the north, where there was stationed an idol of rivalry, so as to provoke an envious emulation.


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And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, in accord with the vision that I had seen in the plain.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, lift up your eyes to the way of the north.” And I lifted up my eyes to the way of the north. And behold, from the north of the gate of the altar was the idol of rivalry, at the same entrance.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, you see what these ones are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here. Do you not think, then, that I should withdraw far away from my own sanctuary? But if you turn again, you will see even greater abominations.”


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And he led me in by the door of the atrium. And I saw, and behold, there was an opening in the wall.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, dig in the wall.” And when I had dug in the wall, there appeared one door.


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And entering, I saw, and behold, every kind of image of reptiles and animals, the abominations, and all of the idols of the house of Israel were depicted on the wall all around, throughout the entire place.


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And there were seventy men out of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, standing in their midst, and they stood before the pictures. And each one had a censer in his hand. And a cloud of smoke rose up from the incense.


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And he said to me: “Certainly, son of man, you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each one while hidden in his chamber. For they say: ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the earth.’ ”


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And he said to me: “If you turn again, you will see even greater abominations, which these ones are committing.”


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And he led me in through the door of the gate of the Lord’s house, which looked toward the north. And behold, women were sitting there, mourning for Adonis.


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And he said to me: “Certainly, son of man, you have seen. But if you turn again, you will see even greater abominations than these.”


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And he led me into the inner atrium of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the vestibule and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east. And they were adoring toward the rising of the Sun.


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And he said to me: “Certainly, son of man, you have seen. Can this be so trivial to the house of Judah, when they commit these abominations, just as they have committed here, that, having filled the earth with iniquity, they now turn to provoke me? And behold, they are applying a branch to their nose.


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Therefore, I also will act toward them in my fury. My eye will not be lenient, nor will I take pity. And when they will have cried out to my ears with a loud voice, I will not heed them.”


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And he cried out in my ears with a loud voice, saying: “The visitations of the city have drawn near, and each one has equipment for killing in his hand.”


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And behold, six men were approaching from the way of the upper gate, which looks to the north. And each one had equipment for killing in his hand. Also, one man in their midst was clothed with linen, and an instrument for writing was at his waist. And they entered and stood beside the bronze altar.


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And the glory of the Lord of Israel was taken up, from the cherub upon which he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called out to the man who was clothed with linen and had an instrument for writing at his waist.


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And the Lord said to him: “Cross through the middle of the city, in the center of Jerusalem, and seal a Tau upon the foreheads of the grieving men, who are mourning over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”


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And he said to the others, in my hearing: “Cross through the city after him, and strike! Your eye shall not be lenient, and you shall not take pity.


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Kill, even to utter destruction, old men, young men, and virgins, little ones, and women. But all upon whom see the Tau, you shall not kill. And begin from my sanctuary.” Therefore, they began with the men among the elders, who were before the face of the house.


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And he said to them: “Defile the house, and fill its courts with the slain! Go forth!” And they went forth and struck down those who were in the city.


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And when the slaughter was completed, I remained. And I fell upon my face, and crying out, I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Will you now destroy the entire remnant of Israel, by pouring out your fury upon Jerusalem?”


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And he said to me: “The iniquity of the house of Israel, and of Judah, is vast and exceedingly great, and the land has been filled with blood, and the city has been filled with what is abhorrent. For they have said: ‘The Lord has forsaken the earth,’ and, ‘The Lord does not see.’


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Therefore, my eye will not be lenient, and I will not take pity. I will repay their own way upon their head.”


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And behold, the man who was clothed with linen, who had a writing instrument at his back, responded a word, saying: “I have done just as you instructed me.”


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And I saw, and behold, in the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim, there appeared above them something like the sapphire stone, with the sight of the likeness of a throne.


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And he spoke to the man who was clothed with linen, and he said: “Enter, between the wheels that are under the cherubim, and fill your hand with the coals of fire that are between the cherubim, and pour them upon the city.” And he entered, in my sight.


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Now the cherubim were standing before the right side of the house, when the man entered. And a cloud filled the inner court.


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And the glory of the Lord was lifted up, from above the cherubim, to the threshold of the house. And the house was filled with the cloud. And the court was filled with the splendor of the glory of the Lord.


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And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God speaking.


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And when he had instructed the man who was clothed with linen, saying, “Take fire from the midst of the wheels that are between the cherubim,” he entered and stood next to the wheel.


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And one cherub extended his hand, from the midst of the cherubim, to the fire that was between the cherubim. And he took and gave it into the hands of the one who was clothed with linen, and he accepted it and went forth.


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And I saw, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim. One wheel was next to one cherub, and another wheel was next to another cherub. And the appearance of the wheels was like the sight of the chrysolite stone.


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And in their appearance, each one of the four were similar, as if a wheel were in the midst of a wheel.


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And when they went, they advanced in four parts. And they did not turn as they went. Instead, to the place to which they were inclined to go at first, the rest also followed, and they did not turn back.


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And their entire body, with their necks and their hands and their wings and the circles, were full of eyes all around the four wheels.


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Now each one had four faces. One face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and in the third was the face of a lion, and in the fourth was the face of an eagle.


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And the cherubim were lifted up. This is the living creature, which I had seen beside the river Chebar.


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And when the cherubim advanced, the wheels also went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings in order to be raised up from the earth, the wheels did not remain behind, but they also were beside them.


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When they were standing, these stood still. And when they were lifted up, these were lifted up. For the spirit of life was in them.


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And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the temple, and stood above the cherubim.


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And the cherubim, lifting up their wings, were raised up from the earth in my sight. And as they went away, the wheels also followed. And it stood at the entrance to the east gate of the house of the Lord. And the glory of the God of Israel was over them.


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This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel beside the river Chebar. And I understood that they were cherubim.


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Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. And the likeness of the hand of a man was under their wings.


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And, concerning the appearance of their faces, these were the same faces that I had seen beside the river Chebar, and the gaze and force of each one of them was to go before his face.


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And the Spirit lifted me up, and he brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which looks toward the rising of the sun. And behold, at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men. And I saw, in their midst, Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, these are men who devise iniquity. And they offer a wicked counsel in this city,


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saying: ‘Was it so long ago that houses were being built? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.’


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And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me: “Speak: Thus says the Lord: So have you spoken, O house of Israel. And I know the thoughts of your heart.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Your slain, whom you have placed in its midst, these are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. And I will draw you out of its midst.


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And I will cast you out of its midst, and I will give you over to the hand of the enemies, and I will execute judgments among you.


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You will fall by the sword. I will judge you within the borders of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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This city will not be a cooking pot for you, and you will not be like meat in its midst. I will judge you within the borders of Israel.


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And you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my precepts, and you have not accomplished my judgments. Instead, you have acted in accord with the judgments of the Gentiles, who are all around you.”


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And it happened that, when I prophesied, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. And I fell upon my face, and I cried out with a loud voice, and I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Will you cause the consummation of the remnant of Israel?”


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“Son of man, your brothers, the men among your close relatives, your brothers and the entire house of Israel, are all among those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said: ‘Withdraw far from the Lord; the earth has been given to us as a possession.’


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since I have caused them to be far away, among the Gentiles, and since I have dispersed them among the lands, I will be a little sanctuary for them within the lands to which they have gone.


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Because of this, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from among the peoples, and I will unite you, from the lands into which you were dispersed, and I will give the soil of Israel to you.


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And they shall go to that place, and they shall remove all the offenses and all its abominations from that place.


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And I will give them one heart. And I will distribute a new spirit to their interior. And I will take away the heart of stone from their body. And I will give them a heart of flesh.


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So may they may walk in my precepts, and observe my judgments, and accomplish them. And so may they be my people, and I will be their God.


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But as for those whose heart walks after their offenses and abominations, I will set their own way upon their head, says the Lord God.”


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And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels with them. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.


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And the glory of the Lord ascended from the midst of the city and stood above the mountain, which is to the east of the city.


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And the Spirit lifted me up, and he brought me into Chaldea, to those of the transmigration, in a vision, in the Spirit of God. And the vision that I had seen was raised up, away from me.


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“Son of man, you live in the midst of a provoking house. They have eyes to see, and they do not see; and ears to hear, and they do not hear. For they are a provoking house.


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As for you, then, son of man, prepare for yourself the supplies for traveling far away, and travel away in the daytime in their sight. And you shall travel from your place to another place in their sight, so that perhaps they may consider it. For they are a provoking house.


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And you shall carry your supplies outside, like the supplies of one who is traveling far away, in the daytime in their sight. Then you shall go forth in the evening in their presence, just as one goes forth who is moving far away.


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In their sight, you shall be carried on shoulders, you shall be carried in the dark. You shall cover your face, and you shall not see the ground. For I have appointed you as a portent for the house of Israel.”


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Therefore, I did just as he had instructed me. I brought out my supplies in the daytime, like the supplies of one who is moving far away. And in the evening, I dug myself through the wall by hand. And I went out in the dark, and I was carried on shoulders, in their sight.


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Say to them: Thus says the Lord God: This is the burden concerning my leader who is in Jerusalem, and concerning the entire house of Israel, who are in their midst.


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Say: I am your portent. Just as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They will be taken captive and moved far away.


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And the leader who is in their midst will be carried on shoulders; he will go forth in darkness. They will dig through the wall, so that they may lead him away. His face will be covered, so that he may not see the land with his eye.


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And I will extend my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him to Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans, but he himself will not see it. And there he shall die.


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And all who are around him, his guards and his companies, I will scatter into every wind. And I will unsheathe the sword after them.


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And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have dispersed them among the Gentiles, and will have sowed them among the lands.


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And I will leave behind a few men of them, apart from the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence, so that they may declare all their wicked deeds among the Gentiles, to whom they will go. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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And say to the people of the land: Thus says the Lord God, to those who are living in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread in anxiety, and drink their water in desolation, so that the land may be desolate before its multitude, because of the iniquity of all who are living in it.


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And cities that are now inhabited will become desolate, and the land will be forsaken. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”


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“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel? saying: ‘The days shall be extended in length, and every vision shall perish.’


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Therefore, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I will cause this proverb to cease, and it shall no longer be a common saying in Israel. And tell them that the days are approaching, and the word of every vision.


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For there shall be no longer be any empty visions, nor any ambiguous divination in the midst of the sons of Israel.


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For I, the Lord, will speak. And whatever word I will speak, it shall be done, and it shall not be delayed any more. Instead, in your days, O provoking house, I will speak a word and do it, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, behold the house of Israel, those who are saying: ‘The visions that this one sees is many days away,’ and, ‘This man prophesies about times that are far away.’


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Because of this, say to them: Thus says the Lord God: No word of mine will be delayed any longer. The word that I will speak will be fulfilled, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and you shall say to those who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord:


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Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets, who are following their own spirit, and who see nothing.


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You have not gone up against the adversary, and you have not established a wall for the house of Israel, so as to stand in battle on the day of the Lord.


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They see emptiness, and they foretell falsehoods, saying, ‘The Lord says,’ though the Lord has not sent them. And they continued to affirm what they said.


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Have you not seen a futile vision and spoken a lying divination? And yet you say, ‘The Lord says,’ though I have not spoken.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have spoken emptiness and have seen falsehoods, therefore: behold, I am against you, says the Lord God.


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And my hand will be over the prophets who are seeing emptiness and divining lies. They shall not be in the council of my people, and they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel. Neither shall they enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.


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For they have deceived my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ and there is no peace. And they have built a wall, but they have covered it in clay without straw.


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Say to those who spread mortar without mixing, that it will fall apart. For there will be an inundating rain, and I will cause full-grown hailstones to rush down from above, and a windstorm to dissipate it.


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So then, behold: when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you: ‘Where is the mortar with which you covered it?’


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: And I will cause a violent wind to burst forth in my indignation, and there will be an inundating rain in my fury, and great hailstones in wrath, to consume.


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And I will destroy the wall that you have covered without tempering it. And I will level it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed. And it will fall and be consumed in its midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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And I will fulfill my indignation against the wall, and against those who cover it without mixing the mortar, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and those who covered it are no more:


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the prophets of Israel, who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord God.


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And as for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy from their own heart. And prophesy about them,


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and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew together little pillows under every forearm, and who make little cushions for the heads of every stage of life, in order to capture souls. And when they have seized the souls of my people, they became the life of their souls.


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And they violated me among my people, for the sake of a handful of barley and a fragment of bread, so that they would kill the souls that should not die, and enliven the souls that should not live, lying to my people who believe in falsehoods.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your little pillows, with which you catch flying souls. And I will tear them away from your arms. And I will release the souls that you are capturing, the souls that should fly.


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And I will tear away your little cushions. And I will free my people from your hand. And they shall no longer be a prey in your hands. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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For by deception you have caused the heart of the just to grieve, whom I would not sadden. And I have strengthened the hands of the impious, so that he would not be turned back from his evil way and live.


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Therefore, you shall not see emptiness, and you shall not divine divinations, any more. And I will rescue my people from your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”


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“Son of man, these men have placed their uncleanness in their hearts, and they have stationed the scandal of their iniquities before their face. So why should I respond when they inquire of me?


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Because of this, speak to them, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: The man, the man of the house of Israel, who places his uncleanness in his heart, and who stations the scandal of his iniquities before his face, and who approaches a prophet, so as to inquire of me through him: I, the Lord, will respond to him in accord with the multitude of his uncleannesses,


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so that the house of Israel may be seized within their own heart, by which they have withdrawn from me to all their idols.


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Because of this, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Be converted, and withdraw from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.


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For the man, the man of the house of Israel, and the new arrival among the converts who may be in Israel, if he is alienated from me, and he sets his idols in his heart, and he stations the scandal of his iniquity before his face, and he approaches the prophet, so that he may inquire of me through him: I, the Lord, will respond to him through myself.


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And I will set my face against that man, and I will make him an example and a proverb. And I will perish him from the midst of my people. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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And when a prophet has gone astray and has spoken a word: I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet. And I will extend my hand over him, and I will wipe him away from the midst of my people, Israel.


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And they shall bear their iniquity. In accord with the iniquity of the one who inquires, so shall the iniquity of the prophet be.


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So may the house of Israel no longer go astray from me, nor be polluted by all their transgressions. Instead, may they be my people, and may I be their God, says the Lord of hosts.”


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“Son of man, when a land will have sinned against me, so that it transgresses grievously, I will extend my hand over it, and I will crush the staff of its bread. And I will send a famine upon it, and I will destroy from it both man and beast.


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And if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver their own souls by their justice, says the Lord of hosts.


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And if I also lead in very harmful beasts upon the land, so that I devastate it, and it becomes impassable, so that no one may cross through it because of the beasts,


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if these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither sons, nor daughters. But only they themselves will be delivered, for the land shall be desolated.


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Or if I lead in the sword upon that land, and if I say to the sword, ‘Pass through the land,’ and so I destroy from it both man and beast,


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and if these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither sons, nor daughters, but only they themselves will be delivered.


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Then, if I also send the pestilence upon that land, and I pour out my indignation upon it with blood, so that I take away from it both man and beast,


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and if Noah, and Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they will deliver neither son, nor daughter, but they will deliver only their own souls by their justice.


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For thus says the Lord God: Even though I will send upon Jerusalem my four most grievous judgments, sword and famine and harmful beasts and pestilence, so that I destroy from it both man and beast,


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yet still there shall be left within it some who will be saved, who shall lead away their own sons and daughters. Behold, they will enter to you, and you will see their way and their accomplishments. And you shall be consoled concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, concerning all the things that I have brought to bear upon it.


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And they shall console you, when you see their ways and their accomplishments. And you shall know that I have not acted to no purpose in all that I have done within it, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, what can be made from the stalk of a vine, compared to all the plants of the woods that are among the trees of the forests?


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Can any wood be taken from it, so that it may be made into a work, or formed into a peg so as to hang some kind of vessel upon it?


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Behold, it is used in the fire as fuel. The fire consumes both its ends; and its middle is reduced to ashes. So how can it be useful for any work?


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Even when it was whole, it was unsuitable for a work. How much more so, when fire has devoured it and burned it up, will nothing of it be useful?


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Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Like the stalk of the vine among the trees of the forests, which I have given to be devoured by fire, so will I deliver the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


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And I will set my face against them. They will go away from fire, and yet fire will consume them. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have set my face against them,


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and when I will have made their land impassable and desolate. For they have stood forth as transgressors, says the Lord God.”


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And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your root and your lineage is from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Cethite.


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And when you were born, on the day of your nativity, your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed with water for health, nor salted with salt, nor wrapped with cloths.


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No eye took pity on you, so as to do even one of these things to you, out of compassion for you. Instead, you were cast upon the face of the earth, in the abjection of your soul, on the day when you were born.


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But, passing by you, I saw that you were wallowing in your own blood. And I said to you, when you were in your blood: ‘Live.’ I tell you that I said to you, in your blood: ‘Live.’


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I multiplied you like the seedling of the field. And you were multiplied and became great, and you advanced and arrived at the ornament of a woman. Your breasts rose up, and your hair grew. And you were naked and full of shame.


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And I passed by you and saw you. And behold, your time was the time of lovers. And I spread my garment over you, and I covered your disgrace. And I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine.


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And I covered you with embroidery, and I put violet shoes upon you, and I wrapped you in fine linen, and I clothed you with delicate garments.


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And you were adorned with gold and silver, and you were clothed in fine linen, woven with many colors. You ate fine flour, and honey, and oil. And you became very beautiful. And you advanced to royal power.


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And your renown went forth among the Gentiles, because of your beauty. For you were perfected by my beauty, which I had placed upon you, says the Lord God.


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But, having confidence in your own beauty, you fornicated in your fame. And you presented your fornication to every passer-by, so as to become his.


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And taking from your garments, you made for yourself exalted things, having sewed together disparate pieces. And you fornicated upon them, in a way that has not been done before, nor will be in the future.


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And you took your beautiful items, made of my gold and my silver, which I gave to you, and you made for yourself images of men, and you fornicated with them.


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And you used your multicolored vestments to cover these things. And you placed my oil and my incense before them.


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And my bread, which I gave to you, the fine flour, and the oil, and the honey, by which I nourished you, you placed in their sight as a sweet fragrance. And so it was done, says the Lord God.


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And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore for me, and you immolated them to be devoured. Is your fornication a small matter?


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And after all your abominations and fornications, you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and full of shame, wallowing in your own blood.


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you built for yourself a brothel, and you made for yourself a place of prostitution in every street.


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At the head of every way, you set up a banner of your prostitution. And you caused your beauty to become abominable. And you distributed your feet to every passer-by. And you multiplied your fornications.


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And you fornicated with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors, who have large bodies. And you multiplied your fornications, so as to provoke me.


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Behold, I will extend my hand over you, and I will take away your justification. And I will give you to the souls of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your wicked way.


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You also fornicated with the sons of the Assyrians, for you were not yet done. And after you fornicated, even then, you were not satisfied.


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And you multiplied your fornications in the land of Canaan with the Chaldeans. And even then, you were not satisfied.


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With what can I cleanse your heart, says the Lord God, since you do all these things, the works of a woman who is a shameless prostitute?


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For you have built your brothel at the head of every way, and you have made your exalted place on every street. And you have not even been like a choosy prostitute, increasing her price,


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Wages are given to all prostitutes. But you have given wages to all your lovers, and you have given gifts to them, so that they would enter to you from every side, in order to fornicate with you.


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And it is done with you, in your fornications, contrary to the custom of women, and even after you, there will be no such fornication. For in as much as you have given payment, and not taken payment, what has been done in you is the contrary.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “Because your money has been poured out, and your disgrace has been uncovered, in your fornications with your lovers and with the idols of your abominations, in the blood of your sons, whom you gave to them:


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Behold, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have united, and all those whom you have loved, together with all those whom you have hated. And I will gather them together against you on every side. And I will uncover your disgrace before them, and they will see all your indecency.


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And I will judge you with the judgment of adulteresses and of those who shed blood. And I will give you over to blood, in fury and in zeal.


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And I will deliver you into their hands. And they will destroy your brothel and demolish your place of prostitution. And they will strip you of your vestments. And they will take away the ornaments of your beauty. And they will leave you behind, naked and full of disgrace.


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And they will lead over you a multitude. And they will stone you with stones, and massacre you with their swords.


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And they will burn up your houses with fire, and they will carry out judgments against you in the sight of many women. And you will cease from fornication, and no longer give payment.


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And my indignation will be quieted in you. And my zeal will be taken from you. And I will rest, and no longer be angry.


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For you have not remembered the days of your youth, and you have provoked me in all these things. Because of this, I also have delivered all your ways upon your head, says the Lord God, but I have not acted in accord with your wickedness in all your abominations.


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Behold, all who speak a common proverb will take this up against you, saying: ‘Like the mother, so also is her daughter.’


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You are your mother’s daughter, for she cast away her husband and her children. And you are the sister of your sisters, for they cast away their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Cethite, and your father was an Amorite.


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And your older sister is Samaria, she and her daughters are those who live to your left. But your younger sister, who lives to your right, is Sodom and her daughters.


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But neither have you walked in their ways. For you have done only a little less compared to their wickedness. You have acted almost more wickedly, in all your ways, than they have acted.


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As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom herself, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done.


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Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: arrogance, indulgence in bread and abundance, and the idleness of her and her daughters; and they did not reach out their hand to the needy and the poor.


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And they were exalted, and they committed abominations before me. And so I took them away, just as you have seen.


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But Samaria has not committed even half of your sins. For you have exceeded them in your wickedness, and you have justified your sisters by all your abominations, which you have wrought.


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Therefore, you also bear your shame, for you have exceeded your sisters with your sins, acting more wickedly than they did. So they have been justified above you. By this also, you are confounded, and you bear your disgrace, for you have justified your sisters.


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But I will convert and restore them, by converting Sodom with her daughters, and by converting Samaria and her daughters. And I will convert your return in their midst.


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And your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their ancient state. And Samaria and her daughters will return to their ancient state. And you and your daughters will be returned to your ancient state.


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before your malice was revealed, as it is at this time, with the reproach of the daughters of Syria and of all the daughters of Palestine, who surround you, who encircle you on every side.


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For thus says the Lord God: “I will act toward you, just as you have despised the oath, so that you would make void the covenant.


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And I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth. And I will raise up for you an everlasting covenant.


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And you shall remember your ways and be confounded, when you will have received your sisters, your elder with your younger. And I will give them to you as daughters, but not by your covenant.


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So may you remember and be confounded. And it will no longer be for you to open your mouth, because of your shame, when I will have been pacified toward you over all that you have done, says the Lord God.”


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and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: A large eagle, with great wings and elongated pinions, full of feathers with many colors, came to Lebanon. And he took the kernel of the cedar.


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He tore off the summit of its branches, and he transported it to the land of Canaan; he placed it in a city of merchants.


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And he took from the seed of the land and placed it in the ground for seed, so that it might take firm root above many waters; he placed it at the surface.


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And when it had germinated, it increased into a more extensive vine, low in height, with its branches facing toward itself. And its roots were underneath it. And so, it became a vine, and sprouted branches, and produced shoots.


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And there was another large eagle, with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine seemed to bend its roots towards him, extending its branches toward him, so that he might irrigate it from the garden of its germination.


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It had been planted in a good land, above many waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, so that it would become a large vine.


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Speak: Thus says the Lord God: What if it does not prosper? Should he not pull up its roots, and strip off its fruit, and dry up all the branches that it has produced, and let it wither, though he is without a strong arm and without many people to pull it up by the root?


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Behold, it has been planted. What if it does not prosper? Should it not be dried up when the burning wind touches it, and should it not wither in the garden of its germination?”


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“Say to the provoking house: Do you not know what these things signify? Say: Behold, the king of Babylon arrives in Jerusalem. And he will take away its king and princes, and he will lead them away to himself in Babylon.


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And he will take one from the offspring of the king, and he will strike a pact with him and receive an oath from him. Moreover, he will take away the strong ones of the land,


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so that it may be a lowly kingdom, and may not lift itself up, and may instead keep his pact and serve it.


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But, withdrawing from him, he sent messengers to Egypt, so that it would give him horses and many people. Should he who has done these things prosper and obtain safety? And should he who has broken the pact go free?


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As I live, says the Lord God, in the place of the king, who appointed him as king, whose oath he has made void, and whose pact he has broken, under which he was living with him, in the midst of Babylon, he shall die.


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And not with a great army, nor with many people will Pharaoh undertake a battle against him, when he will cast up ramparts and build defenses, in order to put to death many souls.


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For he has despised an oath, in that he broke the pact. And behold, he had given his hand. And so, since he has done all these things, he shall not escape.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will place upon his head the oath that he has spurned and the pact that he has betrayed.


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And I will spread my net over him, and he will be captured in my dragnet. And I will lead him into Babylon, and I will judge him there for the transgression by which he has despised me.


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And all his fugitives, with all his procession, will fall by the sword. Then the remainder will be scattered into every wind. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take from the kernel of the exalted cedar, and I will establish it. I will tear off a tender twig from the top of its branches, and I will plant it on a mountain, lofty and exalted.


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On the sublime mountains of Israel, I will plant it. And it shall spring forth in buds and bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar. And all the birds will live under it, and every bird will make its nest under the shadow of its branches.


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And all the trees of the regions will know that I, the Lord, have brought low the sublime tree, and have exalted the lowly tree, and have dried up the green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted.”


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“Why is it that you circulate among yourselves this parable, as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’


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Behold, all souls are mine. Just as the soul of the father is mine, so also is the soul of the son. The soul that sins, the same shall die.


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and if he does not eat upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and if he has not violated the wife of his neighbor, nor approached a menstruating woman,


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and if he has not grieved any man, but has restored the collateral to the debtor, if he has seized nothing by violence, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,


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if he has not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase, if he has averted his hand from iniquity, and has executed true judgment between man and man,


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if he has walked in my precepts and kept my judgments, so that he acts in accord with truth, then he is just; he shall certainly live, says the Lord God.


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(even though he himself does not do any of these things,) and who eats upon the mountains, and who defiles the wife of his neighbor,


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who grieves the needy and the poor, who seizes with violence, who does not restore the collateral, and who lifts up his eyes to idols, committing abomination,


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who lends upon usury, and who takes an increase, then shall he live? He shall not live. Since he has done all these detestable things, he shall certainly die. His blood shall be upon him.


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But if he raises a son, who, seeing all his father’s sins that he has done, is afraid and so does not act in a way similar to him,


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who does not eat upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and who does not violate the wife of his neighbor,


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and who has not grieved any man, nor withheld the collateral, nor seized by violence, but instead has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,


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who has averted his hand from injuring the poor, who has not taken usury and an overabundance, who has acted according to my judgments and walked in my precepts, then this one shall not die for the iniquity of his father; instead, he shall certainly live.


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As for his father, because he oppressed and did violence to his brother, and worked evil in the midst of his people, behold, he has died by his own iniquity.


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And you say, ‘Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father?’ Clearly, since the son has worked judgment and justice, has observed all my precepts, and has done them, he shall certainly live.


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The soul that sins, the same shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The justice of the just man shall be upon himself, but the impiety of the impious man shall be upon himself.


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But if the impious man does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and if he keeps all my precepts, and accomplishes judgment and justice, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.


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I will not remember all his iniquities, which he has worked; by his justice, which he has worked, he shall live.


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How could it be my will that an impious man should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?


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But if a just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity in accord with all the abominations that the impious man so often does, why should he live? All his justices, which he has accomplished, shall not be remembered. By the transgression, in which he has transgressed, and by his sin, in which he has sinned, by these he shall die.


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And you have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Therefore, listen, O house of Israel. How could it be that my way is not fair? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?


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For when the just man turns himself away from his justice, and commits iniquity, he shall die by this; by the injustice that he has worked, he shall die.


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And when the impious man turns himself away from his impiety, which he has done, and accomplishes judgment and justice, he shall cause his own soul to live.


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For by considering and turning himself away from all his iniquities, which he has worked, he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.


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And yet the sons of Israel say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ How could it be that my ways are not fair, O house of Israel? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?


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Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge each one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities, and then iniquity will not be your ruin.


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Cast all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, away from you, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And then why should you die, O house of Israel?


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and you shall say: Why did your mother, the lioness, recline among the male lions, and raise her little ones in the midst of young lions?


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And she led away one of her little ones, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to consume men.


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And the Gentiles heard about him, and they seized him, but not without receiving wounds. And they led him away in chains to the land of Egypt.


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Then, when she had seen that she was weakened, and that her hope had perished, she took one of her little ones, and appointed him as a lion.


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And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.


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He learned to make widows, and to lead their citizens into the desert. And the land, with its plenitude, was made desolate by the voice of his roaring.


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And the Gentiles came together against him, on every side, from the provinces, and they spread their net over him; by their wounds, he was captured.


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And they put him into a cage; they led him in chains to the king of Babylon. And they cast him into a prison, so that his voice would no longer be heard upon the mountains of Israel.


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Your mother is like a vine, in your blood, planted by the water; her fruit and her branches have increased because of many waters.


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And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her branches.


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But she was uprooted in wrath, and cast upon the ground. And the burning wind dried up her fruit. Her robust branches withered and were dried up. A fire consumed her.


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And a fire has gone forth from a rod of her branches, which has consumed her fruit. And there is no strong branch in her to become a scepter for the rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be a lamentation.”


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And it happened that, in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel arrived, so that they might inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.


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“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Have you arrived in order to inquire of me? As I live, I will not answer you, says the Lord God.


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And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel, and I lifted up my hand on behalf of the stock of the house of Jacob, and I appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and I lifted up my hand on their behalf, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God,’


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in that day, I lifted up my hand for their sake, so that I would lead them away from the land of Egypt, into a land which I had provided for them, flowing with milk and honey, which was singular among all lands.


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And I said to them: ‘Let each one cast away the offenses of his eyes, and do not choose to defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’


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But they provoked me, and they were not willing to listen to me. Each one of them did not cast away the abominations of his eyes, nor did they leave behind the idols of Egypt. And so, I said that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and fulfill my wrath against them, in the midst of the land of Egypt.


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But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they were, and among whom I appeared to them, so that I might lead them away from the land of Egypt.


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And I gave them my precepts, and I revealed to them my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them.


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Moreover, I also gave to them my Sabbaths, so that these would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.


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But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert. They did not walk in my precepts, and they cast aside my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they grievously violated my Sabbaths. Therefore, I said that I would pour out my fury upon them in the desert, and that I would consume them.


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But I acted for the sake of my name, lest it be violated before the Gentiles, from whom I cast them out, in their sight.


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And so I lifted up my hand over them in the desert, so as not to lead them into the land that I had given to them, flowing with milk and honey, the foremost of all lands.


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For they cast aside my judgments, and they did not walk in my precepts, and they violated my Sabbaths. For their heart went after idols.


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Yet my eye was lenient concerning them, so that I did not utterly destroy them, nor did I consume them in the desert.


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Then I said to their sons in the wilderness: ‘Do not choose to advance by the precepts of your fathers, nor should you observe their judgments. And do not be defiled by their idols.


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And sanctify my Sabbaths, so that these may be a sign between me and you, and so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’


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But their sons provoked me. They did not walk in my precepts. And they did not observe my judgments, so as to do them; for if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they violated my Sabbaths. And so, I threatened that I would pour out my fury upon them, and that I would fulfill my wrath among them in the desert.


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But I turned aside my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated before the Gentiles, from whom I cast them out, before their eyes.


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Again, I lifted up my hand against them, in the wilderness, so that I would disperse them among the nations, and scatter them among the lands.


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For they had not accomplished my judgments, and they had rejected my precepts, and they had violated my Sabbaths. And their eyes had been after the idols of their fathers.


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Therefore, I also gave them precepts that were not good, and judgments by which they shall not live.


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And I defiled them by their own gifts, when they offered everything that opened the womb, because of their offenses. And they shall know that I am the Lord.


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For this reason, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God. Yet also in this did your fathers blaspheme me, after they had spurned and despised me,


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though I had led them into the land, about which I lifted up my hand, so that I might give it to them: They saw every lofty hill and every leafy tree, and there they immolated their victims, and there they presented the provocation of their oblations, and there they stationed their sweet fragrances, and poured out their libations.


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And I said to them, ‘What is exalted about the place to which you go?’ And yet its name is called ‘Exalted,’ even to this day.


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Because of this, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Certainly, you are defiled by the way of your fathers, and you have fornicated after their stumbling blocks.


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And you are being defiled by all of your idols, even to this day, by the oblation of your gifts, when you lead your sons through the fire. And should I respond to you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not answer you.


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And the plan of your mind will not occur, saying: ‘We will be like the Gentiles, and like the families of the earth, so that we worship what is wood and stone.’


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As I live, says the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured forth.


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And I will lead you away from the peoples. And I will gather you from the lands into which you were dispersed. I will reign over you with a powerful hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.


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And I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you, face to face.


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Just as I contended in judgment against your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so also will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord God.


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And I will select, from among you, the transgressors and the impious. And I will lead them away from the land of their sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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And as for you, house of Israel: thus says the Lord God: Walk, each one of you, after your idols and serve them. But if in this also you will not listen to me, and you continue to defile my holy name with your gifts and with your idols,


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on my holy mountain, on the exalted mountain of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel shall serve me; all of them, I say, in the land in which they shall please me, and there I will require your first-fruits, and the foremost of your tithes, with all your sanctifications.


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I will receive from you a fragrance of sweetness, when I will have led you away from the peoples, and gathered you from the lands into which you were dispersed. And I will be sanctified in you before the eyes of the nations.


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And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have led you into the land of Israel, into the land about which I lifted up my hand, so that I would give it to your fathers.


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And there you shall remember your ways and all your wickedness, by which you have been defiled. And you will be displeased with yourselves in your own sight, over all your evil deeds which you did.


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And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have acted well toward you for the sake of my name, and not according to your evil ways, nor according to your very great wickedness, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, set your face against the way of the south, and pour in drops toward Africa, and prophesy against the forest of the field of the meridian.


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And you shall say to the meridian forest: Listen to the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and I will burn up within you every green tree and every dry tree. The flame of the kindling will not be extinguished. And every face will be burned up within it, from the south, even to the north.


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And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! They are saying about me: ‘Does this man not speak except through parables?’ ”


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“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.


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And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.


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But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.


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And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.


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And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, For it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!


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It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.


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And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.


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Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,


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for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.


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You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,


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and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.


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And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”


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“And as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.


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You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.


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For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.


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To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.


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And he shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.


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Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.


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But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:


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Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?


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Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.


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And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,


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while they look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.


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Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.


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And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.


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You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”


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And you shall reveal to her all her abominations. And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: This is the city which sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and which has made idols against herself, so that she may be defiled.


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You have offended by your blood, which you shed from yourself. And you have been defiled by your idols which you yourself made. And you have caused your days to approach, and you have brought on the time of your years. Because of this, I have made you a disgrace to the Gentiles, and a derision to all the lands.


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Those that are near and those that are far from you will triumph over you. You are filthy, infamous, great in destruction.


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They have abused father and mother within you. The new arrival has been oppressed in your midst. They have grieved the orphan and the widow among you.


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Maligning men were within you, in order to shed blood, and they have eaten upon the mountains within you. They have worked wickedness in your midst.


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They have uncovered the nakedness of their father within you. They have debased the uncleanness of the menstruous woman within you.


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And each one has committed abomination with the wife of his neighbor. And the father-in-law has heinously defiled his daughter-in-law. The brother has oppressed his sister, the daughter of his father, within you.


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They have accepted bribes among you to shed blood. You have received usury and superabundance, and in avarice you have oppressed your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.


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Behold, I have clapped my hands over your avarice, which you have worked, and over the blood that has been shed in your midst.


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How can your heart endure, or your hands prevail, in the days that I will bring upon you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act.


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And I will disperse you among the nations, and I will scatter you among the lands, and I will cause your uncleanness to fade away from you.


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“Son of man, the house of Israel has become like dross to me. All these are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace; they have become like the dross of silver.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have all turned into dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you together in the midst of Jerusalem,


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just as they gather silver, and brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace, so that I may kindle in it a fire to melt it. So will I gather you together in my fury and in my wrath, and I will be quieted, and I will melt you down.


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And I will gather you together, and I will burn you in the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in its midst.


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Just as silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so will you be in its midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have poured out my indignation upon you.”


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There is a conspiracy of prophets in her midst. Like a lion, roaring and seizing the prey, they have devoured souls. They have taken riches and a price. They have multiplied widows in her midst.


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Her priests have despised my law, and they have defiled my sanctuaries. They have held no distinction between holy and profane. And they have not understood the difference between defiled and clean. And they have averted their eyes from my Sabbaths. And I was profaned in their midst.


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Her leaders in her midst are like wolves seizing the prey: to shed blood, and to perish souls, and to continually pursue profit with avarice.


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And her prophets have covered them without tempering the mortar, seeing emptiness, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.


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The people of the land have oppressed with slander and have seized with violence. They have afflicted the needy and the poor, and they have oppressed the new arrival by accusations without judgment.


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And I sought among them for a man who might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I might not destroy it; and I found no one.


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And so I poured out my indignation upon them; in the fire of my wrath I consumed them. I have rendered their own way upon their head, says the Lord God.”


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and they fornicated in Egypt; they committed fornication in their youth. In that place, their breasts were conquered; the breasts of their adolescence were subdued.


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Now their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her younger sister. And I held them, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.


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And then, Oholah committed fornication against me, and she acted madly with her lovers, with the Assyrians who approached her,


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who were clothed with hyacinth: rulers and magistrates, passionate youths and all of the horsemen, mounted on horses.


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And she distributed her fornications to those chosen men, all of them sons of the Assyrians. And she defiled herself with the uncleanness of all those whom she madly desired.


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Moreover, she also did not abandon her fornications, which she had done in Egypt. For they also slept with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication upon her.


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Because of this, I have delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assur, whom she has lustfully desired.


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They uncovered her shame; they took away her sons and daughters; and they slew her with the sword. And they became infamous women. And they carried out judgments in her.


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And when her sister, Oholibah, had seen this, she was even more mad with lust than the other. And her fornication was beyond the fornication of her sister.


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She shamelessly offered herself to the sons of the Assyrians, to the rulers and magistrates who brought themselves to her clothed with colorful garments, to the horsemen who were carried by horses, and to the youths, all of them exceptional in appearance.


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And she increased her fornications. And when she had seen men depicted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans, expressed in colors,


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with belts wrapped around the waist, and with dyed headdresses on their heads, having seen the appearance of all the rulers, the likenesses of the sons of Babylon and of the land of the Chaldeans in which they were born,


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And when the sons of Babylon had gone to her, to the bed of breasts, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by them, and her soul was gorged by them.


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Also, her fornications were uncovered, and her shame was revealed. And my soul withdrew from her, as my soul had withdrawn from her sister.


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For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she fornicated in the land of Egypt.


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And she was mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow of horses.


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And you have revisited the crimes of your youth, when your breasts were conquered in Egypt, and the breasts of your adolescence were subdued.


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Because of this, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise up against you all of your lovers, with whom your soul has been gorged. And I will gather them together against you all around:


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the sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, the sovereigns and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, youths of exceptional form, all the rulers and magistrates, the leaders among leaders, and the renowned riders of horses.


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And they will overwhelm you, well-equipped with chariot and wheel, a multitude of peoples. They will be armed against you on every side with armor and shield and helmet. And I will give judgment to their eyes, and they will judge you with their judgments.


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And against you, I will set my zeal, which they will execute upon you with fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears. And what remains will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and your daughters, and your youngest will be devoured by fire.


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And I will cause your wickedness to cease from you, and your fornication to cease from the land of Egypt. Neither shall you lift up your eyes toward them, and you shall no longer remember Egypt.


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For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you have hated, into the hands by which your soul has been gorged.


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And they will act toward you with hatred, and they will take away all your labors, and they will send you away naked and filled with disgrace. And the shame of your fornication will be revealed: your crimes and your fornications.


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They have done these things to you, because you have fornicated after the Gentiles, among whom you were defiled by their idols.


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Thus says the Lord God: You will drink the chalice of your sister, deep and wide. You will be held in derision and in ridicule, to a very great extent.


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You will be filled with inebriation and sorrow, by the chalice of grief and sadness, by the chalice of your sister Samaria.


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And you will drink it, and you will empty it, even to the dregs. And you will consume even its particles. And you will wound your own breasts. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have forgotten me, and you have cast me behind your body, so also will you bear your wickedness and your fornications.”


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And the Lord spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, should you not judge Oholah and Oholibah, and announce to them their crimes?


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For they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands, and they have fornicated with their idols. Moreover, they have offered even their children, whom they bore for me, to them to be devoured.


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But they have done even this to me: They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and they have profaned my Sabbaths.


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And when they immolated their children to their idols, they also entered my sanctuary on the same day, so that they defiled it. They have done these things, even in the midst of my house.


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They sent for men who were coming from far away, to whom they had sent a messenger. And so, behold, they arrived, those for whom you washed yourself, and smeared cosmetics around your eyes, and were adorned with feminine ornaments.


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You sat upon a very beautiful bed, and a table was adorned before you, on which you placed my incense and my ointment.


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And the voice of a multitude was exulting within her. And concerning certain men, who were being led out of a multitude of persons, and who were arriving from the desert, they placed bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.


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And I said about her, as she was being worn away by her adulteries, ‘Even now, she continues in her fornication!’


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And they entered to her, as if to a kept woman. So did they enter to Oholah and Oholibah, nefarious women.


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But there are just men; these shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of those who shed blood. For they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.


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For thus says the Lord God: Lead upon them a multitude, and hand them over to tumult and to pillaging.


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And may they be stoned with the stones of the peoples, and may they be pierced with their own swords. They will put to death their sons and daughters, and they will burn their houses with fire.


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And I will take away wickedness from the land. And all women shall learn not to act according to their wickedness.


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And they will set your own crimes upon you, and you will bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.”


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And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying:


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“Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon was confirmed against Jerusalem today.


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And you shall speak, through a proverb, a parable to the inciting house. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Set out a cooking pot; set it out, I say, and put water into it.


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Pile together within it every morsel, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, the choice pieces and those full of bones.


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Take the fattest from the flock, and arrange also a heap of bones under it. Its cooking has boiled over, and its bones in its midst have been thoroughly cooked.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, to the cooking pot that has rust in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Cast it out piece by piece! No lot has fallen upon it.


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For her blood is in her midst; she has shed it upon the smoothest rock. She has not shed it upon the ground, so that it could be covered with dust.


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So shall I bring my indignation over her, and take my vengeance. I have presented her blood upon the smoothest rock, so that it would not be covered.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, out of which I will make a great funeral pyre.


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Pile together the bones, which I will burn with fire. The flesh shall be consumed, and the entire composition shall be boiled, and the bones shall deteriorate.


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Also, place it empty on burning coals, so that it may be heated, and its brass may melt. And let the filth of it be melted in its midst, and let its rust be consumed.


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There has been much sweat and labor, and yet its extensive rust has not gone out of it, not even by fire.


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Your uncleanness is execrable. For I wanted to cleanse you, and you have not been cleansed from your filth. So then, neither will you be cleansed before I cause my indignation over you to cease.


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I, the Lord, have spoken. It shall happen, and I will act. I will not pass over, nor be lenient, nor be placated. I will judge you according to your ways and according to your intentions, says the Lord.”


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“Son of man, behold, I am taking away from you, with a stroke, the desire of your eyes. And you shall not lament, and you shall not weep. And your tears shall not flow down.


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Groan silently; you shall make no mourning for the dead. Let the band of your crown be on you, and let your shoes be on your feet. And you shall not cover your face, nor shall you eat the food of those who mourn.”


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Therefore, I spoke to the people in the morning. And my wife died in the evening. And in the morning, I did just as he had instructed me.


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And the people said to me: “Why won’t you explain to us what these things signify, which you are doing?”


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‘Speak to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will defile my sanctuary, the pride of your realm, and the desire of your eyes, and the dread of your soul. Your sons and your daughters, whom you have forsaken, will fall by the sword.’


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And so, you shall do just as I have done. You shall not cover your faces, and you shall not eat the food of those who mourn.


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You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet. You shall not lament, and you shall not weep. Instead, you will waste away in your iniquities, and each one will groan to his brother.


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‘And Ezekiel shall be a portent for you. In accord with all that he has done, so shall you do, when this will happen. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”


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“And as for you, son of man, behold, in the day when I will take away from them their strength, and the joy of their dignity, and the desire of their eyes, in which their souls find rest: their sons and their daughters,


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in that day, I say, your mouth shall be opened to him who has fled. And you shall speak, and you shall no longer be silent. And you shall be for them a portent. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”


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And you shall say to the sons of Ammon: Listen to the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you have said, ‘Well, well!’ over my sanctuary, when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel, when it was desolated, and over the house of Judah, when they were led into captivity,


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therefore, I will deliver you to the sons of the East, as an inheritance. And they will arrange their fences within you, and they will place their tents within you. They will eat your crops, and they will drink your milk.


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And I will make Rabbah into the habitation of camels, and the sons of Ammon into the resting place of cattle. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stomped your foot, and have rejoiced with all your heart against the land of Israel,


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therefore, behold, I will extend my hand over you, and I will deliver you as a spoil of the Gentiles. And I will destroy you from the peoples, and I will perish you from the lands, and I will crush you. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir have said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the Gentiles!’


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therefore, behold, I will open the shoulder of Moab from the cities, from his cities, I say, and from his borders, the famous cities of the land of Beth-Jesimoth, and Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,


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with the sons of Ammon, to the sons of the East, and I will give it to them as an inheritance, so that there may no longer be a remembrance of the sons of Ammon among the Gentiles.


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Thus says the Lord God: Because Idumea has taken vengeance, so as to vindicate herself against the sons of Judah, and has sinned grievously, and has sought revenge against them,


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therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will extend my hand over Idumea, and I will take from it both man and beast, and I will make it desolate from the south. And those who are in Dedan will fall by the sword.


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And I will issue my vengeance upon Idumea, by the hand of my people, Israel. And they shall act in Idumea in accord with my wrath and my fury. And they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.


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Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have taken vengeance, and have revenged themselves with all their soul, destroying, and fulfilling ancient hostilities,


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because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will extend my hand over the Philistines, and I will destroy those who destroy, and I will perish the remnant of the maritime regions.


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And I will execute great vengeance against them, reproving them in fury. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will send my vengeance upon them.”


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And it happened that, in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:


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“Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem: ‘It is Well! The gates of the peoples have been broken! She has been turned toward me. I will be filled. She will be deserted!’


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because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to rise up against you, just as the waves of the sea rise up.


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And they will break apart the walls of Tyre, and they will destroy its towers. And I will scrape her dust from her, and I will make her into the barest rock.


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She will be a drying place for nets from the midst of the sea. For I have spoken, says the Lord God. And she will be a spoil for the Gentiles.


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Likewise, her daughters who are in the field will be slain by the sword. And they shall know that I am the Lord.


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For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lead into Tyre: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, a king among kings, from the north, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and companies, and a great people.


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Your daughters who are in the field, he will kill with the sword. And he will surround you with fortifications, and he will put together a rampart on all sides. And he will lift up a shield against you.


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And he will combine moveable shelters and battering rams before your walls, and he will destroy your towers with his armaments.


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He will cover you with the inundation of his horses and with their dust. Your walls will shake at the sound of horsemen and wheels and chariots, when they will have entered your gates, as if through the entrance of a city that has been broken open.


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With the hoofs of his horses, he will trample all your streets. He will cut down your people with the sword, and your noble statues will fall to the ground.


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They will lay waste to your wealth. They will despoil your businesses. And they will tear down your walls and overturn your eminent houses. And they will put your stones and your timber and your dust into the midst of the waters.


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And I will cause the multitude of your songs to cease. And the sound of your stringed instruments will no longer be heard.


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And I will make you like the barest rock; you will be a drying place for nets. And you will no longer be built up. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.”


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Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: “Will not the islands shake at the sound of your ruin and at the groans of your slain, when they will have been cut down in your midst?


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And all the leaders of the sea will descend from their thrones. And they will cast aside their outer garments and their colorful clothing, and they will be clothed in stupor. They will sit on the ground, and they will wonder with astonishment at your sudden downfall.


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And taking up a lamentation over you, they will say to you: ‘How could you have perished, you who live in the sea, the famous city that was strong in the sea, with your inhabitants, of whom the whole world was in dread?’


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Now the ships will be stupefied, in the day of your terror. And the islands of the sea will be disturbed, because no one goes out from you.


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For thus says the Lord God: When I will have made you a desolate city, like the cities that are uninhabited, and when I will have led the abyss over you, and many waters will have covered you,


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and when I will have dragged you down with those who descend into the pit to the everlasting people, and when I will have assembled you in the lowest parts of the earth, like the desolate places of antiquity, with those who have been brought down into the pit, so that you will be uninhabited, and moreover, when I will have given glory to the land of the living:


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I will reduce you to nothing, and you shall not be, and if you are sought, you will no longer be found, in perpetuity, says the Lord God.”


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And you shall say to Tyre, which lives at the entrance to the sea, which is the marketplace of the peoples for the many islands: Thus says the Lord God: O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am of perfect beauty,


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for I have been positioned at the heart of the sea!’ Your neighbors, who built you, have filled up your beauty.


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They constructed you with spruce from Senir, with all the planks of the sea. They have taken cedars from Lebanon, so that they might make a mast for you.


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They have formed your oars from the oaks of Bashan. And they have made your crossbeams from Indian ivory, and the pilothouse is from the islands of Italy.


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Colorful fine linen from Egypt was woven for you as a sail to be placed upon the mast; hyacinth and purple from the islands of Elishah were made into your covering.


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The inhabitants of Sidon and of Arwad were your rowers. Your wise ones, O Tyre, were your navigators.


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The elders of Gebal and its experts were considered as sailors making use of your diverse equipment. All the ships of the sea and their sailors were your merchants among the people.


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The Persians, and the Lydians, and the Libyans were your men of war in your army. They suspended shield and helmet within you for your adornment.


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The sons of Arwad were with your army upon your walls all around. And even the Gammadim, who were in your towers, suspended their quivers on your walls on all sides; they completed your beauty.


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The Carthaginians, your merchants, supplied your festivals with a multitude of diverse riches, with silver, iron, tin, and lead.


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Greece, Tubal, and Meshech, these were your peddlers; they traveled to your people with slaves and with brass vessels.


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The sons of Dedan were your merchants. The many islands were the marketplace of your hand. They traded teeth of ivory and of ebony for your price.


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The Syrian was your merchant. Because of the multitude of your works, they offered jewels, and purple, and patterned cloth, and fine linen, and silk, and other valuables in your market.


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Judah and the land of Israel, these were your peddlers of the best grain; they offered balsam, and honey, and oil, and resins at your festivals.


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The Damascene was your trader in the multitude of your works, in greatly diverse wealth, in rich wine, in wool with the finest coloring.


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Dan, and Greece, and Mosel have offered works made of iron at your festivals. Storax ointment and sweet flag were in your marketplace.


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Arabia and all the leaders of Kedar, these were the merchants at your hand. Your merchants came to you with lambs, and rams, and young goats.


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The vendors of Sheba and Raamah, these were your merchants, with all the finest aromatics, and precious stones, and gold, which they offered in your marketplace.


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These were your merchants in many places, with windings of hyacinth and of colorful weavings, and with precious treasures, which were wrapped and bound with cords. Also, they had works of cedar among your merchandise.


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The ships of the sea were important to your business dealings. For you were replenished and exceedingly glorified in the heart of the sea.


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Your rowers have brought you into many waters. The south wind has worn you down in the heart of the sea.


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Your riches, and your treasures, and your versatile equipment, your sailors and your navigators, who handle your goods and who were first among your people, likewise your men of war, who were among you, and your entire multitude that is in your midst: they will fall in the heart of the sea on the day of your ruin.


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And all who were handling the oar will descend from their ships; the sailors and all the navigators of the sea will stand upon the land.


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And they will howl over you with a great voice, and they will cry out with bitterness. And they will cast dust upon their heads, and they will be sprinkled with ashes.


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And they will shave their heads because of you, and they will be wrapped in haircloth. And they will weep for you with bitterness of soul, with a very bitter weeping.


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And they will take up a mournful verse over you, and they will lament you: ‘What city is like Tyre, which has become mute in the midst of the sea?’


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For by the going forth of your merchandise by sea, you supplied many peoples; by the multitude of your riches and of your people, you enriched the kings of the earth.


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Now you have been worn away by the sea, your opulence is in the depths of the waters, and your entire multitude that was in your midst has fallen.


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All the inhabitants of the islands have been stupefied over you; and all their kings, having been struck by the tempest, have changed their expression.


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The merchants of the peoples have hissed over you. You have been reduced to nothing, and you shall not be again, even forever.”


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“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted, and you have said, ‘I am God, and I sit in the chair of God, in the heart of the sea,’ though you are a man, and not God, and because you have presented your heart as if it were the heart of God:


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By your wisdom and prudence, you have made yourself strong, and you have acquired gold and silver for your storehouses.


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By the multitude of your wisdom, and by your business dealings, you have multiplied strength for yourself. And your heart has been exalted by your strength.


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Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted as if it were the heart of God,


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for this reason, behold, I will lead over you foreigners, the most robust among the Gentiles. And they will bare their swords over the beauty of your wisdom, and they will defile your beauty.


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They will destroy you and pull you down. And you will die the death of those slain in the heart of the sea.


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So then, will you speak, in the presence of those who are destroying you, before the hand of those who are killing you, saying, ‘I am God,’ though you are a man, and not God?


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You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hand of foreigners. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.”


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And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre,


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and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: You were the seal of similitudes, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.


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You were with the delights of the Paradise of God. Every precious stone was your covering: sardius, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, and onyx, and beryl, sapphire, and garnet, and emerald. The work of your beauty was of gold, and your fissures were ready in the day when you were formed.


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You were a cherub, stretched out and protecting, and I stationed you on the holy mountain of God. You have walked in the midst of stones containing fire.


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By the multitude of your business dealings, your interior was filled with iniquity, and you sinned. And I cast you away from the mountain of God, and I perished you, O protecting cherub, from the midst of the stones containing fire.


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And your heart was exalted by your beauty; you have destroyed your own wisdom by your beauty. I have cast you to the ground. I have presented you before the face of kings, so that they may examine you.


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You have defiled your sanctuaries, by the multitude of your iniquities and by the iniquity of your business dealings. Therefore, I will produce a fire from your midst, which will consume you, and I will make you into ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all who are watching you.


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All who gaze upon you among the Gentiles will be stupefied over you. You were made out of nothing, and you shall not be, forever.”


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And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Sidon, and I will be glorified in your midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have executed judgments in her, and when I will have been sanctified in her.


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And I will send a pestilence upon her, and there will be blood in her streets. And they will fall, slain by the sword, on every side in her midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord.


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And the house of Israel will no longer be a stumbling block of bitterness, nor a thorn bringing pain everywhere around them, to those who turn against them. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “When I will have gathered together the house of Israel, from the peoples among whom they have been dispersed, I shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the Gentiles. And they shall live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.


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And they shall live within it securely. And they shall build houses and plant vineyards. And they shall live in confidence, when I will have executed judgments upon all those who turn against them on every side. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.”


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In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the eleventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:


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“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you shall prophesy about him and about all of Egypt.


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Speak, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, you great dragon, who rests in the midst of your rivers. And you say: ‘Mine is the river, and I have made myself.’


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But I will place a bridle in your jaws. And I will adhere the fish of your rivers to your scales. And I will draw you out of the midst of your rivers, and all your fish will adhere to your scales.


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And I will cast you into the desert, with all the fish of your river. You will fall upon the surface of the earth; you will not be taken up, nor gathered together. I have given you to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air, to be devoured.


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And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. For you have been a staff made of reed to the house of Israel.


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When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke, and so you wounded all of their shoulders. And when they leaned on you, you shattered, and so you injured all of their lower backs.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lead the sword over you, and I will destroy both man and beast from among you.


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And the land of Egypt will be a desert and a wilderness. And they shall know that I am the Lord. For you have said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it.’


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Therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. And I will make the land of Egypt into a wilderness, destroyed by the sword from the tower of Syene all the way to the borders of Ethiopia.


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The foot of man will not pass through it, and the foot of cattle will not walk in it. And it will be uninhabited for forty years.


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And I will set the land of Egypt in desolation, in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities in the midst of overturned cites. And they will be desolate for forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and I will disperse them among the lands.


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For thus says the Lord God: After the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they had been scattered.


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And I will lead back the captivity of Egypt, and I will collect them in the land of Pathros, in the land of their nativity. And in that place, they will be a lowly kingdom.


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It will be the lowest among the other kingdoms, and it will no longer be exalted above the nations. And I will diminish them, lest they rule over the Gentiles.


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And they will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, teaching iniquity, so that they may flee and follow them. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.”


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And it happened that, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:


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“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has caused his army to serve with great servility against Tyre. Every head was shaven, and every shoulder was stripped of hair. And wages have not been paid to him, nor to his army, for Tyre, for the service by which he served for me against it.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will station Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in the land of Egypt. And he will take its multitude, and he will prey upon its profits, and he will plunder its spoils. And this shall be the wages for his army


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and for the work by which he has served against it. I have given to him the land of Egypt, because he has labored for me, says the Lord God.


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In that day, a horn will spring forth for the house of Israel, and I will give to you an open mouth in their midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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For the day is near, and the day of the Lord is approaching! It is a day of gloom; it will be the time of the Gentiles.


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And the sword will come to Egypt. And there will be dread in Ethiopia, when the wounded will have fallen in Egypt, and its multitude will have been taken away, and its foundations will have been destroyed.


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Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the rest of the common people, and Chub, and the sons of the land of the covenant, will fall with them by the sword.


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Thus says the Lord God: And those who prop up Egypt will fall, and the arrogance of its reign will be brought down. They will fall in it by the sword, before the tower of Syene, says the Lord, the God of hosts.


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And they will be scattered into the midst of desolate lands, and its cities will be in the midst of cities that have been deserted.


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And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have brought a fire into Egypt, and when all its helpers will have been worn away.


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In that day, messengers will go forth from my face in Greek warships, in order to crush the confidence of Ethiopia. And there will be dread among them in the day of Egypt; for without doubt, it will happen.


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Thus says the Lord God: By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, I will cause the multitude of Egypt to cease.


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He, and his people with him, the strongest of the Gentiles, will be brought forth in order to destroy the land. And they will draw their swords over Egypt. And they will fill the land with the slain.


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And I will cause the channels of the rivers to dry up. And I will deliver the land into the hand of the most wicked. And by the hands of foreigners, I will utterly destroy the land and its plenitude. I, the Lord, have spoken.


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Thus says the Lord God: And I will destroy the graven images, and I will cause the idols of Memphis to cease. And there will no longer be a commander of the land of Egypt. And I will send terror upon the land of Egypt.


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And I will destroy the land of Pathros, and I will send a fire upon Tahpanhes, and I will execute judgments in Alexandria.


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And I will pour out my indignation upon Pelusium, the strength of Egypt, and I will kill the multitude of Alexandria.


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And I will send a fire upon Egypt. Pelusium will be in pain, like a woman giving birth. And Alexandria will be utterly destroyed. And in Memphis, there will be anguish every day.


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The young men of Heliopolis and Pibeseth will fall by the sword, and the young women will be led into captivity.


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And in Tahpanhes, the day will grow black, when, in that place, I will break the scepters of Egypt. And the arrogance of her authority will fail within her; a gloom will cover her. Then her daughters will be led into captivity.


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And it happened that, in the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came, me, saying:


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“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And behold, it has not been wrapped, so that it might be restored to health; it has not been bound with cloths, or bandaged with linen, so that, having recovered strength, it would be able to hold the sword.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will shatter his strong arm, which has already been broken. And I will cast the sword away from his hand.


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And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. And I will put my sword into his hand. And I will break the arms of Pharaoh. And they will groan acutely, when they are slain before his face.


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And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon. And the arms of Pharaoh will fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have given my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and when he will have extended it over the land of Egypt.


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And I will disperse Egypt among the nations, and I will scatter them among the lands. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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And it happened that, in the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:


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“Son of man, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his people: To whom can you be compared in your greatness?


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Behold, Assur is like the cedar of Lebanon, with fair branches, and full of leaves, and of high stature, and his summit has been elevated above the thick branches.


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The waters have nourished him. The abyss has exalted him. Its rivers have flowed around his roots, and it has sent forth its streams to all the trees of the regions.


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Because of this, his height was exalted above all the trees of the regions, and his groves were multiplied, and his own branches were elevated, because of the many waters.


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And when he had extended his shadow, all the birds of the air made their nests in his branches, and all the beasts of the forest conceived their young under his foliage, and an assembly of the many peoples lived under his shadow.


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And he was most beautiful in his greatness and in the expansion of his groves. For his root was near many waters.


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The cedars in the Paradise of God were not higher than he was. The spruce trees were not equal to his summit, and the plane trees were not equal to his fullness. No tree in the Paradise of God was similar to him or to his beauty.


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For I made him beautiful, and dense with many branches. And all the trees of delight, which were in the Paradise of God, were jealous of him.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since he was sublime in height, and he made his summit green and dense, and his heart was exalted because of his height,


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I have delivered him into the hands of the most powerful one among the Gentiles, so that he will deal with him. I have cast him out, in accord with his impiety.


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And foreigners, and the most cruel among the nations, will cut him down. And they will cast him on the mountains. And his branches will fall in every steep valley, and his grove will be broken apart on every cliff of the earth. And all the peoples of the earth will withdraw from his shadow, and abandon him.


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All the birds of the air lived upon his ruins, and all the beasts of the countryside were among his branches.


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For this reason, none of the trees among the waters will exalt themselves because of their height, nor will they place their summits above the thick branches and foliage, nor will any of those that are irrigated stand out because of their height. For they have all been delivered unto death, to the lowest part of the earth, into the midst of the sons of men, those who descend into the pit.


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Thus says the Lord God: In the day when he descended into hell, I led in grieving. I covered him with the abyss. And I held back its rivers, and I restrained the many waters. Lebanon was saddened over him, and all the trees of the field were struck together.


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I shook the Gentiles with the sound of his ruin, when I led him down to hell, with those who were descending into the pit. And all the trees of delights, the finest and best in Lebanon, all that were irrigated with waters, were consoled in the deepest parts of the earth.


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For they, too, will descend with him into hell, to those who have been slain by the sword. And the arm of each one will reside under his shadow, in the midst of the nations.


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To whom can you be compared, O famous and sublime one, among the trees of pleasure? Behold, you have been brought down, with the trees of pleasure, to the lowest part of the earth. You will sleep in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who have been slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh, and all his multitude, says the Lord God.”


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And it happened that, in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:


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“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him: You are like the lion of the Gentiles, and like the dragon that is in the sea. And you brandished a horn among your rivers, and you disturbed the waters with your feet, and you trampled upon their rivers.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: I will spread my net over you, with the multitude of many peoples, and I will draw you into my dragnet.


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And I will throw you upon the land. I will cast you upon the surface of the field. And I will cause all the birds of the air to live upon you. And I will satiate the beasts of the entire earth with you.


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And I will place your flesh upon the mountains. And I will fill up your hills with your decaying flesh.


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And I will irrigate the earth with your rotting blood upon the mountains. And the valleys will be filled with you.


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And I will cover heaven, when you will have been extinguished. And I will cause its stars to grow dark. I will shroud the sun with gloom, and the moon will not give her light.


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I will cause all the lights of heaven to grieve over you. And I will bring darkness upon your land, says the Lord God, when your wounded will have fallen in the midst of the land, says the Lord God.


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And I will provoke the heart of many peoples to anger, when I will have led in your destruction among the Gentiles, over the lands that you have not known.


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And I will cause many peoples to be stupefied over you. And their kings will be afraid, with great horror, over you, when my sword will begin to fly above their faces. And suddenly, they will be struck with astonishment, each one concerning his own life, on the day of their ruination.


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By the swords of the strong, I will cast down your multitude. All these nations are invincible, and they will lay waste to the arrogance of Egypt, and so its multitude will be destroyed.


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And I will perish all its cattle, which were above the many waters. And the foot of man will no longer disturb them, and the hoof of cattle will no longer trouble them.


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when I will have set the land of Egypt in desolation. And the land will be deprived of her plenitude, when I will have struck all its inhabitants. And they shall know that I am the Lord.


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This is the lamentation. And they shall lament it. The daughters of the Gentiles shall lament it. They shall lament it over Egypt and over its multitude, says the Lord God.”


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And it happened that, in the twelfth year, on the fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying:


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“Son of man, sing mournfully over the multitude of Egypt. And cast her down, both her and the daughters of the robust nations, to the lowest part of the earth, with those who descend into the pit.


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They will fall by the sword in the midst of the slain. The sword has been given. They have dragged her down, with all her people.


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The most powerful among the strong will speak to him from the midst of hell, those who descended with his helpers and who went to sleep uncircumcised, slain by the sword.


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Assur is in that place, with all his multitude. Their graves are all around him: all of the slain and those who fell by the sword.


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Their graves have been placed in the lowest parts of the pit. And his multitude was stationed on all sides of his grave: all of the slain, and those who fell by the sword, who formerly spread terror in the land of the living.


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Elam is in that place, with all his multitude, on all sides of his grave, all those who were slain or who fell by the sword, who descended uncircumcised to the lowest part of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living. And they have borne their disgrace, with those who descend into the pit.


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They have appointed him a place to lie among all his people, in the midst of the slain. Their graves are all around him. All these are uncircumcised and were slain by the sword. For they spread their terror in the land of the living, and they have borne their disgrace, with those who descend into the pit. They have been stationed in the midst of the slain.


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Meshech and Tubal are in that place, with all their multitude. Their graves are all around him: all these are uncircumcised, and they were slain and fell by the sword. For they spread their terror in the land of the living.


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But they shall not sleep with the strong, and with those who also fell uncircumcised, who descended to hell with their weapons, and who placed their swords under their heads, while their iniquities were in their bones. For they were the terror of the strong in the land of the living.


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Therefore, you also will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and you will sleep with those who were slain by the sword.


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Idumea is in that place, with her kings and all her commanders, who with their army have been given to those who were slain by the sword. And they have slept with the uncircumcised and with those who descend into the pit.


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All the leaders of the north are in that place, with all the hunters, who were brought down with the slain, fearful and confounded in their strength, who have gone to sleep uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword. And they have borne their disgrace, with those who descend into the pit.


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Pharaoh saw them, and he was consoled over all his multitude, which was slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his army, says the Lord God.


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For I have spread my terror in the land of the living, and he has gone to sleep in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who were slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you shall say to them: Concerning the land, when I will have led the sword over it: if the people of the land take a man, one of their least, and appoint him over themselves as a watchman,


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and if he sees the sword approaching over the land, and he sounds the trumpet, and he announces to the people,


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then, having heard the sound of the trumpet, whoever he is, if he also does not take care of himself, and the sword arrives and takes him: his blood will be upon his own head.


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He heard the sound of the trumpet, and he did not take care of himself, so his blood will be upon him. But if he guards himself, he will save his own life.


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And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman.


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And as for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore, having heard the word from my mouth, you shall announce it to them from me.


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When I say to the impious, ‘O impious man, you will die a death,’ if you have not spoken so that the impious man will keep himself from his way, then that impious man will die in his iniquity. But I will attribute his blood to your hand.


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But if you have announced to the impious man, so that he may be converted from his ways, and he has not converted from his way, then he will die in his iniquity. Yet you will have freed your own soul.


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You, therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have spoken in this way, saying: ‘Our iniquities and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them. So then, how would we be able to live?’


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Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I do not desire the death of the impious, but that the impious should convert from his way and live. Be converted, be converted from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?


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And as for you then, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The justice of the just man will not deliver him, on whatever day he will have sinned. And the impiety of the impius man will not harm him, on whatever day he will have been converted from his impiety. And the just man will not be able to live by his justice, on whatever day he will have sinned.


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Even now, if I say to the just man that he shall certainly live, and so, with confidence in his justice, he commits iniquity, all his justices will be delivered into oblivion, and by his iniquity, which he has done, by this he shall die.


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And if I say to the impious man, ‘You shall certainly die,’ and yet he repents from his sin, and he does judgment and justice,


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and if that impious man returns the collateral, and repays what he has taken by force, and if he walks in the commandments of life, and does not do anything unjust, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.


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None of his sins, which he has committed, will be imputed to him. He has done judgment and justice, so he shall certainly live.


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And the sons of your people have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not a fair balance,’ even while their own way is unjust.


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For when the just man will have withdraw from his justice, and committed iniquities, he shall die by these.


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And when the impious man will have withdrawn from his impiety, and have done judgment and justice, he shall live by these.


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And yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ But I shall judge each one of you according to his own ways, O house of Israel.”


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And it happened that, in the twelfth year of our transmigration, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, one who had fled from Jerusalem arrived saying, “The city has been laid waste.”


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But the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the one who had fled arrived. And he opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning. And since my mouth had been opened, I was no longer silent.


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“Son of man, as for those who live in these ruinous ways on the soil of Israel, when speaking, they say: ‘Abraham was one man, and he possessed the land as an inheritance. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’


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Therefore, you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You who eat even the blood, and who lift up your eyes to your uncleannesses, and who shed blood: will you possess the land as an inheritance?


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You stood by your swords, you committed abominations, and each one has defiled his neighbor’s wife. And will you possess the land as an inheritance?


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You shall say these things to them: So says the Lord God: As I live, those who live in ruinous ways will fall by the sword. And whoever is in the field will be delivered over to wild beasts to be devoured. But those who are in fortresses and in caves will die of the pestilence.


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And I will make the land into a wilderness and a desert. And its arrogant strength will fail. And the mountains of Israel will be desolate; for there will be no one who crosses through them.


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And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have make their land desolate and deserted, because of all their abominations, which they have worked.


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And as for you, O son of man: the sons of your people speak about you beside the walls and in the doorways of houses. And they speak to one another, each man to his neighbor, saying: ‘Come, and let us hear what may be the word going forth from the Lord.’


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And they come to you, as if the people were entering, and my people sit before you. And they listen to your words, but they do not do them. For they turn them into a song for their mouth, but their heart pursues their own avarice.


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And you are to them like a verse set to music, which is sung with a sweet and pleasing voice. And they hear your words, but they do not do them.


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And when what has been predicted occurs, for behold it is approaching, then they shall know that a prophet was among them.”


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“Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds?


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You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed.


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What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power.


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And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed.


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My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them.


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As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks:


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Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food for them.


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Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom and darkness.


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And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements of the land.


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I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, on the mountains of Israel.


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I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on judgment.


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But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among he-goats.


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Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet.


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And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean.


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For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad.


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I will save my flock, and it will be no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle.


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And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will be their shepherd.


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And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken.


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And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely in the forests.


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And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers of blessing.


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And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over them.


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And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror.


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And I will raise up for them a renown branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles.


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And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God.


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For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, set your face against mount Seir, and you shall prophesy about it, and you shall say to it:


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Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, mount Seir, and I will extend my hand over you, and I will make you desolate and deserted.


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For you have been a continual adversary, and you have enclosed the sons of Israel, by the hands of the sword, in the time of their affliction, in the time of extreme iniquity.


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Because of this, as I live, says the Lord God, I will hand you over to blood, and blood will pursue you. Even though you have hated blood, blood will pursue you.


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And I will make mount Seir desolate and deserted. And I will take away from it the one who departs and the one who returns.


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And I will fill up its mountains with its slain. In your hills, and in your valleys, as well as in your torrents, the slain will fall by the sword.


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I will hand you over to everlasting desolations, and your cities will not be inhabited. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.


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For you have said, ‘Two nations and two lands will be mine, and I will possess them as an inheritance,’ though the Lord was in that place.


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Because of this, as I live, says the Lord God, I will act in accord with your own wrath, and in accord with your own zeal, by which you have acted with hatred toward them. And I will be made known by them, when I will have judged you.


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And you shall know that I, the Lord, have heard all your disgraces, which you have spoken about the mountains of Israel, saying: ‘They are deserted. They have been given to us to devour.’


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And you rose up against me with your mouth, and you disparaged against me with your words. I have heard.


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Just as you have rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, when it was laid waste, so will I act toward you. You will be laid waste, O mount Seir, with all of Idumea. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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“But as for you, son of man, prophesy over the mountains of Israel, and you shall say: O mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord.


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Thus says the Lord God: Because the enemy has said about you: ‘It is well! The everlasting heights have been given to us as an inheritance!’


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because of this, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord God: Because you have been made desolate, and you have been trampled on every side, and you have been made into an inheritance for the remainder of the nations, and because you rose up, over the tip of the tongue and over the shame of the people,


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because of this, O mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the torrents, and to the valleys, and to the deserts, and to the ruins, and to the forsaken cities, which have been depopulated and ridiculed by the remainder of the nations all around:


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: In the fire of my zeal, I have spoken about the remainder of the nations, and about all of Idumea, who have given my land to themselves, joyfully, as an inheritance, and with all the heart and mind, and who have cast it out, so that they may lay waste to it.


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Therefore, prophesy over the soil of Israel, and you shall say to the mountains, and to the hills, to the ridges, and to the valleys: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I have spoken in my zeal and in my fury, because you have endured the shame of the Gentiles.


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Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I have lifted up my hand, so that the Gentiles, who are all around you, will themselves bear their shame.


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But as for you, O mountains of Israel, spring forth your branches, and bear your fruit, to my people Israel. For they are close to their advent.


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For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be plowed, and you will receive seed.


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And I will multiply men among you and among all the house of Israel. And the cities shall be inhabited, and the ruinous places shall be restored.


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And I will fill you again with men and with cattle. And they will be multiplied, and they will increase. And I will cause you to live as from the beginning, and I will give you even greater gifts than those you had from the start. And you shall know that I am the Lord.


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And I will lead men over you, over my people Israel, and they will possess you as an inheritance. And you shall be to them as an inheritance. And you shall no longer be permitted to be without them.


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Thus says the Lord God: Because they are saying about you, ‘You are a woman who devours men, and you are strangling your own nation,’


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because of this, you shall no longer consume men, and you shall no longer harm your own nation, says the Lord God.


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Neither will I permit men to discover in you the shame of the Gentiles any more. And you shall never again bear the reproach of the peoples. And you shall not send your people away any more, says the Lord God.”


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“Son of man, the house of Israel lived on their own soil, and they defiled it with their ways and with their intentions. Their way, in my sight, became like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman.


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And so I poured out my indignation upon them, because of the blood which they shed upon the land, and because they defiled it with their idols.


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And I dispersed them among the Gentiles, and they have been scattered among the lands. I have judged them according to their ways and their plans.


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And when they walked among the Gentiles, to whom they had entered, they defiled my holy name, though it was being said about them: ‘This is the people of the Lord,’ and ‘They went forth from his land.’


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But I have spared my holy name, which the house of Israel has defiled among the Gentiles, to whom they entered.


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For this reason, you shall say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will act, not for your sake, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have defiled among the Gentiles, to whom you entered.


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And I will sanctify my great name, which was defiled among the Gentiles, which you have defiled in their midst. So may the Gentiles know that I am the Lord, says the Lord of hosts, when I will have been sanctified in you, before their eyes.


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Certainly, I will take you away from the Gentiles, and I will gather you together from all the lands, and I will lead you into your own land.


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And I will pour clean water over you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filth, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.


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And I will give to you a new heart, and I will place in you a new spirit. And I will take away the heart of stone from your body, and I will give to you a heart of flesh.


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And I will place my Spirit in your midst. And I will act so that you may walk in my precepts and keep my judgments, and so that you may fulfill them.


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And you shall live in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


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And I will save you from all your filth. And I will call for grain, and I will multiply it, and I will not impose a famine upon you.


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And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you may no longer bear the disgrace of famine among the nations.


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And you shall remember your very wicked ways and your intentions, which were not good. And you will be displeased by your own iniquities and your own crimes.


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It is not for your sakes that I will act, says the Lord God; let this be known to you. Be confounded and ashamed over your own ways, O house of Israel.


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Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I will have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and when I will have caused the cities to be inhabited, and when I will have restored the ruinous places,


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and when the deserted land will have been cultivated, which previously was desolate to the eyes of all who passed by,


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then they shall say: ‘This uncultivated land has become a garden of delight, and the cities, which were deserted and destitute and overturned, have been settled and fortified.’


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And the Gentiles, those who remain around you, shall know that I, the Lord, have built up what was destroyed, and have planted what was uncultivated. I, the Lord, have spoken and acted.


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Thus says the Lord God: Even in this time, the house of Israel shall find me, so that I may act for them. I will multiply them like a flock of men,


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like a holy flock, like the flock of Jerusalem in her solemnities. So shall the deserted cities be filled with flocks of men. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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The hand of the Lord was set upon me, and he led me away in the Spirit of the Lord, and he released me in the midst of a plain which was full of bones.


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And he led me around, through them, on every side. Now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceedingly dry.


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And he said to me, “Son of man, do you think that these bones will live?” And I said, “O Lord God, you know.”


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And he said to me, “Prophesy about these bones. And you shall say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord!


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And I will set sinews upon you, and I will cause flesh to grow over you, and I will extend skin over you. And I will give you spirit, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”


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And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. But a noise occurred, as I was prophesying, and behold: a commotion. And the bones joined together, each one at its joint.


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And I saw, and behold: sinews and flesh rose up over them; and skin was extended over them. But they had no spirit within them.


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And he said to me: “Prophesy to the spirit! Prophesy, O son of man, and you shall say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord God: Approach, O spirit, from the four winds, and blow across these ones who were slain, and revive them.”


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And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. And spirit entered into them, and they lived. And they stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.


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And he said to me: “Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel. They say: ‘Our bones are dried out, and our hope has perished, and we have been cut off.’


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Because of this, prophesy, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will lead you away from your sepulchers, O my people. And I will lead you into the land of Israel.


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And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have opened your sepulchers, and when I will have led you away from your tombs, O my people.


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And I will place my Spirit within you, and you shall live. And I will cause you to rest upon your own soil. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and acted, says the Lord God.”


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“And as for you, son of man, take up a piece of wood for yourself, and write upon it: ‘For Judah, and for the sons of Israel, his companions.’ And take up another piece of wood, and write upon it: ‘For Joseph, the wood of Ephraim, and for the entire house of Israel, and for his companions.’


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And join these, one to the other, for yourself, as one piece of wood. And they will be united in your hand.


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Then, when the sons of your people will speak to you, saying: ‘Will you not tell us what you intend by this?’


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you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the wood of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, which are joined to him, and I will put them together with the wood of Judah, and I will make them one piece of wood. And they will be one in his hand.


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And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take up the sons of Israel, from the midst of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them together on every side, and I will lead them onto their own soil.


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And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be ruler over all. And they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any more into two kingdoms.


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And they will no longer be defiled by their idols, and by their abominations, and by all their iniquities. And I will save them, out of all the settlements in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they will be my people, and I will be their God.


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And my servant David shall be the king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. They shall walk in my judgments, and they shall keep my commandments, and they shall do them.


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And they shall live upon the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived. And they shall live upon it, they and their sons, and the sons of their sons, even for all time. And David, my servant, shall be their leader, in perpetuity.


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And I will strike a covenant of peace with them. This will be an everlasting covenant for them. And I will establish them, and multiply them. And I will set my sanctuary in their midst, unceasingly.


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And the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Sanctifier of Israel, when my sanctuary will be in their midst, forever.”


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“Son of man, set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, the prince of the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy about him.


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And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of the head of Meshech and Tubal.


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And I will turn you around, and I will place a bit in your jaws. And I will lead you away, with all your army, the horses and the horsemen all clothed in armor, a great multitude, equipped with spears and light shields and swords,


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Gomer, and all his companies, the house of Togarmah, the northern parts, and all his strength, and the many peoples with you.


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Prepare and equip yourself, with all your multitude which has been assembled to you. And you shall be like a commandment to them.


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After many days, you will be visited. At the end of the years, you will arrive at the land which was turned back by the sword, and which has been gathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel that have been continually abandoned. These ones have been led away from the peoples, and all of them will be living confidently within it.


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But you will ascend and arrive like a tempest and like a cloud, so that you may cover the land, you and all your companies, and the many peoples with you.


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Thus says the Lord God: In that day, words will climb into your heart, and you will invent a most wicked plan.


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And you will say: ‘I will ascend to the land without a wall. I will go to those who are resting and dwelling securely. All these live without a wall; they have no bars or gates.’


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Thus, you will plunder spoils, and you will take possession of prey, so that you may lay your hand upon those who had been abandoned, and afterwards were restored, and upon a people who were gathered away from the Gentiles, a people who have begun to possess, and to be the inhabitants of, the navel of the earth.


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Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, and all its lions will say to you: ‘Could you have arrived in order to purchase from the spoils? Behold, you have gathered your multitude in order to plunder a prey, so that you may take silver and gold, and carry away equipment and substance, and plunder immeasurable wealth.’


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Because of this, son of man, prophesy, and you shall say to Gog: Thus says the Lord God: How is it that you do not know of that day, when my people, Israel, will be living in confidence?


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And you will advance from your place, from the parts of the north, you and the many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and an immense army.


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And you will rise up over my people, Israel, like a cloud, so that you may cover the earth. In the latter days, you will be. And I will lead you over my own land, so that the Gentiles may know me, when I will have been sanctified in you, O Gog, before their eyes.


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Thus says the Lord God: Therefore, you are the one, about whom I spoke in the days of antiquity, by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in the days of those times that I would lead you over them.


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And this shall be in that day, in the day of the advent of Gog over the land of Israel, says the Lord God: my indignation will rise up in my fury.


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And I have spoken, in my zeal and in the fire of my wrath, that there shall be a great commotion over the land of Israel, in that day.


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And before my face there shall be stirred up: the fish of the sea, and the flying things of the air, and the beasts of the field, and every crawling thing that moves across the soil, and all the men who are upon the face of the earth. And the mountains will be overturned, and the hedges will fall, and every wall will fall in ruin to the ground.


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And I will call for the sword against him on all my mountains, says the Lord God. Each one’s sword will be directed toward his brother.


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And I will judge him by pestilence, and blood, and violent rainstorms, and immense hailstones. I will rain fire and brimstone upon him, and upon his army, and upon the many peoples who are with him.


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And I will be magnified and sanctified. And I will be known in the eyes of the many nations. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”


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“But as for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am above you, O Gog, prince of the head of Meshech and Tubal.


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And I will turn you around, and I will lead you away, and I will cause you to rise up from the parts of the north. And I will bring you over the mountains of Israel.


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And I will strike your bow in your left hand, and I will cast away your arrows from your right hand.


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You will fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your companies, and your peoples who are with you. I have given you over to the wild animals, to the birds, and to every flying thing, and to the beasts of the earth, in order to be devoured.


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And I will send a fire upon Magog, and upon those who are living confidently in the islands. And they shall know that I am the Lord.


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And I will make known my holy name in the midst of my people, Israel, and my holy name will no longer be defiled. And the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.


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Behold, it approaches, and it is done, says the Lord God. This is the day, about which I have spoken.


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And the inhabitants from the cities of Israel will go forth, and they will kindle and burn the weapons, the shields and the spears, the bows and the arrows, and the staff and the lance. And they will kindle fires with them for seven years.


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And they will not carry wood from the countryside, and they will not cut from the forests. For they will kindle the weapons with fire. And they will prey upon those who had preyed upon them, and they will plunder those who had plundered them, says the Lord God.


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And this shall be in that day: I will give Gog a renown place as a sepulcher in Israel, the valley of the wayfarers to the east of the sea, which will cause astonishment in those who pass by. And in that place, they will bury Gog and all his multitude, and it will be called the valley of the multitude of Gog.


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Then all the people of the earth will bury them, and this shall be for them a renown day, on which I have been glorified, says the Lord God.


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And they shall appoint men to continually examine the earth, so that they may seek out and bury those who have remained on the surface of the earth, so that they may cleanse it. Then, after seven months, they will begin to seek.


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And they will go around, traveling the earth. And when they will have seen the bone of a man, they will station a marker beside it, until the undertakers may bury it in the valley of the multitude of Gog.


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As for you, then, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Say to every flying thing, and to all the birds, and to all the beasts of the field: Assemble! Hurry! Rush together from every side to my victim, which I have immolated for you, a great victim upon the mountains of Israel, so that you may consume flesh, and drink blood!


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You shall eat the flesh of the powerful, and you shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams and lambs and he-goats and bulls, and of fattened birds and all that is fat.


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And you shall consume the fat unto satiation, and you shall drink the blood unto inebriation, from the victim that I will immolate for you.


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And you shall be satiated, upon my table, from horses and powerful horsemen, and from all the men of war, says the Lord God.


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And I will set my glory among the Gentiles. And all the nations shall see my judgment, which I have accomplished, and my hand, which I have laid upon them.


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And the Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel was taken captive because of their own iniquity, because they abandoned me. And so I concealed my face from them, and I delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.


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I have acted toward them in accord with their uncleanness and wickedness, and so I concealed my face from them.


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Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Now I will lead back the captivity of Jacob, and I will take pity upon the entire house of Israel. And I will act with zeal on behalf of my holy name.


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And they shall bear their shame and all their transgression, by which they betrayed me, though they were living in their own land confidently, dreading no one.


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And I will lead them back from among the peoples, and I will gather them together from the lands of their enemies, and I will be sanctified in them, in the sight of the many nations.


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And they shall know that I am the Lord, their God, because I carried them away to the nations, and I gathered them upon their own land, and I did not abandon any of them there.


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And I will no longer conceal my face from them, for I have poured out my Spirit upon the entire house of Israel, says the Lord God.”


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In the twenty-fifth year of our transmigration, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck, on this very day, the hand of the Lord was placed upon me, and he brought me to that place.


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In the visions of God, he brought me into the land of Israel, and he released me on an exceedingly high mountain, on which there was something like the edifice of a city, verging toward the south.


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And he led me into that place. And behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a linen rope in his hand, and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing at the gate.


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And the same man said to me: “Son of man, look with your eyes, and listen with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I will reveal to you. For you have been brought to this place, so that these things may be revealed to you. Announce all that you see to the house of Israel.”


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And behold, there was a wall outside of the house, encircling it all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring reed of six cubits and a palm. And he measured the width of the edifice with one reed; likewise, the height with one reed.


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And he went to the gate which looked toward the east, and he ascended by its steps. And he measured the width of the threshold of the gate as one reed, that is, one threshold was one reed in width.


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And a chamber was one reed in length and one reed in width. And between the chambers, there were five cubits.


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And he measured the vestibule of the gate as eight cubits, and its front as two cubits. But the vestibule of the gate was inside.


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Moreover, the chambers of the gate, toward the way of the east, were three from one side to the other. The three were of one measure, and the fronts were of one measure, on both sides.


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And he measured the width of the threshold of the gate as ten cubits, and the length of the gate as thirteen cubits.


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And before the chambers, the border was one cubit. And on both sides, the border was one cubit. But the chambers were six cubits, from one side to the other.


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And he measured the gate, from the roof of one chamber to the roof of another, twenty-five cubits in width, from door to door.


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And he found the fronts to be sixty cubits. And at the front, there was a court for the gate on every side all around.


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And before the face of the gate, which extended even to the face of the vestibule of the gate of the interior, there were fifty cubits.


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And there were slanting windows in the chambers and at their fronts, which were within the gate on every side all around. And similarly, there were also windows in the vestibules all around the interior, and there were images of palm trees before the fronts.


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And he led me away to the outer court, and behold, there were storerooms and a layer of pavement stones throughout the court. Thirty storerooms encircled the pavement.


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And he measured the width, from the face of the lower gate to the front of the outer part of the inner court, to be one hundred cubits, to the east and to the north.


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Likewise, he measured the gate of the outer court, which looked to the way of the north, to be as much in length as in width.


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And its chambers were three from one side to the other. And its front and its vestibule, in accord with the measure of the former gate, were fifty cubits in its length and twenty-five cubits in width.


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Now its windows, and the vestibule, and the engravings were in accord with the measure of the gate which looked to the east. And its ascent was by seven steps, and a vestibule was before it.


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And the gate of the inner court was opposite the gate of the north, and that of the east. And he measured from gate to gate as one hundred cubits.


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And he led me to the way of the south, and behold, there was a gate which looked toward the south. And he measured its front and its vestibule to be the same as the measures above.


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And its windows and the vestibule all around were like the other windows: fifty cubits in length and twenty-five cubits in width.


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And there were seven steps to ascend to it, and a vestibule before its doors. And there were engraved palm trees, one on each side, at its front.


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And there was a gate at the inner court, on the way to the south. And he measured from one gate to another, on the way to the south, to be one hundred cubits.


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And he led me into the inner court, to the south gate. And he measured the gate to be in accord with the measures above.


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Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule had the same measures. And its windows and its vestibule all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.


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And its vestibule was toward the outer court, and its palm trees were at the front. And there were eight steps to ascend to it.


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And he led me into the inner court, along the way of the east. And he measured the gate to be in accord with the measures above.


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Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule were as above. And its windows and its vestibules all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.


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And it had a vestibule, that is, at the outer court. And the engraved palm trees at its front were on one side and the other. And its ascent was by eight steps.


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And he led me to the gate which looked toward the north. And he measured it to be in accord with the measures above.


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Its chamber, and its front, and its vestibule, and its windows all around were fifty cubits in length, and twenty-five cubits in width.


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And its vestibule looked toward the outer court. And an engraving of palm trees at its front was on one side and the other. And its ascent was by eight steps.


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And at each one of the storerooms, there was a door at the front of the gates. There, they washed the holocaust.


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And at the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables on one side, and two tables on the other side, so that the holocaust, and the offering for sin, and the offering for transgression could be immolated upon them.


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And at the outer side, which ascends to the door of the gate that goes toward the north, there were two tables. And at the other side, before the vestibule of the gate, there were two tables.


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Four tables were on one side, and four tables were on the other side; along the sides of the gate, there were eight tables, upon which they immolated.


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Now the four tables for the holocausts were constructed of square stones: one and a half cubit in length, and one and a half cubits in width, and one cubit in height. Upon these, they placed the vessels, in which the holocaust and the victim were immolated.


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And their edges were one palm in width, turned inward all around. And the flesh of the oblation was on the tables.


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And outside the interior gate, there were storerooms for the cantors, in the inner court, which was beside the gate that looks toward the north. And their face was opposite the way to the south; one was beside the east gate, which looked toward the way of the north.


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And he said to me: “This is the storeroom that looks toward the south; it shall be for the priests who keep watch for the protection of the temple.


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Moreover, the storeroom that looks toward the north will be for the priests who keep watch over the ministry of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, those among the sons of Levi who may draw near to the Lord, so that they may minister to him.”


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And he measured the court to be one hundred cubits in length, and one hundred cubits in width, with four equal sides. And the altar was before the face of the temple.


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And he led me into the vestibule of the temple. And he measured the vestibule to be five cubits on one side, and five cubits on the other side. And the width of the gate was three cubits on one side, and three cubits on the other side.


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Now the length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width was eleven cubits, and there were eight steps to ascend to it. And there were pillars at the front, one on this side and another on that side.


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And he led me into the temple, and he measured the front to be six cubits in width on one side, and six cubits in width on the other side, which is the width of the tabernacle.


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And the width of the gate was ten cubits. And the sides of the gate were five cubits on one side, and five cubits on the other side. And he measured its length to be forty cubits, and the width to be twenty cubits.


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And proceeding inward, he measured the front of the gate to be two cubits. And the gate was six cubits, and the width of the gate was seven cubits.


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And he measured its length to be twenty cubits, and its width to be twenty cubits, before the face of the temple. And he said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”


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And he measured the wall of the house to be six cubits, and the width of the sides to be four cubits, all around the house on every side.


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Now the side chambers were side by side, and twice thirty-three. And they projected outward, so that they might enter along the wall of the house, on the sides all around, in order to contain, but not touch, the wall of the temple.


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And there was a broad circular path, rising upward by winding, and it led to the cenacle of the temple by a circular course. As a result, the temple was wider in the higher parts. And so, from the lower parts, they rose up to the higher parts, in the center.


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And in the house, I saw the height all around the foundations of the side chambers, which were the measure of a reed, the space of six cubits.


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And the width of the exterior wall for the side chambers was five cubits. And the inner house was within the side chambers of the house.


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And between the storerooms, there was the width of twenty cubits, all around the house on every side.


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And the door of the side chambers was toward the place of prayer. One door was toward the way of the north, and one door was toward the way of the south. And the width of the place for prayer was five cubits all around.


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And the edifice, which was separate, and which verged toward the way looking toward the sea, was seventy cubits in width. But the wall of the edifice was five cubits in width on all sides, and its length was ninety cubits.


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And he measured the length of the house to be one hundred cubits, and the edifice, which was separate, with its walls, to be one hundred cubits in length.


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Now the width before the face of the house, and of that which was separate facing the east, was one hundred cubits.


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And he measured the length of the edifice opposite its face, which was separated at the back, and the porticos on both sides, to be one hundred cubits, with the inner temple and the vestibules of the court.


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The thresholds, and the oblique windows, and the porticoes, encircling it on three sides, were opposite the threshold of each one, and were floored with wood throughout the entire area. But the floor reached even to the windows, and the windows were closed above the doors;


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and it reached even to the inner house, and to the exterior, throughout the entire wall, all around the interior and exterior, for the entire extent.


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And there were cherubim and palm trees wrought, and each palm tree was between one cherub and another, and every cherub had two faces.


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The face of a man was closest to the palm tree on one side, and the face of a lion was closest to the palm tree on the other side. This was depicted throughout the entire house all around.


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From the floor, even to the upper parts of the gate, there were cherubim and palm trees engraved in the wall of the temple.


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The altar of wood was three cubits in height, and its length was two cubits. And its corners, and its length, and its walls were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table in the sight of the Lord.”


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And in the two doors, on both sides, were two little doors, which were folded within each other. For two doors were on both sides of the doors.


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And cherubim were engraved in the same doors of the temple, with the figures of palm trees, as were depicted also on the walls. For this reason also, the boards were thicker in the front of the vestibule on the exterior.


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Upon these were the oblique windows, with the representation of palm trees on one side as well as on the other, at the sides of the vestibule, in accord with the sides of the house, and the width of the walls.


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And he led me into the outer court by the way that leads to the north, and he led me into the storeroom that was opposite the separate edifice, and opposite the shrine that verges toward the north.


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Opposite the twenty cubits of the interior court, and opposite the layer of pavement stones in the outer court, in that place, there was a portico joined to a triple portico.


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And before the storerooms, there was a walkway of ten cubits in width, looking toward the interior along a way of one cubit. And their doors were toward the north.


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In that place, there were storerooms in the upper part of the lower level. For they supported the porticos, which projected from them out of the lower level, and out of the middle of the building.


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For they were of three levels, and they did not have pillars, as they were like the pillars of the courts. Because of this, they projected from the lower levels and from the middle, fifty cubits from the ground.


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And the exterior enclosing wall, adjacent to the storerooms that were along the way of the exterior court in front of the storerooms, was fifty cubits long.


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For the length of the storerooms of the exterior court was fifty cubits, and the length before the face of the temple was one hundred cubits.


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And under these storerooms, there was an entrance from the east, for those who were entering into it from the outer court.


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In the width of the enclosing wall of the court that was opposite the way of the east, at the face of the separate edifice, there were also storerooms, before the edifice.


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And the way before their face was in accord with the form of the storerooms which were along the way of the north. As was their length, so also was their width. And the entire entrance, and the likenesses, and their doors


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were in accord with the doors of the storerooms that were on the way looking toward the Renown. There was a door at the head of the way, and the way was before a separate vestibule, along the way entering toward the east.


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And he said to me: “The storerooms of the north, and the storerooms of the south, which are before the separate edifice, these are holy storerooms, in which the priests, who draw near to the Lord in the Holy of Holies, shall eat. There they shall station the Holy of Holies, and the offering for sin, and for trespasses. For it is a holy place.


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And when the priests will have entered, they shall not depart from the holy places into the outer court. And in that place, they shall set their vestments, in which they minister, for they are holy. And they shall be clothed with other vestments, and in this manner they shall go forth to the people.”


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And when he had completed measuring the inner house, he led me out along the way of the gate that looked toward the way of the east. And he measured it on every side all around.


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Then he measured facing the east wind with the measuring reed: five hundred reeds with the measuring reed throughout the course.


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And he measured facing the wind of the north: five hundred reeds with the measuring reed throughout the course.


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And toward the south wind, he measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed throughout the course.


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By the four winds, he measured its wall, on every side throughout the course: five hundred cubits in length and five hundred cubits in width, dividing between the sanctuary and the place of the common people.


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And behold, the glory of the God of Israel entered along the way of the east. And his voice was like the voice of many waters. And the earth was resplendent before his majesty.


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And I saw a vision in accord with the form that I had seen when he arrived so that he might destroy the city. And the form was in accord with the sight that I had seen beside the river Chebar. And I fell upon my face.


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And the majesty of the Lord advanced into the temple, along the way of the gate which looked toward the east.


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And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court. And behold, the house was filled with the glory of the Lord.


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said to me: “Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the steps of my feet, is where I live: in the midst of the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel, they and their kings, shall no longer defile my holy name by their fornications, and by the ruinous ways of their kings, and by exalted places.


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They have fabricated their threshold beside my threshold, and their doorposts beside my doorposts. And there was a wall between me and them. And they defiled my holy name by the abominations which they committed. Because of this, I consumed them in my wrath.


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Now therefore, let them drive away their fornications, and the ruinous ways of their kings, from before me. And I will live in their midst forever.


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But as for you, son of man, reveal the temple to the house of Israel, and let them be confounded by their iniquities, and let them measure the fabrication,


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and let them be ashamed at all the things that they have done. Reveal to them the form and the fabrication of the house, its exits and entrances, and its entire description, and all of its precepts, and its entire order, and all of its laws. And you shall write in their sight, so that they may observe its entire description and its precepts, and so that they may accomplish them.”


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This is the law of the house at the summit of the mountain, with all its parts all around. It is the Holy of Holies. Therefore, this is the law of the house.


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Now these are the measures of the altar by the most true cubit, which has a cubit and a palm. Its bend was a cubit, and it was a cubit in width. And its boundary, even to its edge and all around, was the width of one palm. The trough of the altar was like this also.


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And from the bend at the floor even to the furthest rim was two cubits, and the width was one cubit. And from the lesser rim even to the greater rim was four cubits, and the width was one cubit.


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And the rim was fourteen cubits in length, by fourteen cubits in width, at its four corners. And the crown all around it was one half cubit, and its bend was one cubit all around. And its steps turned toward the east.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the rituals of the altar, in whatever day it will be made, so that holocausts may be offered upon it, and blood may be poured out.


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And you shall present these to the priests and to the Levites, who are of the offspring of Zadok, those who draw near to me, says the Lord God, so that they may offer to me a calf from the herd on behalf of sin.


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And you shall take from its blood, and you shall place it on its four horns, and on the four corners of the rim, and on the crown all around. And so shall you cleanse and expiate it.


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And you shall take the calf, which will be offered for sin, and you shall burn it in a separate place in the house, outside of the sanctuary.


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And on the second day, you shall offer an immaculate he-goat from among the she-goats on behalf of sin. And they shall expiate the altar, just as they expiated it with the calf.


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And when you will have completed expiating it, you shall offer an immaculate calf from the herd and an immaculate ram from the flock.


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And you shall offer them in the sight of the Lord. And the priests shall sprinkle salt over them, and they shall offer them as a holocaust to the Lord.


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For seven days, you shall offer daily a he-goat on behalf of sin. Also, they shall offer a calf from the herd, and a ram from the flock, ones that are immaculate.


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For seven days, they shall expiate the altar, and they shall cleanse it, and they shall fill its hand.


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Then, when the days have been completed, on the eighth day and thereafter, the priests shall offer your holocausts upon the altar along with the peace offering. And I will be pleased with you, says the Lord God.”


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And he turned me back, toward the way of the gate of the outer sanctuary, which looked toward the east. And it was closed.


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And the Lord said to me: “This gate will be closed; it will not be opened. And man shall not cross through it. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered through it, and it shall be closed


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to the prince. The prince himself will sit at it, so that he may eat bread before the Lord; he will enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he will depart by the same way.”


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And he led me in, along the way of the north gate, in the sight of the house. And I saw, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. And I fell upon my face.


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And the Lord said to me: “Son of man, set within your heart, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking to you about all the ceremonies of the house of the Lord and about all its laws. And set your heart upon the ways of the temple, along all the exits of the sanctuary.


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And you shall say to the house of Israel, which provokes me: Thus says the Lord God: Let all your wicked deeds be sufficient for you, O house of Israel.


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For you bring in foreign sons, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, so that they may be in my sanctuary and may defile my house. And you offer my bread, the fat, and the blood, yet you have broken my covenant by all your wicked deeds.


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And you have not observed the precepts of my sanctuary, yet you have stationed observers of my vigil in my sanctuary for yourselves.


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Thus says the Lord God: Any foreigner, any foreign son who is in the midst of the sons of Israel, who is uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall not enter into my sanctuary.


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And as for the Levites, they have withdrawn far away from me, in the errors of the sons of Israel, and they have gone astray from me after their idols, and they have borne their iniquity.


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They will be caretakers in my sanctuary, and doorkeepers at the gates of the house, and ministers to the house. They will slay the holocausts and the victims of the people. And they will stand before them, so that they may minister to them.


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But because they ministered to them in the sight their idols, and they became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, for this reason, I have lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they will bear their iniquity.


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And they shall not draw near to me, so as to exercise the priesthood for me, and they shall not approach to any of my holy things, which are near the Holy of Holies. Instead, they will bear their shame and their wicked deeds, which they committed.


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And I will make them doorkeepers of the house, for all its ministries and for all that will be done within it.


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But the priests and the Levites who are the sons of Zadok, who observed the ceremonies of my sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from me, these shall draw near to me, so that they may minister for me. And they shall stand in my sight, so that they may offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God.


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They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall draw near to my table, so that they may minister for me, and so that they may observe my ceremonies.


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And when they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments. Neither shall anything woolen be placed over them, when they minister within the gates of the inner and the outer court.


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They shall have linen bands on their heads, and linen undergarments over their loins, and they shall not be girded so as to sweat.


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And when they go forth to the outer court to the people, they shall strip off their vestments, in which they ministered, and they shall place them in the storeroom of the sanctuary, and they shall clothe themselves with other garments. And they shall not sanctify the people in their vestments.


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Now they shall not shave their heads, and they shall not grow long hair. Instead, they shall trim the hair of their heads.


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And they shall not take as wife a widow or one who has been divorced. Instead, they shall take virgins from the offspring of the house of Israel. But they may also take a widow, if she is the widow of a priest.


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And they shall teach my people the difference between holy and defiled, and they shall distinguish for them between clean and unclean.


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And when there has been a controversy, they shall stand in my judgments, and they shall judge. They shall observe my laws and my precepts, in all my solemnities, and they shall sanctify my Sabbaths.


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And they shall not enter to a dead person, lest they be defiled, except to father or mother, or son or daughter, or brother, or to a sister who does not have another man. By these, they may become unclean.


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And on the day when he enters into the sanctuary, to the inner court, so that he may minister to me in the sanctuary, he shall make an offering because of his offense, says the Lord God.


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And there shall be no inheritance for them. I am their inheritance. And you shall not give them any possession in Israel. For I am their possession.


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They shall eat the victim both for sin and for offenses. And every vowed offering in Israel shall be theirs.


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And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.


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The priests shall not consume anything which has died on its own, or which was seized by a beast, whether from the fowl or the cattle.”


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“And when you will begin to divide the land by lot, separate as first-fruits for the Lord a sanctified portion of the land, in length twenty-five thousand and in width ten thousand. It will be holy within all its borders all around.


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And there shall be, out of the entire region, a sanctified portion of five hundred by five hundred, foursquare all around, with fifty cubits for its suburbs on all sides.


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And with this measure, you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a width of ten thousand, and within it shall be the temple and the Holy of Holies.


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The sanctified portion of the land shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who approach for the ministry of the Lord. And it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the sanctuary.


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Now twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width shall be for the Levites, who minister in the house. They shall possess twenty storerooms.


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And you shall appoint a possession in the city of five thousand in width, and twenty-five thousand in length, in accord with the separation of the sanctuary, for the entire house of Israel.


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Appoint the same for the prince, on one side and on the other, in the separation of the sanctuary, and in the possession of the city, opposite the face of the separation of the sanctuary, and opposite the face of the possession of the city, from the side of the sea even to the sea, and from the side of the east even to the east. And the length shall be just as in each part, from the western border even to the eastern border.


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A portion of the land in Israel shall be for him. And the princes shall no longer plunder my people. Instead, they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.


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Thus says the Lord God: Let this be sufficient for you, O princes of Israel! Cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice. Separate your confines from my people, says the Lord God.


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The units of dry and liquid measure shall be one uniform measure, so that a bath contains one tenth part of a cor, and an ephah contains one tenth part of a cor; each shall be of equal volume in accord with the measure of a cor.


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Now the shekel consists of twenty obols. Furthermore, twenty shekels, and twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels makes one mina.


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And these are the first-fruits that you shall take: a sixth part of an ephah from each cor of wheat, and a sixth part of an ephah from each cor of barley.


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Likewise, a measure of oil, a bath of oil, is one tenth part of a cor. And ten baths make one cor. For ten baths complete one cor.


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And take one ram from each flock of two hundred, out of those that Israel tends for sacrifice and holocausts and peace offerings, in order to make an expiation for them, says the Lord God.


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And concerning the prince, there shall be holocausts and sacrifice and libations, on solemnities and new moons and Sabbaths, and on all the solemnities of the house of Israel. He himself shall offer the sacrifice for sin, and the holocaust, and the peace offerings, in order to make expiation for the house of Israel.


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Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take an immaculate calf from the herd, and you shall expiate the sanctuary.


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And the priest shall take from the blood that will be for the sin offering. And he shall place it on the doorposts of the house, and on the four corners of the rim of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.


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And so shall you do on the seventh day of the month, on behalf of each one who was ignorant or who was deceived by error. And you shall make expiation for the house.


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In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month shall be for you the solemnity of the Passover. For seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten.


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And on that day, the prince shall offer, on behalf of himself and on behalf of all the people of the land, a calf for sin.


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And during the solemnity of the seven days, he shall offer a holocaust to the Lord of seven immaculate calves and seven immaculate rams, daily for seven days, and a he-goat from among the she-goats, daily for sin.


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And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephah for each calf, and an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil for every ephah.


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In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, during the solemnities, he shall do just as was said above for the seven days, as much for the sin offering, as for the holocaust and sacrifice and oil.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “The gate of the inner court which looks toward the east shall be closed for the six days on which work is done. Then, on the Sabbath day, it shall be opened. But also on the day of the new moon, it shall be opened.


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And the prince shall enter from outside, by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and he shall stand at the threshold of the gate. And the priests shall offer his holocaust and his peace offerings. And he shall adore upon the threshold of the gate, and then depart. But the gate shall not be closed until evening.


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And the people of the land shall adore at the entrance of the same gate, on the Sabbaths and on the new moons, in the sight of the Lord.


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Now this holocaust, which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day, shall be six immaculate lambs, and one immaculate ram.


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The sacrifice shall be one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, the sacrifice shall be whatever his hand shall give. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.


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Then, on the day of the new moon, he shall offer one immaculate calf from the herd. Both the six lambs and the rams shall be immaculate.


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And he shall offer the sacrifice of one ephah for each calf, and also one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, it shall be just as his hand will find. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.


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And when the prince will enter, let him enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate, and let him go out by the same way.


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And when the people of the land will enter in the sight of the Lord on the solemnities, whoever enters by the north gate so that he may adore, shall depart by the way of the south gate. And whoever enters by the way of the south gate shall depart by the way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he entered. Instead, he shall depart from the direction opposite to it.


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And during the feasts and the solemnities, there shall be the sacrifice of one ephah for each calf, and one ephah for each ram. But for the lambs, the sacrifice shall be just as his hand will find. And there shall be one hin of oil for each ephah.


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But when the prince will offer a voluntary holocaust or a voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate which looks toward the east shall be opened to him. And he shall offer his holocaust and his peace offerings, just as is usually done on the Sabbath day. And he shall depart, and the gate shall be closed after he has gone out.


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And daily he shall offer, as a holocaust to the Lord, an immaculate lamb of the same age. He shall offer it always in the morning.


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And he shall offer as a sacrifice with it, morning after morning, one sixth part of an ephah, and one third part of a hin of oil, to be mixed with the fine flour, as a sacrifice to the Lord, by a continual and everlasting ordinance.


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He shall offer the lamb and the sacrifice and the oil, morning after morning, as an everlasting holocaust.


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Thus says the Lord God: If the prince grants a gift to any of his sons, the inheritance of it will go to his sons; they shall possess it as an inheritance.


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But if he grants a legacy from his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his only until the year of remission, and then it shall be returned to the prince. For his inheritance shall go to his sons.


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And the prince shall not take from the inheritance of the people by force, nor from their possession. Instead, from his own possession, he shall give an inheritance to his sons, so that my people will not be scattered, each one from his possession.”


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And he led me in by the entrance which was at the side of the gate, into the storerooms of the sanctuary for the priests, which looked toward the north. And there was a place there which verged toward the west.


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And he said to me: “This is the place where the priests will cook the offering for sin and the offering for trespasses. Here, they shall cook the sacrifice, so that they need not carry it to the outer court, and so that the people may be sanctified.”


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And he led me away to the outer court, and he led me around by the four corners of the court. And behold, there was a little atrium at the corner of the court; a little atrium was at each corner of the court.


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At the four corners of the court, little atriums were positioned, forty cubits in length, and thirty in width; each of the four were of the same measure.


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And there was a wall all around, encircling the four little atriums. And kitchens had been constructed under the porticos on all sides.


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And he said to me: “This is the house of the kitchens, in which the ministers of the house of the Lord will cook the victims of the people.”


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And he turned me back to the gate of the house. And behold, waters went out, from under the threshold of the house, toward the east. For the face of the house looked toward the east. But the waters descended on the right side of the temple, toward the south of the altar.


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And he led me out, along the way of the north gate, and he turned me back toward the way outside the exterior gate, the way which looked toward the east. And behold, the waters overflowed on the right side.


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Then the man who held the rope in his hand departed toward the east, and he measured one thousand cubits. And he led me forward, through the water, up to the ankles.


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And he measured one thousand, and he led me forward, through the water, up to the waist. And he measured one thousand, into a torrent, through which I was not able to pass. For the waters had risen to become a profound torrent, which was not able to be crossed.


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And he said to me: “Son of man, certainly you have seen.” And he led me out, and he turned me back to the bank of the torrent.


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And when I had turned myself around, behold, on the bank of the torrent, there were very many trees on both sides.


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And he said to me: “These waters, which go forth toward the hillocks of sand to the east, and which descend to the plains of the desert, will enter the sea, and will go out, and the waters will be healed.


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And every living soul that moves, wherever the torrent arrives, will live. And there will be more than enough fish, after these waters have arrived there, and they will be healed. And all things will live, where the torrent arrives.


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And fishermen will stand over these waters. There will be the drying of nets, from Engedi even to Eneglaim. There will be very many kinds of fish within it: a very great multitude, like the fish of the great sea.


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But on its shore and in the marshes, they will not be healed. For these will be made into salt pits.


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And above the torrent, on its banks on both sides, every kind of fruit tree will rise up. Their foliage will not fall away, and their fruit will not fail. Every single month they will bring forth first-fruits. For its waters will go forth from the sanctuary. And its fruits will be for food, and its leaves will be for medicine.”


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Thus says the Lord God: “This is the border, by which you shall possess the land, in accord with the twelve tribes of Israel. For Joseph shall have a double portion.


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And you shall possess it, each one in equal manner as his brother. I lifted up my hand over it, so that I might give it to your fathers. And this land shall fall to you as a possession.


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Now this is the border of the land toward the northern region, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, arriving at Zedad:


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Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the confines of Hamath, the house of Ticon, which is beside the border of Hauran,


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and the border will be from the sea, even to the entrance of Enon, at the border of Damascus, and from the north to the north, at the border of Hamath, on the northern side.


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Moreover, the eastern region will be from the midst of Hauran, and from the midst of Damascus, and from the midst of Gilead, and from the midst of the land of Israel, to the Jordan, marking the boundary to the eastern sea. For so shall you measure the eastern region.


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Now the southern region, toward the meridian, will be from Tamar, even to the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh, and from the Torrent, even to the great sea. And this is the southern region, toward the meridian.


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And the region toward the sea will have its confines from the great sea continuing directly until one arrives at Hamath. This is the region of the sea.


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And you shall distribute it by lot as an inheritance, for yourselves and for the new arrival who will be added to you, who will conceive sons in your midst. And they shall be to you as the indigenous among the sons of Israel. They shall divide the possession with you, in the midst of the tribes of Israel.


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And in whatever tribe the new arrival will be, there you shall give a possession to him, says the Lord God.”


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“And these are the names of the tribes, from the parts of the north, beside the way of Hethlon, continuing on to Hamath, at the entrance of Enon, to the border of Damascus toward the north, beside the way of Hamath. And from the region of the east to the sea, there will be one portion for Dan.


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And beyond the border of Dan, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Asher.


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And beyond the border of Asher, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Naphtali.


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And beyond the border of Naphtali, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Manasseh.


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And beyond the border of Manasseh, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Ephraim.


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And beyond the border of Ephraim, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Reuben.


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And beyond the border of Reuben, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Judah.


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And beyond the border of Judah, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be the first-fruits, which you shall separate, twenty-five thousand in width, and in length, the same as each one of the portions from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea. And the sanctuary shall be in its midst.


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The first-fruits, which you shall separate to the Lord, shall be, in length, twenty-five thousand, and in width, ten thousand.


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And these shall be the first-fruits for the sanctuary of the priests: toward the north, in length, twenty-five thousand, and toward the sea, in width, ten thousand, but also, toward the east, in width, ten thousand, and toward the south, in length, twenty-five thousand. And the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst.


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The sanctuary shall be for the priests from the sons of Zadok, who observed my ceremonies and did not go astray, when the sons of Israel went astray, just as the Levites also went astray.


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And so the foremost of the first-fruits of the land, the Holy of Holies, beside the border of the Levites, shall be for them.


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But also the Levites, similarly, shall have, beside the borders of the priests, twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the width shall be ten thousand.


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And they shall not sell from it, nor exchange, and the first-fruits of the land shall not be transferred. For these have been sanctified to the Lord.


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But the five thousand that is left over, out of the twenty-five thousand in width, will be a profane place of the city for dwelling and for the suburbs. And the city shall be in the center.


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And these shall be its measurements: on the northern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the southern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the eastern side, four thousand and five hundred; and on the western side, four thousand and five hundred.


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But the suburbs of the city shall be: to the north, two hundred and fifty; and to the south, two hundred and fifty; and to the east, two hundred and fifty; and to the sea, two hundred and fifty.


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Now what will remain of the length, in accord with the first-fruits of the sanctuary, ten thousand in the east, and ten thousand in the west, shall be as the first-fruits of the sanctuary. And its produce will be for the bread of those who serve the city.


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All the first-fruits, of the twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand square, shall be separated as the first-fruits of the sanctuary and as the possession of the city.


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And what will remain shall be for the prince out of every portion of the first-fruits of the sanctuary and of the possession of the city, from the region of the twenty-five thousand of the first-fruits, even to the eastern border. But also to the sea from the region of the twenty-five thousand, even to the border of the sea, similarly shall be the portion of the prince. And the first-fruits of the sanctuary, and the sanctuary of the temple, shall be in its center.


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Now from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, which are in the midst of the prince’s portions, whatever is between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall also belong to the prince.


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And for the remainder of the tribes, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Benjamin.


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And opposite the border of Benjamin, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Simeon.


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And beyond the border of Simeon, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Issachar.


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And beyond the border of Issachar, from the eastern region, even to the western region, there shall be one portion for Zebulun.


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And beyond the border of Zebulun, from the eastern region, even to the region of the sea, there shall be one portion for Gad.


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And beyond the border of Gad, toward the southern region, in the meridian, the last part shall be from Tamar, even to the Waters of Contradiction at Kadesh, as the inheritance opposite the great sea.


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This is the land that you shall distribute by lot to the tribes of Israel, and these shall be their portions, says the Lord God.


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And these shall be the exits of the city: from the northern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred.


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


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And to the eastern region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph one, the gate of Benjamin one, the gate of Dan one.


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And to the southern region, you shall measure four thousand and five hundred. And there shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon one, the gate of Issachar one, the gate of Zebulun one.


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And to the western region, there shall be four thousand and five hundred, and their three gates: the gate of Gad one, the gate of Asher one, the gate of Naphtali one.


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Along circumference, there shall be eighteen thousand. And the name of the city, from that day, shall be: ‘The Lord is in that very place.’ ”


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


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And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim the king of Judah and a portion of the vessels of the house of God. And he carried them away into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasure chamber of his god.


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And the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the sons of Israel, and some of the offspring of the king and of the sovereigns:


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young men, in whom there was no blemish, noble in appearance, and accomplished in all wisdom, cautious in knowledge, and well-educated, and who could stand in the palace of the king, so that he might teach them the letters and the language of the Chaldeans.


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And the king appointed for them provisions for each day, from his own food and from the wine which he himself drank, so that, after being nourished for three years, they would stand in the sight of the king.


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And the chief of the eunuchs assigned names to them: to Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.


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But Daniel resolved in his heart that he would not be polluted with the king’s meal, nor with the wine he drank, and he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not be contaminated.


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And the leader of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed food and drink for you, who, if he should see that your faces are leaner than those of the other youths your age, you would condemn my head to the king.”


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And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the leader of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


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“I beg you to test us, your servants, for ten days, and let roots be given to us to eat and water to drink,


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and then observe our faces, and the faces of the children who eat the king’s food, and then deal with your servants according to what you see.”


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But, after ten days, their faces appeared better and fatter than all the children who had eaten from the king’s food.


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Yet, to these children, God gave knowledge and instruction in every book, and wisdom, but to Daniel, also the understanding of all visions and dreams.


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And when the time was completed, after which the king had said that they would be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before the sight of Nebuchadnezzar.


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And, when the king conversed with them, there had not been found any so great in all the world as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they stood in the sight of the king.


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And in every concept of wisdom and understanding, about which the king consulted with them, he found them to be ten times better than all the seers and astrologers put together, who were in his entire kingdom.


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In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream fled from him.


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Yet the king commanded that the seers, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be gathered together to reveal to the king his dreams. When they arrived, they stood in front of the king.


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And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac, “O king, live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we will reveal its interpretation.”


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And in answer, the king said to the Chaldeans, “The memory of it has slipped away from me. Unless you reveal the dream to me, and its meaning, you will be put to death, and your houses will be confiscated.


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But if you explain the dream and its meaning, you will receive from me rewards, and gifts, and great honor. Therefore, reveal to me the dream and its interpretation.”


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They answered again and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will reveal its interpretation.”


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The king answered and said, “I am certain that you are stalling for time because you know that the memory of it has slipped away from me.


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Therefore, if you do not reveal to me the dream, there is only one conclusion to be reached about you, that the interpretation is likewise false, and packed full of deception, so as to speak before me until the time passes away. And so, tell me the dream, so that I will also know that the interpretation that you tell me is likewise true.”


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Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and they said, “There is no man on earth who can accomplish your word, O king. For neither has any king, however great and mighty, asked for an answer of this kind from every seer, and astrologer, and Chaldean.


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For the answer that you seek, O king, is very difficult. Neither can anyone be found who can reveal it in the sight of the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.”


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When he heard this, the king commanded, in fury and in great wrath, that all the wise men of Babylon should be destroyed.


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And when the decree had gone forth, the wise men were put to death; and Daniel and his companions were sought, to be destroyed.


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Then Daniel inquired, about the law and the sentence, of Arioch, the general of the king’s army, who had gone forth to execute the wise men of Babylon.


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And he asked him, who had received the orders of the king, for what reason such a cruel sentence had gone forth from the face of the king. And so, when Arioch had revealed the matter to Daniel,


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Daniel went in and asked of the king that he would grant him time to reveal the solution to the king.


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And he went into his house and explained the task to Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,


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so that they would seek mercy before the face of the God of heaven, about this mystery, and so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the other wise men of Babylon.


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Then the secret was revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven,


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and speaking aloud, he said, “May the name of the Lord be blessed by the present generation and for ever; for wisdom and fortitude are his.


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And he alters the times and the ages. He takes away kingdoms and he establishes them. He gives wisdom to those who are wise and teaching skills to those who understand.


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He reveals deep and hidden things, and he knows what has been established in darkness. And the light is with him.


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To you, God of our fathers, I confess, and you, I praise. For you have given wisdom and fortitude to me, and now you have revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have uncovered for us the king’s thoughts.”


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After this, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke to him in this way, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will explain the solution to the king.”


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Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel to the king, and he said to him, “I have found a man of the sons of the transmigration of Judah, who would announce the solution to the king.”


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The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Do you really think that you can reveal to me the dream that I saw and its interpretation?”


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And Daniel, facing the king, answered and said, “The secret that the king seeks, the wise men, the seers, and the soothsayers are unable to reveal to the king.


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But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, who has revealed to you, king Nebuchadnezzar, what will happen in the latter times. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed, are such as these.


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You, O king, began to think, while in your blanket, about what will be hereafter. And he who reveals secrets showed you what will happen.


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To me, likewise, this mystery is revealed, not according to the wisdom that is in me more than in other living things, but so that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and so that you may know the thoughts of your mind.


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You, O king, saw, and behold, something like a great statue. This statue, which was great and high, stood exalted above you, and you considered how terrible it was.


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The head of this statue was of the finest gold, but the breast and the arms were of silver, and further on, the belly and the thighs were of brass;


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And so you looked until a stone was broken off without hands from a mountain, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were of iron and clay, and it shattered them.


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Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and diminished like the ashes of a summer courtyard, and they were quickly taken away by the wind, and no place was found for them; but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.


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You are a king among kings, and the God of heaven has given to you a kingdom, and fortitude, and power, and glory,


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and all the places wherein the sons of men and the beasts of the field dwell. He has likewise given the flying creatures of the air into your hand, and he has placed all things under your realm. Therefore, you are the head of gold.


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And after you, another kingdom will rise up, inferior to you, of silver, and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over the whole world.


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And the fourth kingdom will be like iron. Just as iron shatters and conquers all things, so will it shatter and crush all these.


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Furthermore, because you saw the feet and the toes to be part of potter’s clay and part of iron, the kingdom will be divided, but still, from the slip of iron it will take its origin, since you saw the iron mingled with the earthenware from clay.


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


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Yet, because you saw the iron mingled with pottery from the earth, they will indeed be combined together with the offspring of man, but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron cannot be mixed with earthenware.


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But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will inspire a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and his kingdom will not be handed over to another people, and it will crush and will consume all these kingdoms, and this kingdom itself will stand in eternity.


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In accordance with what you saw, because the stone was torn away from the mountain without hands, and it crushed the earthenware, and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God has shown the king what will happen after this. And the dream is true, and its interpretation is faithful.”


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Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and adored Daniel, and he commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.


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And so the king spoke with Daniel and said, “Truly, your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and also a revealer of secrets, since you could uncover this mystery.”


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Then the king raised Daniel to a high rank and gave him many great gifts, and he appointed him as leader over all the provinces of Babylon and as chief of the magistrates over all the other wise men of Babylon.


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However, Daniel required of the king that he appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the works of the province of Babylon. But Daniel himself was at the king’s door.


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King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.


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Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather together the governors, magistrates and judges, generals and sovereigns and commanders, and all the leaders of the regions, to come together for the dedication of the statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar had raised.


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Then the governors, magistrates and judges, generals and sovereigns and nobles, who were appointed to power, and all the leaders of the regions were brought together so as to convene for the dedication of the statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar had raised. And so they stood before the statue that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


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that in the hour when you will hear the sound of the trumpet and the pipe and the lute, the harp and the psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, you must fall down and adore the gold statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar has set up.


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But if anyone will not bow down and adore, in the same hour he will be cast into a furnace of burning fire.”


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After this, therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the pipe and the lute, the harp and the psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, all the peoples, tribes, and languages fell down and adored the gold statue, which king Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


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You, O king, have established a decree, so that every man who might hear the sound of the trumpet, the pipe and the lute, the harp and the psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, will prostrate himself and adore the gold statue.


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Yet there are influential Jews, whom you have appointed over the works of the region of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have scorned your decree. They do not worship your gods, and they do not adore the gold statue which you have raised up.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar, in fury and in wrath, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego should be brought, and so, without delay, they were brought before the king.


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And king Nebuchadnezzar addressed them and said, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not worship my gods, nor adore the gold statue, which I have set up?


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Therefore, if you are prepared now, whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet, pipe, lute, harp and psaltery, and of the symphony and every kind of music, prostrate yourselves and adore the statue which I have made. But if you will not adore, in the same hour you will be cast into the furnace of burning fire. And who is the God that will rescue you from my hand?”


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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “It is not right for us to obey you in this matter.


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For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to rescue us from the oven of burning fire and to free us from your hands, O king.


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But even if he will not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not worship your gods, nor adore the gold statue, which you have raised up.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury and the appearance of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he commanded that the furnace should be heated to seven times its usual fire.


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And he ordered the strongest men of his army to bind the feet of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the furnace of burning fire.


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And immediately these men were bound, and along with their coats, and their hats, and their shoes, and their garments, were cast into the middle of the furnace of burning fire.


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But the king’s order was so urgent that the furnace was heated excessively. As a result, those men who had cast in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were killed by the flame of the fire.


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But these three men, that is, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, having been bound, fell down in the middle of the oven of burning fire.


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Then Azariah, while standing, prayed in this manner, and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he said:


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“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and your name is praiseworthy and glorious for all ages.


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For you are just in all the things that you have accomplished for us, and all your works are true, and your ways are right, and all your judgments are true.


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For you have made equally true judgments in all the things that you have brought upon us and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers. For in truth and in judgment, you have brought down all these things because of our sins.


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For we have sinned, and we have committed iniquity in withdrawing from you, and we have offended in all things.


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And we have not listened to your precepts, nor have we observed or done as you have ordered us, so that it might go well with us.


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Therefore, everything that you have brought upon us, and all that you have done for us, you have done in true judgment.


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And you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies: traitors, unjust and most wicked, and to a king, unjust and most wicked, even more so than all others on earth.


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And now we are not able to open our mouths. We have become a shame and a disgrace to your servants and to those who worship you.


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And do not withdraw your mercy from us, because of Abraham, your beloved, and Isaac, your servant, and Israel, your holy one.


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You have spoken with them, promising that you would multiply their offspring like the stars of heaven and like the sand on the seashore.


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For we, O Lord, are diminished more than all other peoples, and we are brought low throughout all the earth, this day, because of our sins.


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Neither is there, at this time, a leader, or a ruler, or a prophet, nor any holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first fruits, in your eyes,


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so that we may be able to find your mercy. Nevertheless, with a contrite soul and humble spirit, let us be accepted.


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Just as in the holocausts of rams and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice be in your sight this day, in order to please you. For there is no shame for those who trust in you.


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Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in agreement with your clemency and according to the multitude of your mercies.


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And let all those be confounded who lead your servants towards evil. May they be confounded by all your power and may their strength be crushed.


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And they did not cease, those attendants of the king who had cast them in, to heat the furnace with oil, and flax, and pitch, and brush.


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But the angel of the Lord descended with Azariah and his companions into the furnace; and he cast the flame of the fire out of the furnace.


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And he made the middle of the furnace like the blowing of a damp wind, and the fire did not touch them, nor afflict them, nor bother them at all.


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Then these three, as if with one voice, praised and glorified and blessed God, in the furnace, saying:


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“Blessed are you, Lord, God of our fathers: praiseworthy, and glorious, and exalted above all forever. And blessed is the holy name of your glory: praiseworthy, and exalted above all, for all ages.


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Blessed are you in the holy temple of your glory: praiseworthy above all and exalted above all forever.


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Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom: praiseworthy above all and exalted above all forever.


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Blessed are you who beholds the abyss and sits upon the cherubims: praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.


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Whales and all things that move in the waters, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all forever.


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Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the underworld, and saved us from the hand of death, and freed us from the midst of the burning flame, and rescued us from the midst of the fire.


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All those who are pious, bless the Lord, the God of gods: praise him and acknowledge him because his mercy is for all generations.”


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Then king Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he quickly got up and said to his nobles: “Did we not cast three men shackled into the midst of the fire?” Answering the king, they said, “True, O king.”


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He answered and said, “Behold, I see four men unbound and walking in the midst of the fire, and no harm is in them, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of God.”


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Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the entrance of the furnace of burning fire, and he said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the supreme God, come out and approach.” And immediately Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went out from the midst of the fire.


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And when the governors, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the powerful of the king had gathered together, they considered these men because the fire had no power against their bodies, and not a hair of their head had been scorched, and their pants had not been affected, and the smell of the fire had not passed onto them.


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Then Nebuchadnezzar, bursting out, said, “Blessed is their God, the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who believed in him. And they altered the verdict of the king, and they delivered up their bodies, so that they would not serve or adore any god except their God.


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Therefore, this decree is established by me: that every people, tribe, and language, whenever they have spoken blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, will perish and their homes will be destroyed. For there is no other God who is able to save in this way.”


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NEBUCHADNEZZAR, the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in the whole world, may peace be increased with you.


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The supreme God has accomplished signs and wonders with me. Therefore, it has pleased me to proclaim


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his signs, which are great, and his wonders, which are mighty. For his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power continues from generation to generation.


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And so a decree was established by me, that all of the wise men of Babylon should be brought in before me, and that they should reveal to me the answer to the dream.


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Then the seers, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers entered, and I explained about the dream in their presence, but they did not reveal its answer to me.


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And then their colleague came in before me, Daniel, (whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god,) who has the spirit of the holy gods within his very self, and I told the dream directly to him.


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Belteshazzar, leader of the seers, since I know that you have in you the spirit of the holy gods, and that no mystery is unreachable to you, explain to me the visions of my dreams, which I saw, and the solution to them.


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This was the vision of my head on my bed. I looked, and behold, a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was exceedingly great.


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The tree was great and strong, and its height reached up to heaven. It could be seen all the way to the ends of the entire earth.


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Its leaves were very beautiful, and its fruit was very abundant, and in it was food for the whole world. Under it, animals and beasts were dwelling, and in its branches, the birds of the sky were sheltered, and from it, all flesh was fed.


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I saw in the vision of my head upon my blanket, and behold, a watcher and a holy one descended from heaven.


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He cried out loudly, and he said this: “Cut down the tree and prune its branches; shake off its leaves and scatter its fruits; let flee the beasts, which are under it, and the birds from its branches.


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Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be bound with a band of iron and brass among the plants, which are close by, and let it be touched by the dew of heaven, and let its place be with the wild animals among the plants of the earth.


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Let his heart be changed from being human, and let the heart of a wild animal be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him.


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This is the decree from the judgment of the watchers, and the decision and proclamation of the holy ones, until the living shall know that the Supreme One is ruler in the kingdom of men, and that he will give it to whomever he wills, and he will appoint the lowest man over it.”


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I, king Nebuchadnezzar, saw this dream. And so you, Belteshazzar, must quickly explain to me the interpretation because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me. But you are able because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.


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Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, began silently to think within himself for about one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. But the king responded, saying, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation disturb you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, the dream is for those who hate you, and its interpretation may be for your enemies.


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The tree that you saw was lofty and strong; its height reached toward heaven, and it could be seen throughout the whole world.


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And its branches were very beautiful, and its fruit very abundant, and in it was food for all. Under it, dwelt the beasts of the field, and in its branches, the birds of the air stayed.


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It is you, O king, who has been greatly esteemed, and you have grown strong. And you have increased your power, and it reaches towards heaven, and your rule is to the ends of the whole earth.


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Yet the king also saw a watcher and a holy one descend from heaven and say: ‘Cut down the tree and scatter it; however, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be bound with iron and brass, among the surrounding plants, and let it be sprinkled with the dew of heaven, and let his feeding be with the wild beasts, until seven periods of time pass over him.’


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They will expel you from among men, and your dwelling will be with the beasts and the wild animals, and you will eat hay like an ox, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Likewise, seven periods of time will pass over you, until you know that the Supreme One rules over the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomever he wills.


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But, since he commanded that the stump of its roots, that is, of the tree, should be left behind, your kingdom will be left for you, after you have realized that power is from divinity.


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Because of this, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. And redeem your sins with alms, and your iniquities with mercy towards the poor. Perhaps he will forgive your offenses.”


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And the king spoke out loud, saying, “Isn’t this the great Babylon, which I have built, as the home of the kingdom, by the strength of my power and in the glory of my excellence?”


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And while the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice rushed down from heaven, “To you, O king Nebuchadnezzar, it is said: ‘Your kingdom will be taken away from you,


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and they will expel you from among men, and your dwelling will be with the beasts and the wild animals. You will eat hay like an ox, and seven times will pass over you, until you know that the Supreme One rules in the kingdom of men, and he gives it to whomever he wills.’ ”


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The same hour, the sentence was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven away from among men, and he ate hay like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair increased like the feathers of eagles, and his nails like those of birds.


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Therefore, at the end of these days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my mind was restored to me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and glorified him who lives forever. For his power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.


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And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing before him. For he acts according to his own will, with the inhabitants of the earth just as with the holy inhabitants of heaven. And there is no one who can resist his hand, or say to him, “Why have you done this?”


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At the same time, my mind returned to me, and I arrived at the honor and glory of my kingdom. And my appearance was given back to me. And my nobles and my magistrates needed me. And I was restored to my kingdom, and even greater majesty was added to me.


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Therefore I, Nebuchadnezzar, now praise, and magnify, and glorify the King of heaven, because all his works and the judgments of his way are true, and those who go forth in arrogance, he is able to bring low.


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Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and each one of them drank according to his age.


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And so, when they were drunk, he instructed that the vessels of gold and silver should be brought, which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had carried away from the temple, which was in Jerusalem, so that the king, and his nobles, and his wives, and the concubines, might drink from them.


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Then the gold and silver vessels were presented, which he had carried away from the temple and which had been in Jerusalem, and the king, and his nobles, wives, and concubines, drank from them.


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In the same hour, there appeared fingers, as of the hand of a man, writing on the surface of the wall, opposite the candlestick, in the king’s palace. And the king observed the part of the hand that wrote.


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Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts disturbed him, and he lost his self-control, and his knees knocked against one other.


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And the king cried out loudly for them to bring in the astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. And the king proclaimed to the wise men of Babylon, saying, “Whoever will read this writing and make known to me its interpretation will be clothed with purple, and will have a golden chain on his neck, and will be third in my kingdom.”


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Then, in came all the wise men of the king, but they could neither read the writing, nor reveal the interpretation to the king.


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Therefore, king Belshazzar was quite confused, and his face was altered, and even his nobles were disturbed.


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But the queen, because of what had happened to the king and his nobles, entered the banquet house. And she spoke out, saying, “O king, live forever. Do not let your thoughts confuse you, neither should your face be altered.


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There is a man in your kingdom, who has the spirit of the holy gods within himself, and in the days of your father, knowledge and wisdom were found in him. For king Nebuchadnezzar, your father, appointed him leader of the astrologers, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, even your father, I say to you, O king.


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For a greater spirit, and foresight, and understanding, and interpretation of dreams, and the revealing of secrets, and the solution to difficulties were found in him, that is, in Daniel, to whom the king gave the name Belteshazzar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be summoned, and he will explain the interpretation.”


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Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke to him, saying, “Are you Daniel, of the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom my father the king led out of Judea?


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I have heard of you, that you have the spirit of the gods, and that greater knowledge, as well as understanding and wisdom, have been found in you.


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And now the wise astrologers have entered into my presence, so as to read this writing and to reveal to me its interpretation. And they were not able to tell me the meaning of this writing.


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Furthermore, I have heard about you that you can interpret obscure things and solve difficulties. So then, if you succeed in reading the writing, and in revealing its interpretation, you will be clothed with purple, and you will have a chain of gold around your neck, and you will be the third leader in my kingdom.”


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To this Daniel responded by saying directly to the king, “Your rewards should be for yourself, and the gifts of your house you may give to another, but I will read to you the writing, O king, and I will reveal to you its interpretation.


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O king, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, a kingdom and greatness, glory and honor.


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And because of the greatness that he gave to him, all peoples, tribes, and languages trembled and were afraid of him. Whomever he wished, he put to death; and whomever he wished, he destroyed; and whomever he wished, he exalted; and whomever he wished, he lowered.


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But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened in arrogance, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and his glory was taken away.


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And he was expelled from the sons of men, and so his heart was placed with the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys, and he ate hay like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he realized that the Most High holds power over the kingdom of men, and that whoever he wishes, he will set over it.


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But you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been presented before you. And you, and your nobles, and your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. Likewise, you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, and brass, iron, and wood and stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor feel, yet you have not glorified the God who holds your breath and all your ways in his hand.


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And this is the interpretation of the words. MANE: God has numbered your kingdom and has finished it.


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Then, by the king’s command, Daniel was dressed with purple, and a chain of gold was placed around his neck, and it was proclaimed of him that he held power as the third in the kingdom.


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It pleased Darius, and so he appointed over the kingdom one hundred twenty governors, to be placed throughout his whole kingdom.


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And over these, three leaders, of whom Daniel was one, so that the governors would be accountable to them and the king would have no trouble.


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And so Daniel excelled above all the leaders and governors, because a greater spirit of God was in him.


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Furthermore, the king considered setting him over the entire kingdom; whereupon the leaders and the governors sought to find a complaint against Daniel and in favor of the king. And they could find no case, or even suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault or suspicion was found in him.


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Therefore, these men said, “We will not find any complaint against this Daniel, unless it is against the law of his God.”


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Then the leaders and governors took the king aside privately and spoke to him in this way: “King Darius, live forever.


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All the leaders of your kingdom, the magistrates and governors, the senators and judges, have taken counsel that an imperial decree and edict should be published, so that all who ask any petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, will be cast into the den of lions.


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Now, therefore, O king, confirm this judgment and write the decree, so that what is established by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor will any man be allowed to transgress it.”


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Now when Daniel learned of this, namely, that the law had been established, he entered his house, and, opening the windows in his upper room towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and he adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do previously.


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Therefore, these men, inquiring diligently, discovered that Daniel was praying and making supplication to his God.


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And they approached and spoke to the king about the edict. “O king, did you not decree that every man who makes a request to any of the gods or men for thirty days, except to yourself, O king, would be cast into the den of lions?” To which the king replied, saying, “The sentence is true, and according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, it is not lawful to violate it.”


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Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, of the sons of the captivity of Judah, is not concerned about your law, nor about the decree that you have established, but three times a day he prays his supplication.”


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Now when the king had heard these words, he was greatly grieved, and, on behalf of Daniel, he set his heart to free him, and he labored even until sunset to rescue him.


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But these men, knowing the king, said to him, “You know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that every decree which the king has established may not be altered.”


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Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. And the king said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you always serve, he himself will free you.”


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And a stone was brought, and it was placed over the mouth of the den, which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, so that no one would act against Daniel.


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And the king departed into his house, and he went to bed without eating, and food was not set before him, moreover, even sleep fled from him.


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And coming near to the den, he cried out with a tearful voice to Daniel and spoke to him. “Daniel, servant of the living God, your God, whom you serve always, do you believe he has prevailed to free you from the lions?”


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My God has sent his angel, and he has closed the mouths of the lions, and they have not harmed me, because before him justice has been found in me, and, even before you, O king, I have committed no offense.”


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Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den. And Daniel was taken out of the den, and no wound was found in him, because he believed in his God.


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Moreover, by order of the king, those men were brought who had accused Daniel, and they were cast into the lions’ den, they, and their sons, and their wives, and they did not reach the bottom of the den before the lions seized them and crushed all their bones.


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Then king Darius wrote to all peoples, tribes, and languages dwelling in all the land. “May peace be increased with you.


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It is hereby established by my decree that, in all my empire and my kingdom, they shall begin to tremble and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living and eternal God forever, and his kingdom will not be destroyed, and his power will last forever.


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He is the liberator and the savior, performing signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has freed Daniel from the lions’ den.”


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In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and a vision in his head on his bed. And, writing down the dream, he understood it in a concise manner, and so, summarizing it tersely, he said:


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The first was like a lioness and had the wings of an eagle. I watched as its wings were plucked off, and it was raised from the earth and stood on its feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.


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And behold, another beast, like a bear, stood to one side, and there were three rows in its mouth and in its teeth, and they spoke to it in this way: “Arise, devour much flesh.”


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After this, I watched, and behold, another like a leopard, and it had wings like a bird, four upon it, and four heads were on the beast, and power was given to it.


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After this, I watched in the vision of the night, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible yet wondrous, and exceedingly strong; it had great iron teeth, eating yet crushing, and trampling down the remainder with his feet, but it was unlike the other beasts, which I had seen before it, and it had ten horns.


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I considered the horns, and behold, another little horn rose out of the midst of them. And three of the first horns were rooted out by its presence. And behold, eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking unnatural things.


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I watched until thrones were set up, and the ancient of days sat down. His garment was radiant like snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool; his throne was flames of fire, its wheels had been set on fire.


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A river of fire rushed forth from his presence. Thousands upon thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times hundreds of thousands attended before him. The trial began, and the books were opened.


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I watched because of the voice of the great words which that horn was speaking, and I saw that the beast had been destroyed, and its body was ruined and had been handed over to be burnt with fire.


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Likewise, the power of the other beasts was taken away, and a limited time of life was appointed to them, until one time and another.


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I watched, therefore, in the vision of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man arrived, and he approached all the way to the ancient of days, and they presented him before him.


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And he gave him power, and honor, and the kingdom, and all peoples, tribes, and languages will serve him. His power is an eternal power, which will not be taken away, and his kingdom, one which will not be corrupted.


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My spirit was terrified. I, Daniel, was fearful at these things, and the visions of my head disturbed me.


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I approached one of the attendants and asked the truth from him about all these things. He told me the interpretation of the words, and he instructed me:


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Yet it is the saints of the Most High God who will receive the kingdom, and they will hold the kingdom from this generation, and forever and ever.”


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After this, I wanted to learn diligently about the fourth beast, which was very different from all, and exceedingly terrible; his teeth and claws were of iron; he devoured and crushed, and the remainder he trampled with his feet;


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and about the ten horns, which he had on his head, and about the other, which had sprung up, before which three horns fell, and about that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great things, and which was more powerful than the rest.


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until the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the holy ones of the Supreme One, and the time arrived, and the holy ones obtained the kingdom.


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And thus he said, “The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom on earth, which will be greater than all the kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, and will trample and crush it.


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Moreover, the ten horns of the same kingdom will be ten kings, and another will rise up after them, and he will be mightier than the ones before him, and he will bring down three kings.


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And he will speak words against the Supreme One, and will exhaust the holy ones of the Most High, and he will think about what it would take to change the times and the laws, and they will be given into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.


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And a trial will begin, so that his power may be taken away, and be crushed, and be undone all the way to the end.


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Yet the kingdom, and the power, and the greatness of that kingdom, which is under all of heaven, shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings will serve and obey him.”


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And here is the end of the message. I, Daniel, was greatly disturbed by my thoughts, and my mood was changed in me, but I preserved the message in my heart.


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In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me. After that which I had seen in the beginning, I, Daniel,


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saw in my vision, that I was in the capital city of Susa, which is in the region of Elam, yet I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.


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And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a single ram stood before the marsh, having two high horns, and one was higher than the other and growing higher still.


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After this, I saw the ram brandishing his horns against the West, and against the North, and against the Meridian, and all the beasts could not withstand him, nor be freed from his hand, and he did according to his own will, and he became great.


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And I understood, and behold, a he-goat among she-goats came from the West above the face of the entire earth, and he did not touch the ground. Furthermore, the he-goat had a preeminent horn between his eyes.


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And he went all the way to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.


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And when he approached near to the ram, he was enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him, and when he had cast him down on the ground, he trampled him, and no one was able to free the ram from his hand.


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But the he-goat among she-goats became exceedingly great, and when he had prospered, the great horn was shattered, and four horns were rising up beneath it by means of the four winds of heaven.


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But from one of them came forth one little horn, and it became great against the Meridian, and against the East, and against the strength.


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And it was magnified even towards the strength of heaven, and it threw down those of the strength and of the stars, and it trampled them.


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And it was magnified, even to the leader of the strength, and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.


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And the advantage was given to him against the continual sacrifice, because of the sins, and truth will be struck down to the ground, and he will act, and he will prosper.


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And I heard one of the holy ones speaking, and one saint said to another, (I know not to whom he was speaking,) “What is the extent of the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation, which has happened, and of the sanctuary and the strength, which will be trampled?”


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And he said to him, “From evening until morning, two thousand three hundred days, and so the sanctuary will be cleansed.”


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But it came to pass, when I, Daniel, saw the vision and sought understanding that, behold, there stood in my sight something like the appearance of a man.


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


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And he came and stood next to where I was standing, and when he approached, I fell on my face, trembling, and he said to me, “Understand, son of man, for in the time of the end the vision will be fulfilled.”


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And he said to me, “I will reveal to you what the future things are in the earlier tribulation, for the time has its end.


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Furthermore, the he-goat among she-goats is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn, which was between his eyes, is the same one, the first king.


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And since, having been shattered, there grew four in its place, four kings will rise up from his people, but not in his strength.


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And after their reign, when iniquities will be increased, there will arise a king of shameless face and understanding negotiations.


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And his advantage will be strengthened, but not by his kind of force, and other than what he will be able to trust, everything will be eradicated, and he will prosper, and he will act. And he will execute the successful and the people of the saints,


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according to his will, and treachery will be guided by his hand. And his heart will be inflated, and by the abundance of everything he will kill many, and he will rise up against the Lord of lords, and he will be knocked down without a hand.


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And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true. Therefore, you must seal the vision, because, after many days, it will occur.”


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And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days, and when I had lifted myself up, I performed the king’s works, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none who could interpret it.


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In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,


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in year one of his reign, I, Daniel, understood in the books the number of the years, concerning the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would be completed in seventy years.


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And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.


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And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and I confessed, and I said, “I beg you, O Lord God, great and terrible, preserving the covenant and mercy for those who love you and keep your commandments.


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We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we acted impiously and have withdrawn, and we have turned aside from your commandments as well as your judgments.


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We have not obeyed your servants, the prophets, who have spoken in your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.


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To you, O Lord, is justice, but to us is confusion of face, just as it is on this day for the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, for those who are near and those who are far off, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of their iniquities by which they have sinned against you.


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O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face: to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, who have sinned.


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and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord, our God, so as to walk in his law, which he established for us by his servants, the prophets.


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And all Israel has transgressed your law and has turned away, not listening to your voice, and so the condemnation and the curse, which is written in the book of Moses, servant of God, has rained down upon us, because we have sinned against him.


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And he has fulfilled his words, which he has spoken over us and over our leaders who judged us, that he would lead over us a great evil, such as has never before existed under all of heaven, according to what has been done in Jerusalem.


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Just as it has been written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us, and we did not entreat your face, O Lord our God, so that we might turn back from our iniquities and consider your truth.


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And the Lord kept watch over the evil and has led it over us; the Lord, our God, is just in all his works, which he has accomplished, for we have not listened to his voice.


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And now, O Lord, our God, who has led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and has made yourself a name in accordance with this day: we have sinned, we have done wrong.


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O Lord, for all your righteousness, turn away, I beg you, your anger and your fury from your city, Jerusalem, and from your holy mountain. For, because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people are a reproach to all who surround us.


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Now, therefore, heed, O God, the prayer of your servant and his requests, and reveal your face over your sanctuary, which is desolate, for your own sake.


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Incline your ear, O my God, and hear, open your eyes and see our desolation and the city over which your name is invoked. For it is not through our justifications that we offer requests before your face, but through the fullness of your compassion.


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Heed, O Lord. Be pleased, O Lord. Turn and act. Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, because your name is invoked over your city and over your people.”


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And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people, Israel, and offering my prayers in the sight of my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God,


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as I was still speaking in prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.


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And he instructed me, and he spoke to me and said, “Now, Daniel, I have come forth to teach you and to help you understand.


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At the beginning of your prayers, the message came forth, yet I have come to explain it to you because you are a man who is seeking. Therefore, you must pay close attention to the message and understand the vision.


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Seventy weeks of years are concentrated on your people and on your holy city, so that transgression shall be finished, and sin shall reach an end, and iniquity shall be wiped away, and so that everlasting justice shall be brought in, and vision and prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Saint of saints shall be anointed.


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Therefore, know and take heed: from the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again, until the Christ leader, there will be seven weeks of years, and sixty-two weeks of years; and the wide path will be built again, and the walls, in a time of anguish.


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And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain. And the people who have denied him will not be his. And the people, when their leader arrives, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will be devastation, and, after the end of the war, the desolation will be set up.


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But he will confirm a covenant with many for one week of years; and for half of the week of years, victim and sacrifice will nearly cease; but there will be in the temple the abomination of desolation. And the desolation will continue even to the consummation and the end.”


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In the third year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, a message was revealed to Daniel, called Belteshazzar, and a true word, and great strength. And he understood the message, for understanding is needed in a vision.


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I ate no desirable bread, and neither meat, nor wine, entered my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment, until the three weeks of days were completed.


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But on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was next to the great river, which is the Tigris.


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And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw, and behold, one man clothed in linen, and his waist was wrapped with the finest gold,


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and his body was like the golden stone, and his face had the appearance of lightning, and his eyes that of a burning lamp, and his arms and all that is downward all the way to the feet had the appearance of glowing brass, and his speaking voice was like the voice of a multitude.


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But I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see it, but an exceedingly great terror rushed over them, and they fled into hiding.


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And I, having been left alone, saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me, moreover, my appearance was altered, and I languished, not having any strength.


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And I heard the voice of his words, and when I heard, I lay down in confusion on my face, and my face was close to the ground.


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And he said to me, “Daniel, man of longing, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand yourself upright, for I am now sent to you.” And when he had said these words to me, I stood trembling.


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And he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day that you set your heart to understand, by afflicting yourself in the sight of your God, your words have been heeded, and I have arrived because of your words.


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But the leader of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me for twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, one of the primary leaders, came to help me, and I remained there next to the king of the Persians.


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But I have come to teach you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision is for a long time from now.”


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And while he was speaking words to me in this way, I cast my face down to the ground and was silent.


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And behold, something in the likeness of a son of man touched my lips. Then, opening my mouth, I spoke and said to him who stood before me, “My lord, at the sight of you, my limbs became weak and no strength has remained in me.


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And so, how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord? For no strength remains in me; and even my breathing is hindered.”


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And he said, “Fear not, O man of longing. May peace be with you. Take courage and be strong.” And when he spoke to me, I recovered, and I said, “Speak, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”


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And he said, “Do you not know why I have come to you? And next I will return, to fight against the leader of the Persians. When I was leaving, there appeared the leader of the Greeks arriving.


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But, in truth, I announce to you what is expressed in the scripture of truth. And no one is my helper in all these things, except Michael your leader.”


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“And so, from the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood firm, so that he might be reinforced and strengthened.


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And now I will announce to you the truth. Behold, up to a certain point, three kings will stand in Persia, and the fourth will be exceedingly enriched in power above them all. And when he has grown strong by his resources, he will stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.


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But there will rise up a strong king, and he will rule with great power, and he will do what he pleases.


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And when he has been firmly established, his kingdom will be shattered and will be divided towards the four winds of the heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his kingdom will be torn to pieces, even for the outsiders who have been expelled from these.


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And the king of the South will be reinforced, yet one of his leaders will prevail over him, and he will rule with riches, for great is his domain.


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And after the end of years, they will form a federation, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make friendship, but she will not obtain the strength of arms, neither will her offspring stand firm, and she will be handed over, along with those who brought her, her young men, and those who comforted her in these times.


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And a transplant from the germination of her roots will stand up, and he will come with an army, and will enter into the province of the king of the North, and he will abuse them, and will hold it fast.


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And, in addition, he will carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and their graven images, and likewise their precious vessels of gold and silver. He will prevail against the king of the North.


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But his sons will be challenged, and they will assemble a multitude of very many forces. And he will arrive rushing and overflowing. And he will be turned back, and he will be enraged, and he will join the battle in his redness.


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And the king of the South, having being challenged, will go forth and will fight against the king of the North, and he will prepare an exceedingly great multitude, and a multitude will be given into his hand.


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And he will seize a multitude, and his heart will be exalted, and he will cast down many thousands, but he will not prevail.


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For the king of the North will change strategy and will prepare a multitude much greater than before, and at the end of times and years, he will rush forward with a great army and exceedingly great resources.


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And in those times, many will rise up against the king of the South. And likewise the sons of the deceivers among your people will extol themselves, so as to fulfill the vision, and they will collapse.


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And the king of the North will arrive and will transport siege works, and he will seize the most fortified cities. And the arms of the South will not withstand him, and his elect will rise up to resist, but the strength will not.


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And when he arrives, he will do just as he pleases, and there will be none who stand against his face. And he will stand in the illustrious land, and it will be consumed by his hand.


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And he will set his face to strive to hold his entire kingdom, and he will make fair conditions with him. And he will give him a daughter among women, so as to overthrow it. But she will not stand, neither will she be for him.


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And he will turn his face towards the islands, and he will seize many. And he will cause the leader of his reproach to cease, and his reproach will be turned around for him.


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And he will turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he will strike, and will overthrow, but he will not succeed.


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And there will stand up in his place one who is most worthless and unworthy of kingly honor. And in a short time, he will be worn out, but not in fury, nor in battle.


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And there will stand up in his place the despicable one, and he will not be assigned the honor of a king. And he will arrive in secret, and he will obtain the kingdom by deceitfulness.


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And the arms of the fighting will be assaulted before his face and will be shattered, and, in addition, the leader of the federation.


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And, after making friends, he will trick him, and he will go up and will overcome with a small people.


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And he will enter into rich and resourceful cities, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and will form a plan against the most steadfast, and this until a time.


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And his strength and his heart will be enraged against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South will be provoked into going to war by having many allies and exceedingly good circumstances, and yet these will not stand, for they will form plans against him.


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And those who eat bread with him will crush him, and his army will be suppressed, and very many will die, having been executed.


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And the heart of two kings will be similar, to do harm, and they will speak lies at one table, but they will not succeed, because as yet the end is for another time.


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And he will return to his land with many resources. And his heart will be against the holy testament, and he will act, and he will return to his own land.


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At the appointed time, he will return, and he will approach the South, but the latter time will not be like the former.


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And the Greek warships and the Romans will come upon him, and he will be pierced, and will retreat, and will have scorn against the testament of the sanctuary, and he will act. And he will return and will consult their adversaries, who have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.


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And arms will take his side, and they will pollute the sanctuary of the strength, and they will take away the continual sacrifice and will replace it with the abomination of desolation.


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And the impious within the testament will imitate deceitfully, but the people, knowing their God, will persevere and will act.


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And the teachers among the people will teach many, but they will be ruined by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by assaults for many days.


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And when they have fallen, they will be supported with a little help, but many will apply to them deceitfully.


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And some of the learned will be ruined, that they may be kindled and chosen and purified, up to the predetermined time, because there will be still another time.


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And the king will act according to his will, and he will be lifted up and will be extolled against every god. And he will speak great things against the God of gods, and he will control, until the passion is completed. Once accomplished, the limit is reached with certainty.


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And he will give no thought to the God of his fathers, and he will be in the desire of women, and he will not attend to any gods, because he will rise up against all things.


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But he will do homage to the god Maozim in his place, and, a god whom his fathers did not know, he will worship with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and costly things.


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And he will act to reinforce Maozim with an alien god, of whom he has become aware, and he will increase their glory, and will give them power over many, and he will distribute land for free.


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And, at the predetermined time, the king of the South will fight against him, and the king of the North will come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great fleet, and he will enter into the lands, and will crush and pass through.


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And he will enter into the glorious land, and many will fall. But only these will be saved from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the first part of the sons of Ammon.


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And he will rule over the treasure chests of gold, and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and likewise he will pass through Libya and Ethiopia.


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And rumors from the East and from the North will trouble him. And he will arrive with a great multitude to destroy and to execute many.


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And he will fasten his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon an illustrious and holy mountain, and he will come even to its summit, and no one will help him.”


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“But at that time Michael will rise up, the great leader, who stands up for the sons of your people. And a time will come, such as has not been from the time that nations began, even until that time. And, at that time, your people will be saved, all who will be found written in the book.


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And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken: some to everlasting life, and others to a reproach that they will always see.


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But those who have taught will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who instruct many towards justice, like the stars for unending eternity.


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But you, Daniel, close the message and seal the book, until the established time. Many will pass through, and knowledge will be increased.”


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And I, Daniel, looked, and behold, similarly two others stood up, one over here, on the bank of the river, and the other over there, on the other bank of the river.


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And I said to the man, who was clothed in linen, who stood over the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”


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And I heard the man, who was clothed in linen, who stood over the waters of the river, when he had lifted his right hand and his left hand up to heaven, and had sworn by He who lives forever, that it would be for a time, and times, and half a time. And when the dispersion of the hand of the holy people is completed, all these things will be completed.


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Many will be chosen and purified, and, as if by fire, they will be tested, and the impious will act impiously, and none of the impious will understand, yet the teachers will understand.


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And from the time when the continual sacrifice will be taken away and the abomination of desolation will be set up, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days.


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But you, go, until the predetermined time, and you will rest and will stand in your allotted place at the end of days.


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And he received a wife named Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, who was very beautiful and God-fearing.


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For her parents, because they were righteous, had educated their daughter according to the law of Moses.


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But Joakim was very wealthy, and he had an orchard near his house, and the Jews flocked to him, because he was the most honorable of them all.


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And two elder judges had been appointed among the people that year, about whom the Lord has said, “Iniquity has come out of Babylon, from the elder judges, who seemed to govern the people.”


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But when the people departed at noontime, Susanna went in and walked around in her husband’s orchard.


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And the elders saw her entering and walking around every day, and they were inflamed with desire towards her.


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And they perverted their reason and turned away their eyes, so that they would not look to heaven, nor call to mind just judgments.


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And so they were both wounded by the love of her, yet they did not reveal their grief to one another.


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And returning again, they came to the same place, and, each asking the other the reason, they admitted their desire. And then they agreed to set a time when they would be able to find her alone.


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But it happened, while they watched for an opportune day, that she entered at a particular time, just as yesterday and the day before, with only two maids, and she wanted to wash in the orchard, because it was so hot.


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And so she said to the maids, “Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the doors of the orchard, so that I may wash.”


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And they did as she ordered them. And they shut the doors of the orchard and left through a back door to fetch what she required, and they did not know that the elders were hiding within.


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“Behold, the doors of the orchard are closed, and no one can see us, and we are in desire for you. Because of these things, consent to us and lie with us.


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But if you will not, we will bear witness against you that a young man was with you and, for this reason, you sent your maids away from you.”


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Susanna sighed and said, “I am closed in on every side. For if I do this thing, it is death to me; yet if I do not do it, I will not escape your hands.


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And so, when the servants of the house heard the outcry in the orchard, they rushed in by the back door to see what was happening.


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But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly ashamed, for there had never been anything of this kind said about Susanna. And it happened on the next day,


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when the people came to Joakim her husband, that the two appointed elders also came, full of wicked plans against Susanna, in order to put her to death.


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And they said before the people, “Send for Susanna, daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” And immediately they sent for her.


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But those wicked ones commanded that her face should be uncovered, (for she was covered,) so that at least they might be satisfied with her beauty.


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And the appointed elders said, “While we were talking a walk in the orchard alone, this one came in with two maids, and she shut the doors of the orchard, and she sent the maids away from her.


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Furthermore, since we were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this wickedness, we ran up to them, and we saw them consorting together.


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And, indeed, we were unable to catch him, because he was stronger than us, and opening the doors, he leaped out.


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But, since we had apprehended this one, we demanded to know who the young man was, but she was unwilling to tell us. On this matter, we are witnesses.”


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The multitude believed them, just as if they were elders and the judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.


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But Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said, “Eternal God, who knows what is hidden, who knows all things before they happen,


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you know that they have borne false witness against me, and behold, I must die, though I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously invented against me.”


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And when she was led away to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel.


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But he, while standing in the midst of them, said, “Are you so foolish, sons of Israel, that without judging and without knowing what the truth is, you have condemned a daughter of Israel?


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Therefore, the people returned with haste, and the old men said to him, “Come and sit down in our midst and show us, since God has given you the honor of old age.”


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And Daniel said to them, “Separate these at a distance from one another, and I will judge between them.”


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And so, when they were divided, one from the other, he called one of them, and he said to him, “You deep-rooted ancient evil, now your sins have come out, which you have committed before,


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judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and setting free the guilty, though the Lord declares, ‘The innocent and the just you must not put to death.’


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Now then, if you saw her, declare under which tree you saw them conversing together.” He said, “Under an evergreen mastic tree.”


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But Daniel said, “Truly, you have lied against your own head. For behold, the angel of God, having received the sentence from him, will split you down the middle.


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And, having put him aside, he commanded the other to approach, and he said to him, “You offspring of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you, and desire has perverted your heart.


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Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they, out of fear, consorted with you, but a daughter of Judah would not tolerate your iniquity.


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Now then, declare to me, under which tree you caught them conversing together.” He said, “Under an evergreen oak tree.”


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And Daniel said to him, “Truly, you also have lied against your own head. For the angel of the Lord waits, holding a sword, to cut you down the middle and put you to death.”


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And then the entire assembly cried out in a loud voice, and they blessed God, who saves those who hope in him.


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And they rose up against the two appointed elders, (for Daniel had convicted them, by their own mouth, of bearing false witness,) and they did to them just as they had wickedly done against their neighbor,


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so as to act according to the law of Moses. And they put them to death, and innocent blood was saved on that day.


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But Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter, Susanna, with Joakim, her husband, and all her relatives, because there had been found in her no disgrace.


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Now there was an idol with the Babylonians named Bel. And each day there was expended on him twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine.


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The king likewise worshipped him and went each day to adore him, but Daniel adored his God. And the king said to him, “Why do you not adore Bel?”


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And answering, he said to him, “Because I do not worship idols made with hands, but the living God, who created heaven and earth, and who holds power over all flesh.”


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And the king said to him, “Does not Bel seem to you to be a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?”


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Then Daniel said, smiling, “O king, do not make a mistake, for this one is clay on the inside and brass on the outside, and he has never eaten.”


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And the king, being angry, called for his priests and said to them, “If you do not tell me who it is that has eaten these expenses, you will die.


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But if you can show that Bel has eaten these, Daniel will die, because he has blasphemed against Bel.” And Daniel said to the king, “Let it be according to your word.”


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Now the priests of Bel were seventy, besides their wives, and little ones, and sons. And the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel.


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And the priests of Bel said, “Behold, we are going out, and you, O king, set out the meats, and mix the wine, and close the door, and seal it with your ring.


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And when you have entered in the morning, if you have not found that Bel has consumed all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel will, who has lied against us.”


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But they had no concern because they had made a secret entrance under the table, and they always went in through it and devoured those things.


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And so it happened, after they had departed, that the king set the foods before Bel, and Daniel commanded his servants, and they brought ashes, and he sifted them throughout the temple in the sight of the king, and, as they left, they shut the door, and after sealing it with the king’s ring, they departed.


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But the priests entered by night, according to their custom, with their wives, and their sons, and they ate and drank everything.


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And as soon as he had opened the door, the king stared at the table, and cried out with a loud voice, “Great are you, O Bel, and there is not any deceit with you.”


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And Daniel laughed, and he held back the king, so that he would not enter, and he said, “Look at the pavement, notice whose footsteps these are.”


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Then he apprehended the priests, and their wives, and their sons, and they showed him the secret doors through which they entered and consumed the things that were on the table.


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Therefore, the king slaughtered them and delivered Bel into the power of Daniel, who overturned him and his temple.


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And the king said to Daniel, “Behold, now you cannot say that this is not a living god; therefore, adore him.”


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And Daniel said, “I adore the Lord, my God, for he is the living God. But that one is not a living god.


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Therefore, you give me the power, O king, and I will execute this dragon without sword or club.” And the king said, “I give it to you.”


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And so Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and cooked them together. And he made lumps and put them into the dragon’s mouth, and the dragon burst open. And he said, “Behold, this is what you worship.”


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When the Babylonians had heard this, they were greatly indignant. And gathering together against the king, they said, “The king has become a Jew. He has destroyed Bel, he has executed the dragon, and he has slaughtered the priests.”


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And when they came to the king, they said, “Deliver Daniel to us, otherwise we will execute you and your house.”


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Thus the king saw that they pressured him vehemently, and so, being compelled by necessity, he delivered Daniel to them.


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Furthermore, in the den there were seven lions, and they had given to them two carcasses every day, and two sheep, but then they were not given to them, so that they would devour Daniel.


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Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habakkuk, and he had cooked a small meal and had broken bread in a bowl, and he was going into the field, to bring it to the harvesters.


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And the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, “Carry the meal that you have into Babylon, to Daniel, who is in the lions’ den.”


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And the angel of the Lord seized him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon, over the den, by the force of his spirit.


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And Daniel arose and ate. And then the angel of the Lord immediately returned Habakkuk to his place.


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And so, on the seventh day, the king came to morn Daniel. And he came to the den, and gazed in, and behold, Daniel was sitting in the midst of the lions.


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And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Great are you, O Lord, the God of Daniel.” And he pulled him out of the lions’ den.


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Furthermore, those who had been the cause of his downfall, he hurled into the den, and they were devoured in a moment before him.


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Then the king said, “Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth fear the God of Daniel. For he is the Savior, working signs and miracles on earth, who has freed Daniel from the lions’ den.”


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


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The beginning of the Lord’s conversation with Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea: “Go, take to yourself a wife of fornications, and make for yourself sons of fornications, because, by fornicating, the land will fornicate away from the Lord.”


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And the Lord said to him: “Call his name Jezreel because, after a little while, I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put the kingdom of the house of Israel to rest.


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And after a while, she conceived and bore a daughter. And he said to him: “Call her name, Without Mercy, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly forget them.


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Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. And I will not save them by bow and sword and battle and horses and horsemen.”


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And the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which is without measure and cannot be numbered. And in the place where it will be said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ this will happen: it will be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’


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And the sons of Judah, and the sons of Israel, will be gathered together. And they will place over themselves one head, and they will rise up from the earth, for great is the day of Jezreel.”


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Judge your mother, judge: for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove her fornications from before her face and her adulteries from between her breasts.


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Otherwise, I may expose her nakedness and set her as on the day of her birth, and I may establish her as a wilderness and set her as an impassable land, and I may execute her with thirst.


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For their mother has been fornicating; she who conceived them has been brought to ruin. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’


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Because of this, behold, I will fence in your way with thorns, and I will surround it with a wall, and she will not find her paths.


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And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not obtain them, and she will seek them, but she will not find them, and she will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, because it was to some extent better for me then, than it is now.’


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And she did not know that I gave her grain and wine and oil, and that I increased her silver and gold, which they made into Baal.


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For this reason, I will turn back, and I will take away my grain in its time and my wine in its time, and I will set free my wool and my flax, which had covered her disgrace.


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And now, I will reveal her foolishness by the eyes of her lovers, and no man will rescue her from my hand.


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And I will cause all her joy to cease: her solemnities, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her feast dates.


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And I will corrupt her vines and her fig trees, about which she said, ‘These rewards, they are mine, my lovers have given them to me.’ And I will place her in a narrow forest, and the beasts of the field will devour her.


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And I will inflict on her the days of the Baals, for whom she burned incense, and ornamented herself with earrings and necklace, and went after her lovers, and forgot about me,” says the Lord.


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“Because of this, behold, I will attract her, and I will lead her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart.


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And I will give to her, from the same place, her vinedressers, and the valley of Achor as a passage of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the days of her ascension from the land of Egypt.


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And it will be in that day,” says the Lord, “that she will call me, ‘My Husband,’ and she will no longer call me, ‘My Baal.’


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And I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and she will no longer remember their name.


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And in that day, I will strike a deal with them, with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creatures of the earth. And I will crush the bow and the sword, and I will wipe away war from the earth. And I will let them sleep securely.


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And I will betroth you to me forever, and I will betroth you to me in justice and judgment, and in mercy and compassion.


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And this will happen in that day: I will listen closely,” says the Lord. “I will hear the heavens, and they will hear the earth.


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And the land will pay attention to the grain, and the wine, and the oil; and these will hear Jezreel.


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And I will plant her for me in the land, and I will have mercy on her, though she had been called Without Mercy.


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And the Lord said to me: “Go yet again, and love a woman, beloved by a friend, yet an adulteress, for so does the Lord love the sons of Israel, yet they look to strange gods, and love the seeds of grapes.”


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And I contracted her to me for fifteen silver coins, and for a basket of barley, and half a basket of barley.


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And I said to her, “You will wait for me for many days. You will not commit fornication, and you will not be with a man. But I also will wait for you.”


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For the sons of Israel will sit for many days without a king, and without a leader, and without sacrifice, and without altar, and without priestly vestments, and without religious symbols.


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And after this, the sons of Israel will return, and they will seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they will be terrified by the Lord and by his goodness, in the last days.


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Listen to the word of the Lord, sons of Israel, for the Lord is judge of the inhabitants of the land. Yet there is no truth, and there is no mercy, and there is no knowledge of God, in the land.


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Slander, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed, and bloodshed has brought more bloodshed.


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Because of this, the land will mourn, and all who dwell in it will languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. And the fishes of the sea also will be gathered together.


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So, truly, let each and every one not judge, and let no man be accused, for your people are just like those who speak against the priesthood.


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And you will be ruined on this day, and now the prophet will be ruined with you. In the night, I have made your mother to be silent.


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My people have become silent because they had no knowledge. Since you have rejected knowledge, I will drive you away; you do not perform the duties of the priesthood for me, and you have forgotten the law of your God, and so I will forget your sons.


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According to the multitude of them, so have they sinned against me. I will change their glory into disgrace.


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And, just as it is with the people, so will it be with the priest; and I will visit their ways upon them, and I will repay them for their intentions.


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And they will eat and not be satisfied. They have been committing fornication, and they did not cease. Since they have abandoned the Lord, they will not be safeguarded.


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My people have inquired of their stave, and their staff has announced to them. For the spirit of fornication has deceived them, and they have been fornicating before their God.


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They have offered sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burnt incense on the hills, under the oak, and the poplar, and the terebinth tree, because its shadow was good; therefore, your daughters will commit fornication and your spouses will be adulteresses.


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I will not send afflictions on your daughters, when they will commit fornication, nor on your spouses, when they will commit adultery, because you yourselves have associated with harlots and have offered sacrifice with the effeminate, and because the people who do not understand will be defeated.


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If you commit fornication, Israel, at least let Judah not commit offenses; and do not be willing to enter into Gilgal, nor to ascend to Bethaven, and neither should you swear, “As the Lord lives.”


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For Israel has gone astray like a wanton heifer; so now the Lord will pasture them like a young lamb in a wide expanse.


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Their feasting has been set aside; they have committed fornication after fornication. They love to bring disgrace to their protectors.


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Hear this, priests, and pay attention, house of Israel, and listen closely, house of the king. For there is a judgment against you, because you have become a trap for those you watched over, and a net stretched out over Tabor.


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I know Ephraim, and Israel has not been hidden from me, yet now Ephraim has committed fornication, and Israel has been contaminated.


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They will not set their thoughts to return to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.


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And the arrogance of Israel will answer to his face. And Israel and Ephraim will fall in their iniquity, and even Judah will fall with them.


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With their flocks and their herds, they will go to seek the Lord, and they will not find him. He has taken himself away from them.


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They have sinned against the Lord. For they have conceived sons that are strangers. Now one month will devour them with all their own.


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Ephraim will be in desolation on the day of correction, for within the tribes of Israel, I have revealed faith.


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The leaders of Judah have become like those who assume the end. I will pour my wrath over them like water.


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Ephraim has been enduring malicious slander and broken judgment, because he began to go after filth.


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And Ephraim saw his own weakness, and Judah his chains. And Ephraim went to Assur, and he sent to the Avenging king. But he will not be able to heal you, nor is he able to release you from your chains.


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For I will be like a lioness to Ephraim, and like a lion’s offspring to the house of Judah. I myself will seize and go forth. I will take away, and there is no one who can rescue.


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He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, and we will live in his sight. We will understand, and we will continue on, so that we may know the Lord. His landing place has been prepared like the first light of morning, and he will come to us like the early and the late rains of the land.


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What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your mercy is like the morning mist, and like the dew passing away in the morning.


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Because of this, I have cut them with the prophets, I have slain them with the words of my mouth; and your opinions will depart like the light.


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And, like those who rob with skillful words, they, by conspiring with the priests, bring a death sentence to travelers on a pilgrimage from Shechem; for they have been performing evil deeds.


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I have seen horrible things in the house of Israel; the fornications of Ephraim are there. Israel has been contaminated.


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When I was willing to heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the malice of Samaria, for they had been manufacturing lies. And the thief steals from inside, the robber from outside.


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And, so that they may not say in their hearts that I am the one who has called to mind all of their wickedness: now their own inventions have encircled them. These things have happened in my presence.


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They are all adulterers; like an oven heating up before baking, the city rested a little before the leaven was mixed in, until the whole was leavened.


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On the day of our king, the leaders began to be mad with wine; he extended his hand with those who fabricate illusions.


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For they have used their heart like an oven, while he laid snares for them; he slept through the night baking them, and by morning he himself was heated like a burning fire.


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They have all become hot like an oven, and they have devoured their judges. All their kings have fallen. There is no one who calls to me among them.


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Ephraim himself has been mingled with the nations. Ephraim has become like bread, baked under ashes, that has not been turned over.


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Strangers have devoured his strength, and he did not know it. And grey hairs also have spread across him, and he is ignorant of it.


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And the pride of Israel will be brought low before his face, for they have not returned to the Lord their God, nor have they sought him in all of this.


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And Ephraim has become like a pigeon that has been led astray, not having a heart; for they called upon Egypt, they went to the Assyrians.


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And when they will set out, I will spread my net over them. I will pull them down like the birds of the sky; I will cut them down in accordance with the reports of their meetings.


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Woe to them, for they have withdrawn from me. They will waste away because they have been dishonest with me. And I redeemed them, and they have spoken lies against me.


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And they have not cried out to me in their heart, but they howled on their beds. They have obsessed about wheat and wine; they have withdrawn from me.


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They returned so that they might be without a yoke. They have become like a deceitful bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of the madness of their words. This is their derision in the land of Egypt.


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Let there be a trumpet in your throat, like an eagle over the house of the Lord, on behalf of those who have transgressed my covenant and violated my law.


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They have reigned, but not by me. Leaders have emerged, and I did not recognize them. Their silver and their gold, they have made into idols for themselves, so that they might cross over.


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Your calf, Samaria, has been rejected. My fury has been enraged against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed?


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For it is itself also from Israel: a workman made it, and it is not God. For the calf of Samaria will be used for the webs of spiders.


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For they will sow wind and reap a whirlwind. It does not have a firm stalk; the bud will yield no grain. But if it does yield, strangers will eat it.


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For they have gone up to Assur, a wild ass alone by himself. Ephraim has given presents to his lovers.


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But even when they will have brought the nations together for the sake of money, now I will assemble them. And they will rest for a little while from the burden of the king and the leaders.


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They will offer victims, they will immolate flesh and will eat, and the Lord will not accept them. For now he will remember their iniquity, and he will repay their sins: they will be turned back to Egypt.


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And Israel has forgotten his Maker and has built shrines. And Judah has increased its fortified cities. And I will send fire upon his cities, and it will devour its structures.


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Do not choose to rejoice, Israel; do not celebrate as the crowds do. For you have been committing fornication against your God; you have loved a prize upon every threshing floor of wheat.


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They will not dwell in the land of the Lord. Ephraim has been returned to Egypt, and he has eaten polluted things among the Assyrians.


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They will not offer a libation of wine to the Lord, and they will not please him. Their sacrifices will be like the bread of mourners. All those who eat it will be defiled. For their bread is of their soul; it will not enter into the house of the Lord.


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For, behold, they have been sent away by devastation. Egypt will gather them together; Memphis will bury them. Nettles will inherit their desired silver; the burr will be in their tabernacles.


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The days of visitation have arrived; the days of retribution are here. Know this, Israel: that the prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, because of the multitude of your iniquities and the great extent of your foolishness.


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The watcher of Ephraim was with my God. The prophet has become a snare of ruin over all his ways; insanity is in the house of his God.


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They have sinned profoundly, just as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity, and he will repay their sin.


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I discovered Israel like grapes in the desert. Like the first fruits of the fig tree, I saw their fathers on the end of its branches. But they went in to Baal-peor, and they have been estranged by intermingling, and they have became abominable, just like the things that they chose to love.


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Ephraim has chased away their glory like a bird: from birth, and from the womb, and from conception.


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And even if they should nurture their sons, I will make them without children among men. Yes, and woe to them, when I have withdrawn from them.


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All their wickedness is in Gilgal, for I held them there, in their hatred. Because of the malice of their inventions, I will expel them from my house. I will no longer say that I love them; all their leaders have retreated.


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Ephraim has been struck; their root has been dried out: by no means will they yield fruit. And even if they should conceive, I will execute the most beloved of their womb.


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My God will cast them aside because they have not listened to him; and they will be wanderers among the nations.


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Israel is a leafy vine, its fruit has been suitable to him. According to the multitude of his fruit, he has multiplied altars; according to the fertility of his land, he has abounded with graven images.


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His heart has been divided, so now they will cross the divide. He will break apart their images; he will plunder their sanctuaries.


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For now they will say, “We have no king. For we do not fear the Lord. And what would a king do for us?”


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You speak words about a useless vision, and you will strike a deal. And judgment will spring up like bitterness in the furrows of the field.


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The inhabitants of Samaria have worshipped the calf of Bethaven. For the keepers of its temple, who had exulted over it in its glory, and its people, have mourned over it because it migrated from there.


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If, indeed, it also has been offered to Assur, as a gift for the Avenging king, confusion will seize Ephraim, and Israel will be confounded by his own will.


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And the heights of the idol, the sin of Israel, will be utterly destroyed. The burr and the thistle will rise up over their altars. And they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us,’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us.’


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From the days of Gibeah, Israel has sinned; in this, they remained firm. The battle in Gibeah against the sons of iniquity will not take hold of them.


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According to my desire, I will correct them. And the peoples will be gathered together over them, while they are chastised for their two iniquities.


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Ephraim is a heifer that has been taught to love treading out the grain, but I passed over the beauty of her neck. I will rise over Ephraim. Judah will plough; Jacob will break up the soil for himself.


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Sow for yourselves in justice, and harvest in the mouth of mercy; renew your fallow land. But the time when you will seek the Lord is the time when he will arrive who will teach you justice.


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You have ploughed impiety; you have harvested iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of lies. For you had confidence in your ways, in the multitude of your good fortunes.


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A tumult will arise among your people. And all your fortifications will be laid waste, just as Salman was destroyed by the house of him that judged Baal on the day of the battle, the mother having been crushed against her sons.


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Just as the morning passes, so has the king of Israel passed by. For Israel was a child and I loved him; and out of Egypt I called my son.


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They called them, and so they departed before their face. They offered victims to the Baals, and they sacrificed to graven images.


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And I was like a foster father to Ephraim. I carried them in my arms. And they did not know that I healed them.


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I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of love. And I will be to them like one who raises the yoke over their jaws. And I will reach down to him so that he may eat.


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He will not return to the land of Egypt, but Assur himself will be the king over him, because they were not willing to be converted.


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And my people will long for my return. But a yoke will be imposed on them together, which will not be taken away.


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How will I provide for you, Ephraim; how will I protect you, Israel? How will I provide for you as for Adam; will I set you like Zeboiim? My heart has changed within me; together with my regret, it has been stirred up.


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I will not act on the fury of my wrath. I will not turn back to utterly destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Divine in your midst, and I will not advance upon the city.


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They will walk after the Lord; he will roar like a lion. For he himself will roar, and the sons of the sea will dread.


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And they will fly like a bird out of Egypt, and like a dove from the land of the Assyrians. And I will arrange them in their own houses, says the Lord.


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Ephraim has besieged me with denials, and the house of Israel with deceit. But Judah went down as a witness before God and the holy ones of faith.


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Ephraim feeds on wind and follows burning heat; all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he has entered into a pact with the Assyrians, and he has carried oil into Egypt.


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Therefore, the judgment of the Lord is with Judah and a visitation is upon Jacob. He will repay him according to his ways and according to his inventions.


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And he prevailed over an angel, for he had been strengthened. He wept and petitioned him. He found him in Bethel, and there he has spoken to us.


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And Ephraim has said, “Nevertheless, I have become rich; I have found an idol for myself. All of my labors will not reveal to me the iniquity that I have committed.”


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And I, the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, nevertheless will cause you to dwell in tabernacles, just as during the days of the feast.


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And I have spoken through the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and I have used parables through the hands of the prophets.


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If Gilead is an idol, then they have been sacrificing cattle in Gilgal to no purpose. For even their altars are like clutter on the soil of the field.


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Ephraim has provoked me to wrath with his bitterness, and his blood will overcome him, and his Lord will requite him for his shamefulness.


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And now they add that they will be sinning more. And they have made themselves an image cast from their silver, just like the image of idols; but the whole thing has been made by craftsmen. These say to them, “Sacrifice men, you who adore calves.”


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For this reason, they will be like the morning clouds, and like the morning dew that passes away, just like the dust that is driven by a whirlwind away from the threshing floor, and like the smoke from a chimney.


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But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt, and you will not know God apart from me, and there is no Savior except me.


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According to their pastures, they have been filled up and have been satisfied. And they have lifted up their heart, and they have forgotten me.


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I will run to meet them like a bear that has been robbed of her young, and I will split open the middle of their liver. And I will devour them there like a lion; the beast of the field will tear them apart.


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Where is your king? Now, especially, let him save you in all your cities, and from your judges, about whom you said, “Give me kings and princes.”


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The pains of giving birth will reach him. He is an unwise son. For now he will not remain firm during the contrition of his sons.


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I will free them from the hand of death; from death I will redeem them. Death, I will be your death. Hell, I will be your deadly wound. Consolation is hidden from my eyes.


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For he will make a division among brothers. The Lord will bring a burning wind, rising up from the desert, and it will dry up his streams, and it will make his fountain desolate, and he will tear apart every collection of desirable useful things.


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Let Samaria perish, because she has urged her God towards bitterness. Let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be thrown down, and let their pregnant women be cut in two.


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Take these words with you and return to the Lord. And say to him, “Remove all iniquity and accept the good. And we will repay the calves of our lips.


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Assur will not save us; we will not ride on horses. Neither will we say any more, ‘The works of our hands are our gods,’ for those that are in you will have mercy on the orphan.”


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I will heal their contrition; I will love them spontaneously. For my wrath has been turned away from them.


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I will be like the dew; Israel will spring forth like the lily, and his root will spread out like that of the cedars of Lebanon.


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His branches will advance, and his glory will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance will be like that of the cedars of Lebanon.


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They will be converted, sitting in his shadow. They will live on wheat, and they will grow like a vine. His memorial will be like the wine of the cedars of Lebanon.


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Ephraim will say, “What are idols to me any more?” I will listen to him, and I will set him straight like a healthy spruce tree. Your fruit has been found by me.


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Who is wise and will understand this? Who has understanding and will know these things? For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just will walk in them, but truly, the traitors will fall in them.


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Listen to this, elders, and pay close attention, all inhabitants of the land. Did this ever happen in your days or in the days of your fathers?


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Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.


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The locust has eaten what the caterpillar has left, and the beetle has eaten what the locust has left, and the mildew has eaten what the beetle has left.


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Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth.


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For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.


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He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white.


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Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.


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The region has been depopulated, the soil has mourned. For the wheat has been devastated, the wine has been disfigured, the oil has languished.


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The farmers have been confounded, the vineyard workers have wailed over the crop and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.


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The vineyard is in ruin, and the fig tree has languished. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fruit tree, and all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has been thrown into disorder before the sons of men.


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Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God.


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Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:


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“Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.


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Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?


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The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.


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Why have the animals groaned, the herds of cattle bellowed? because there is no pasture for them. Yes, and even the flocks of sheep have been lost.


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To you, O Lord, I will cry out, because fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the countryside.


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Yes, and even the beasts of the field have gazed up at you, like the dry ground thirsting for rain, because the fountains of waters have dried up, and fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness.


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Blow the trumpet in Zion, wail on my holy mountain, let all the inhabitants of the land be stirred up. For the day of the Lord is on its way; for it is near:


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a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and whirlwinds. Like the morning reaching over the mountains, they are a numerous and strong people. Nothing like them has existed since the beginning, nor will exist after them, even in the years of generation upon generation.


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Before their face is a devouring fire, and behind them is a burning flame. The land before them is like a lush garden, and behind them is a desolate desert, and there is no one who can escape them.


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Like the sound of a four-horse chariot, they will leap over the tops of the mountains. Like the sound of a burning flame devouring stubble, they are as a strong people prepared for battle.


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Before their face, the people will be tortured; each one’s appearance will retreat, as if into a jar.


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They will rush forward, as if they were strong. Like valiant warriors, they will ascend the wall. The men will advance, each one on his own way, and they will not turn aside from their path.


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And each one will not hem in his brother; every one will walk in his own rough path. Moreover, they will drop through the breach and not be harmed.


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They will advance into the city; they will rush through the wall. They will scale the houses; they will go in through the windows, like a thief.


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Before their face, the earth has trembled, the heavens have been moved. The sun and moon have been obscured, and the stars have retracted their splendor.


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And the Lord has bestowed his voice before the face of his army. For its military camps are very numerous; for they are strong and they carry out his word. For the day of the Lord is great and so very terrible, and who can withstand it?


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Now, therefore, the Lord says: “Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning.”


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And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and convert to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful, patient and full of compassion, and steadfast despite ill will.


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Who knows if he might convert and forgive, and bequeath a blessing after him, a sacrifice and a libation to the Lord your God?


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Gather the people, sanctify the church, unite the elders, gather together the little ones and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom depart from his bed, and the bride from her bridal chamber.


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Between the vestibule and the altar, the priests, the ministers of the Lord, will weep, and they will say: “Spare, O Lord, spare your people. And do not bequeath your inheritance into disgrace, so that the nations would rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”


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And the Lord responded, and he said to his people: “Behold, I will send you grain and wine and oil, and you will again be filled with them. And I will no longer give you disgrace among the Gentiles.


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And he who is from the North, I will drive far from you. And I will expel him into an impassable land, and into the desert, with his face opposite the Eastern sea, and his furthest part towards the furthest sea. And his stench will ascend, and his rottenness will ascend, because he has acted arrogantly.


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Animals of the countryside, do not be afraid. For the beauty of the wilderness has sprung forth. For the tree has borne its fruit. The fig tree and the vine have bestowed their virtue.


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And you, sons of Zion, exult and rejoice in the Lord your God. For he has given you a teacher of justice, and he will make the early and the late rains descend to you, just as it was in the beginning.


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And the threshing floors will be filled with grain, and the presses will overflow with wine and oil.


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And I will repay you for the years which the locust, and the beetle, and the mildew, and the caterpillar consumed: my great strength which I sent upon you.


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And you will eat with enjoyment, and you will be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked miracles with you, and my people will not be confounded forever.


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And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other, and my people will not be confounded forever.


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And after this, it will happen that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your elders will dream dreams, and your youths will see visions.


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The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall arrive.


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And it will happen that everyone who will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. For on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and in the remnant whom the Lord will call, there will be salvation, just as the Lord has said.


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For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will have converted the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,


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I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And there I will dispute with them over my people, and over Israel, my inheritance, for they have scattered them among the nations and have divided my land.


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And they have cast lots over my people; and the boy they have placed in the brothel, and the girl they have sold for wine, so that they might drink.


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Truly, what is there between you and me, Tyre and Sidon and all the distant places of the Philistines? How will you take vengeance on me? And if you were to revenge yourselves against me, I would deliver a repayment to you, quickly and soon, upon your head.


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For you have carried away my silver and gold. And my desirable and most beautiful, you have taken into your shrines.


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And you, sons of Judah and sons of Jerusalem, you have sold the sons of the Greeks, so that you might drive them far from their own territory.


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Behold, I will raise them up from the place into which you have sold them, and I will turn back your retribution on your own head.


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And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.


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Proclaim this among the Gentiles: “Sanctify a war, raise up the strong. Approach, ascend, all men of war.


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Break out and advance, all nations of the world, and gather together. There the Lord will cause all your strong ones to meet death.”


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Let them arise and ascend to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit, so as to judge all the nations of the world.


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Send forth the sickles, because the harvest has matured. Advance and descend, for the press is full, the pressing room is overflowing. For their malice has been increasing.


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Nations, nations in the valley of being cut to pieces: for the day of the Lord fittingly takes place in the valley of being cut to pieces.


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And the Lord will roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the sons of Israel.


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And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not cross through it anymore.


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And it will happen, in that day, that the mountains will drip sweetness, and the hills will flow with milk. And the waters will pass through all the rivers of Judah. And a fountain will go forth from the house of the Lord, and it will irrigate the desert of thorns.


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Egypt will be in desolation, and Edom will be a wilderness destroyed, because of what they have unfairly done to the sons of Judah, and because they have shed innocent blood in their land.


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


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And he said: The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem he will utter his voice. And the beautiful pastures have mourned, and the top of Carmel has become dry.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Damascus, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have threshed Gilead into iron wagons.


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And I will shatter the crowbar of Damascus, and I will destroy the inhabitants of the camp of the idol and the holder of the scepter of the house of pleasure; and the people of Syria will be transferred to Cyrene, says the Lord.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Gaza, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have carried out an excellent captivity, so as to enclose them in Idumea.


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And I will destroy the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the holder of the scepter of Ashkelon. And I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remainder of the Philistines will perish, says the Lord God.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Tyre, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have completed an excellent captivity in Idumea and have not considered the bond among brothers.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Edom, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has been pursuing his brother with the sword and has outraged his brother’s compassion, and he has gone beyond his anger and has held onto his indignation until the end.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of the sons of Ammon, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has cut up the pregnant women of Gilead, so as to expand his limits.


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And I will ignite a fire on the wall of Rabbah. And it will devour its buildings, with wailing on the day of war, and with a whirlwind on the day of commotion.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Moab, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has burned the bones of the king of Idumea, all the way to ashes.


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And I will send a fire onto Moab, and it will devour the buildings of Kerioth. And Moab will die with a noise, with the blare of a trumpet.


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And I will destroy the judge in their midst, and I will execute all his leaders with him, says the Lord.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Judah, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has rejected the law of the Lord and has not kept his commandments. For their idols, which their fathers followed, have deceived them.


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Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Israel, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has sold the just for silver and the poor for shoes.


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They grind the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and they divert the way of the humble. And the son, as well as his father, have gone to the same girl, so that they outrage my holy name.


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And they have lain on garments taken in pledge next to every altar. And they drank the wine of the damned in the house of their God.


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Yet I exterminated the Amorites before their face, whose height was like the height of cedars, and whose strength was like the oak. And I crushed his fruit from above and his roots below.


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It is I who caused you to ascend from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness for forty years, so that you might possess the land of the Amorite.


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And I stirred up prophets from your sons, and Nazirites from your young men. Is it not so, sons of Israel, says the Lord?


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Yet you would offer wine to the Nazirites, and you would command the prophets, saying: “Do not prophesy.”


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And flight will perish from the swift, and the strong will not maintain his strength, and the healthy will not save his life.


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And one holding the bow will not stand firm, and the swift of foot will not be saved, and the rider on the horse will not save his life.


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Listen to the word which the Lord has spoken about you, sons of Israel, concerning the whole family that I led out of the land of Egypt, saying:


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I have known only you in such a way, out of all the families of the earth. For this reason, I will visit upon you all your iniquities.


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Will a lion roar in the forest, unless he has prey? Will the lion’s young cry out from his den, unless he has taken something?


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Will a bird fall into a snare on the ground, if there is no bird-catcher? Will a snare be taken away from the ground, before it has caught something?


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Will the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not become frightened? Will there be disaster in a city, which the Lord has not done?


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For the Lord God does not fulfill his word, unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets.


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Let it be heard in the buildings of Ashdod and in the buildings of the land of Egypt, and say: Gather together across the mountains of Samaria, and see the many absurdities in its midst, and those who are suffering false accusations in its inner most places.


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And they do not know how to make it right, says the Lord, storing up iniquity and plunder in their buildings.


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Because of these things, thus says the Lord God: The land will be encircled and squeezed together. And your strength will be drawn away from you, and your buildings will be torn apart.


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Thus says the Lord: Just as if a shepherd had rescued two legs from the mouth of a lion, or the tip of an ear, so also will the sons of Israel be rescued, who dwell in the sick bed of Samaria, and in the cot of Damascus.


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that in the day, when I will begin to visit the betrayals of Israel, I will visit upon him and upon the altars of Bethel. And the horns of the altars will be cut off and will fall to the ground.


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And I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and many buildings will be torn apart, says the Lord.


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Listen to this word, you fat cows that are on the mountain of Samaria, you who make false accusations against the destitute and crush the poor, who say to your nobles, “Bring, and we will drink.”


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The Lord God has sworn in his holiness: behold, the days that will overcome you and that will impale you on poles, and that will place what remains of you in boiling pots.


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And you will go out through the breaches, one over another, and you will be cast out into Harmon, says the Lord.


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Come to Bethel and behave impiously, to Gilgal and increase betrayals. And bring daybreak to your victims, your tithes in three days.


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And offer a sacrifice of praise with leaven. And call for voluntary oblations, and announce it. For such is your will, sons of Israel, says the Lord God.


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Therefore, because of this, I have given you dull teeth in every one of your cities, and a lack of bread in all your places. And you have not been turned back towards me, says the Lord.


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Therefore, I have withheld the rains from you, when there were still three months left until the harvest. And I rained on one city, and I did not rain on another city; one part was rained on, and the part on which I did not rain, dried out.


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And two and three cities went to one city, in order to drink water, and they were not satisfied. And you did not return to me, says the Lord.


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I struck you with a burning wind and with yellowing; the caterpillar has consumed your many gardens and your vineyards, your olive groves and your fig groves. And you did not return to me, says the Lord.


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I sent death to you by way of Egypt; I struck your youths with the sword, even bringing captivity to your horses. And I made the stench of your camp ascend into your nostrils. And you did not return to me, says the Lord.


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I overturned you, just as God overturned Sodom and Gomorrah, and you became like an ember seized from the fire. And you did not return to me, says the Lord.


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Because of this, I will do these things to you, Israel. But after I have done these things to you, Israel, be prepared to meet your God.


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For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind and announces his speech to man, who makes the morning mist and steps over the heights of the earth: the Lord God of hosts is his name.


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Listen to this word, which I lift over you in lamentation. The house of Israel has fallen, and it will no longer rise again.


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For thus says the Lord God: In the city from which a thousand departed, a hundred will remain, and in that from which a hundred departed, ten will remain, in the house of Israel.


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But do not be willing to seek Bethel, and do not be willing to enter Gilgal, and you will not cross into Beer-sheba. For Gilgal will be led into captivity, and Bethel will be useless.


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Seek the Lord and live. Otherwise, the house of Joseph may be destroyed with fire, and it will devour, and there will be no one who can extinguish Bethel.


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The Maker of Arcturus and Orion, who turns darkness into daybreak and who changes day into night; who calls forth the waters of the sea and who pours them out over the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.


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They held hatred for the one who corrects at the gate, and they have abhorred the one who speaks perfectly.


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Therefore, on his behalf, because you have torn apart the poor and stolen choice prey from him: you will build houses with square stones and you will not dwell in them; you will plant the most delightful vineyards, and you will not drink wine from them.


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For I know your many wicked deeds and the strength of your sins, you enemies of the just, accepting bribes, and depriving the poor at the gate.


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Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. And the Lord God of hosts will be with you, just as you have asked.


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Hate evil and love good, and establish judgment at the gate. Perhaps then the Lord God of hosts may have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.


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Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Sovereign: In all the streets, there will be wailing. And in every place where they are outdoors, they will say, “Woe, woe!” And they will call the farmer to mourn, and those who know mourning to lamentation.


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Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord. What is it to you? The day of the Lord is this: darkness and not light.


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It is as if a man flees from the face of a lion, only to have a bear meet him; or, he enters a house and leans with his hand against the wall, only to have a snake bite him.


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For if you offer me holocausts and your gifts, I will not receive them; and I will not look upon the vows of your fatness.


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And you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch and the image of your idols: the star of your god, which you made for yourselves.


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And I will cause you to go into captivity across Damascus, says the Lord. The God of hosts is his name.


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Woe to you who have been wealthy in Zion, and to you who have confidence in the mountain of Samaria: aristocrats, heads of the people, who advance with a retinue into the house of Israel.


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Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there into Hamath the great, and descend into Gath of the Philistines, and to the best kingdoms of these, if their limits are wider than your limits.


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You sleep on beds of ivory, and you are lustful on your couches. You devour lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.


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You sing to the sound of stringed instruments; they consider themselves to have the musical abilities of David.


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You drink wine in bowls, and you anoint with the best ointments; and they suffer nothing over the grief of Joseph.


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Because of this, now they will depart at the head of those who go into captivity; and the faction of the lustful will be removed.


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The Lord God has sworn by his own soul, the Lord God of hosts says: I detest the arrogance of Jacob, and I hate his houses, and I will hand over the city with its inhabitants.


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And his closest relative will steal him away and will burn him, so that he may carry the bones out of the house. And he will say to him that is in the inner most rooms of the house, “Now is there any left that still belongs to you?”


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And he will answer, “It is finished.” And he will say to him, “Be silent and do not call to mind the name of the Lord.”


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For behold, the Lord has commanded, and he will strike the greater house with catastrophes, and the lesser house with divisions.


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Can horses gallop across rocks, or is anyone able to plough with gazelles? For you have turned judgment into bitterness and the fruit of justice into wormwood.


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For behold, house of Israel, I will raise up a people over you, says the Lord God of hosts, and they will crush you from the entrance of Hamath all the way to the burning of the desert.


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These things the Lord God has revealed to me. And behold, the locust was formed at the beginning of the germination during the latter rains, and behold, the latter rains came after the thundering of the king.


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And it happened, when they had finally eaten all the grass in the land, that I said, “Lord God, be gracious, I beg you. Who will raise up Jacob, for he is little?”


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These things the Lord God has revealed to me. And behold, the Lord God called for judgment unto fire, and it devoured the manifold abyss, and it consumed simultaneously in every direction.


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These things the Lord revealed to me. And behold, the Lord was standing near a plastered wall, and in his hand was a mason’s trowel.


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And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A mason’s trowel.” And the Lord said, “Behold, I will place the trowel in the midst of my people Israel. I will no longer plaster over them.


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And the heights of the idol will be demolished, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be desolate. And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”


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And Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying: “Amos has rebelled against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to withstand all his sermons.


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For Amos says this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will be taken captive out of their own land.’ ”


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And Amaziah said to Amos, “You, seer, go out and flee into the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there.


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And in Bethel, do not prophesy any longer, because it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is the house of the kingdom.”


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And Amos responded, and he said to Amasias, “I am not a prophet, and I am not the son of a prophet, but I am a herdsman plucking from wild fig trees.


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And the Lord took me, when I was following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ ”


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And now, hear the word of the Lord: You say, “You will not prophesy about Israel, and you will not rain your words upon the house of the idol.”


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Because of that, the Lord says this: “Your wife will fornicate in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, and your soil will be measured with a string. And you will die on polluted land, and Israel will be taken into captivity out of their land.”


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And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A hook to draw down fruit.” And the Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel. I will no longer pass through them.”


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And the hinges of the temple will creak in that day, says the Lord God. Many will die. Silence will be thrown away in all places.


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You say, “When will the first day of the month be over, so we can sell our wares, and the sabbath, so we can open the grain: in order that we may decrease the measure, and increase the price, and substitute deceitful scales,


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in order that we may possess the destitute with money, and the poor for a pair of shoes, and may sell even the refuse of the grain?”


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Will not the earth shudder over this, and all its inhabitants mourn, and all rise up like a river, and be cast out, and flow away like the river of Egypt?


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And it will be in that day, says the Lord God, that the sun will decline at midday, and I will cause the earth to become dark on the day of light.


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And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your hymns into lamentation. And I will put sackcloth over every one of your backs, and baldness on every head. And I will begin it like the mourning for an only-begotten son, and complete it like a bitter day.


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Behold, the days pass, says the Lord, and I will send a famine on the earth: not a famine of bread, nor of thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.


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And they will move even from sea to sea, and from the North all the way to the East. They will wander around seeking the word of the Lord, and they will not find it.


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They swear by the offense of Samaria, and they say, “As your God lives, Dan,” and “The way of Beer-sheba lives.” And they will fall, and they will not rise up any more.


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I saw the Lord standing over an altar, and he said: “Strike the hinges, and let the lintels be shaken. For there is avarice at the head of them all, and I will execute the very last of them with the sword. There will be no escape for them. They will flee, and he who flees from among them will not be saved.


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If they descend even to the underworld, from there my hand will draw them out; and if they ascend even to the sky, from there will I pull them down.


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And if they were hiding at the top of Carmel, when searching there, I would steal them away, and if they conceal themselves from my eyes in the depths of the sea, I will command the serpent there and he will bite them.


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And if they go into captivity in the sight of their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. And I will set my eyes over them for harm and not for good.”


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And the Lord God of hosts, he touches the earth and it will melt. And all who dwell in it will mourn. And everyone will rise up like a river, and will flow away like the river of Egypt.


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He establishes his ascension into heaven, and he has founded his bundle on the earth. He calls the waters of the ocean, and pours them over the face of the earth. The Lord is his name.


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Sons of Israel, are you not like the sons of the Ethiopians to me, says the Lord? Did I not cause Israel to rise up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines out of Cappadocia, and the Syrians out of Cyrene?


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Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinning kingdom, and I will wipe it from the face of the earth. Though truly, when destroying, I will not wipe away the house of Jacob, says the Lord.


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For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as wheat is sifted in a sieve. And not even one small stone will fall to the ground.


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All the sinners of my people will die by the sword. They say, “Disaster will not come near us, and it will not overcome us.”


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In that day, I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which is fallen. And I will repair the breaches in its walls, and I will restore that which collapsed. And I will rebuild it, just as in the days of antiquity,


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so that they may possess the remnant of Idumea and all the nations, for my name has been invoked over them, says the Lord who does this.


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Behold, the days pass, says the Lord, and the plower will overtake the harvester, and the treader of grapes will overtake the sower of seed. And the mountains will drip sweetness, and every hill will be cultivated.


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And I will turn back the captivity of my people Israel. And they will rebuild the deserted cities and inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and drink their wine. And they will create gardens and eat their fruits.


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And I will plant them on their own soil. And I will no longer root them out of their own land, which I have given them, says the Lord your God.


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The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God to Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent an envoy to the nations: “Arise, and let us together rise up in battle against him.”


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The arrogance of your heart has lifted you up, living in the clefts of the rocks, exalting your throne. You say in your heart, “Who will pull me down to the ground?”


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Though you have been lifted high like an eagle, and though you have placed your nest among the stars, from there I will pull you down, says the Lord.


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If thieves had approached you, if robbers by night, how would you have remained unnoticed? Would they not have stolen all that they wanted? If the grape-pickers had approached you, would they not have left you at least a cluster?


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They have sent you out all the way to the limit. All the men of your alliance have deceived you. Your men of peace have prevailed against you. Those who eat with you will place snares under you. There is no foresight in him.


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Shall I not, in that day, says the Lord, wipe away understanding from Idumea and foresight from the mount of Esau?


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Because of the execution, and because of the iniquity against your brother Jacob, confusion will cover you, and you will pass away into eternity.


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In the day when you stood against him, when strangers seized his army, and foreigners entered into his gates, and they cast lots over Jerusalem: you also were just like one of them.


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But you shall not show disdain for the day of your brother in the day of his sojourn. And you shall not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their perdition. And you shall not magnify your mouth in the day of anguish.


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And neither shall you enter into the gate of my people in the day of their ruin. And neither shall you also show disdain for his troubles in the day of his desolation. And you shall not send out against his army in the day of his desolation.


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Neither shall you stand at the exits to execute those who will flee. And you shall not enclose their remnant in the day of tribulation.


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For the day of the Lord is near, over all nations. Just as you have done, so will it be done to you. He will turn back your retribution on your own head.


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For in the manner that you drank on my holy mountain, so shall all nations drink continually. And they will drink, and they will absorb, and they will be as if they were not.


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And on mount Zion there will be salvation, and it will be holy. And the house of Jacob will possess those who had possessed them.


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And the house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble. And they will be set on fire among them, and they will devour them. And there will be no remnant of the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.


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And those who are towards the South, and who are in the camps of the Philistines, will inherit the mount of Esau. And they will possess the region of Ephraim, and the region of Samaria. And Benjamin will possess Gilead.


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And the exiles of this army of the sons of Israel, all the places of the Canaanites all the way to Sarepta, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Bosphoro, will possess the cities of the South.


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And the saviors will ascend to mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau. And the kingdom will be for the Lord.


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Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes.


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And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord.


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But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed.


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And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep.


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And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, “Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.”


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And a man said to his shipmate, “Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.


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And they said to him: “Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?”


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And he said to them, “I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”


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And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “Why have you done this?” (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.)


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And they said to him, “What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?” For the sea flowed and swelled.


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And he said to them, “Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”


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And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them.


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And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, “We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.”


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And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.


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And he said: “I cried out to the Lord from my tribulation, and he heeded me. From the belly of hell, I cried out, and you heeded my voice.


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And you have thrown me into the deep, in the heart of the sea, and a flood has encircled me. All your whirlpools and your waves have passed over me.


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And I said: I am expelled from the sight of your eyes. Yet, truly, I will see your holy temple again.


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The waters surrounded me, even to the soul. The abyss has walled me in. The ocean has covered my head.


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I descended to the base of the mountains. The bars of the earth have enclosed me forever. And you will raise up my life from corruption, Lord, my God.


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When my soul was in anguish within me, I called to mind the Lord, so that my prayer might come to you, to your holy temple.


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But I, with a voice of praise, will sacrifice to you. I will repay whatever I have vowed to the Lord, because of my salvation.”


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And Jonah rose, and he went to Nineveh in accordance with the word of the Lord. And Nineveh was a great city of three days’ journey.


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And Jonah began to enter into the city one day’s journey. And he cried out and said, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.”


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And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least.


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And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe from himself and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes.


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And he cried out and spoke: “In Nineveh, from the mouth of the king and of his princes, let it be said: Men and beasts and oxen and sheep may not taste anything. Neither shall they feed or drink water.


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And let men and beasts be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry out to the Lord with strength, and may man be converted from his evil way, and from the iniquity that is in their hands.


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Who knows if God may turn and forgive, and may turn away from his furious wrath, so that we might not perish?”


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And God saw their works, that they had been converted from their evil way. And God took pity on them, concerning the harm that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.


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And he prayed to the Lord, and he said, “I beg you, Lord, was this not my word, when I was still in my own land? Because of this, I knew beforehand to flee into Tarshish. For I know that you are a lenient and merciful God, patient and great in compassion, and forgiving despite ill will.


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And Jonah went out of the city, and he sat opposite the east of the city. And he made himself a shelter there, and he was sitting under it in the shadow, until he might see what would befall the city.


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And the Lord God prepared an ivy, and it ascended over the head of Jonah so as to be a shadow over his head, and to protect him (for he had labored hard). And Jonah rejoiced because of the ivy, with great rejoicing.


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And God prepared a worm, when dawn approached on the next day, and it struck the ivy, and it dried up.


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And when the sun had risen, the Lord ordered a hot and burning wind. And the sun beat down on the head of Jonah, and he burned. And he petitioned for his soul that he might die, and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”


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And the Lord said to Jonah, “Do you really think that you are right to be angry because of the ivy?” And he said, “I am right to be angry even unto death.”


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And the Lord said, “You grieve for the ivy, for which you have not labored and which you did not cause to grow, though it had been born during one night, and during one night perished.


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And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand men, who know the difference between their right and their left, and many beasts?”


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The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Moreshethite, in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.


