132 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
132 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 2
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1 The Lord in his anger
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has cast a dark shadow over beautiful Jerusalem.
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The fairest of Israel’s cities lies in the dust,
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thrown down from the heights of heaven.
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In his day of great anger,
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the Lord has shown no mercy even to his Temple.
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2 Without mercy the Lord has destroyed
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every home in Israel.
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In his anger he has broken down
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the fortress walls of beautiful Jerusalem.
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He has brought them to the ground,
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dishonoring the kingdom and its rulers.
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3 All the strength of Israel
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vanishes beneath his fierce anger.
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The Lord has withdrawn his protection
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as the enemy attacks.
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He consumes the whole land of Israel
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like a raging fire.
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4 He bends his bow against his people,
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as though he were their enemy.
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His strength is used against them
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to kill their finest youth.
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His fury is poured out like fire
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on beautiful Jerusalem.
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5 Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel
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like an enemy.
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He has destroyed her palaces
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and demolished her fortresses.
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He has brought unending sorrow and tears
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upon beautiful Jerusalem.
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6 He has broken down his Temple
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as though it were merely a garden shelter.
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The Lord has blotted out all memory
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of the holy festivals and Sabbath days.
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Kings and priests fall together
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before his fierce anger.
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7 The Lord has rejected his own altar;
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he despises his own sanctuary.
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He has given Jerusalem’s palaces
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to her enemies.
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They shout in the Lord’s Temple
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as though it were a day of celebration.
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8 The Lord was determined
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to destroy the walls of beautiful Jerusalem.
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He made careful plans for their destruction,
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then did what he had planned.
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Therefore, the ramparts and walls
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have fallen down before him.
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9 Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground.
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He has smashed their locks and bars.
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Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands;
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her law has ceased to exist.
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Her prophets receive
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no more visions from the Lord.
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10 The leaders of beautiful Jerusalem
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sit on the ground in silence.
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They are clothed in burlap
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and throw dust on their heads.
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The young women of Jerusalem
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hang their heads in shame.
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11 I have cried until the tears no longer come;
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my heart is broken.
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My spirit is poured out in agony
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as I see the desperate plight of my people.
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Little children and tiny babies
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are fainting and dying in the streets.
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12 They cry out to their mothers,
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“We need food and drink!”
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Their lives ebb away in the streets
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like the life of a warrior wounded in battle.
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They gasp for life
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as they collapse in their mothers’ arms.
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13 What can I say about you?
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Who has ever seen such sorrow?
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O daughter of Jerusalem,
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to what can I compare your anguish?
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O virgin daughter of Zion,
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how can I comfort you?
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For your wound is as deep as the sea.
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Who can heal you?
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14 Your prophets have said
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so many foolish things, false to the core.
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They did not save you from exile
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by pointing out your sins.
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Instead, they painted false pictures,
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filling you with false hope.
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15 All who pass by jeer at you.
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They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying,
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“Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’
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and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”
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16 All your enemies mock you.
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They scoff and snarl and say,
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“We have destroyed her at last!
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We have long waited for this day,
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and it is finally here!”
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17 But it is the Lord who did just as he planned.
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He has fulfilled the promises of disaster
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he made long ago.
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He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy.
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He has caused her enemies to gloat over her
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and has given them power over her.
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18 Cry aloud before the Lord,
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O walls of beautiful Jerusalem!
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Let your tears flow like a river
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day and night.
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Give yourselves no rest;
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give your eyes no relief.
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19 Rise during the night and cry out.
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Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.
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Lift up your hands to him in prayer,
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pleading for your children,
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for in every street
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they are faint with hunger.
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20 “O Lord, think about this!
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Should you treat your own people this way?
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Should mothers eat their own children,
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those they once bounced on their knees?
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Should priests and prophets be killed
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within the Lord’s Temple?
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21 “See them lying in the streets—
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young and old,
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boys and girls,
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killed by the swords of the enemy.
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You have killed them in your anger,
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slaughtering them without mercy.
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22 “You have invited terrors from all around,
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as though you were calling them to a day of feasting.
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In the day of the Lord’s anger,
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no one has escaped or survived.
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The enemy has killed all the children
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whom I carried and raised.” |