73 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
73 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 9
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1 O people of Israel,
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do not rejoice as other nations do.
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For you have been unfaithful to your God,
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hiring yourselves out like prostitutes,
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worshiping other gods on every threshing floor.
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2 So now your harvests will be too small to feed you.
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There will be no grapes for making new wine.
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3 You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land.
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Instead, you will return to Egypt,
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and in Assyria you will eat food
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that is ceremonially unclean.
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4 There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord.
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None of your sacrifices there will please him.
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They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning.
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All who present such sacrifices will be defiled.
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They may eat this food themselves,
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but they may not offer it to the Lord.
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5 What then will you do on festival days?
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How will you observe the Lord’s festivals?
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6 Even if you escape destruction from Assyria,
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Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis will bury you.
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Nettles will take over your treasures of silver;
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thistles will invade your ruined homes.
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7 The time of Israel’s punishment has come;
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the day of payment is here.
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Soon Israel will know this all too well.
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Because of your great sin and hostility,
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you say, “The prophets are crazy
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and the inspired men are fools!”
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8 The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God,
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yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes.
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He faces hostility even in the house of God.
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9 The things my people do are as depraved
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as what they did in Gibeah long ago.
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God will not forget.
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He will surely punish them for their sins.
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10 The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you,
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it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert.
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When I saw your ancestors,
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it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season.
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But then they deserted me for Baal-peor,
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giving themselves to that shameful idol.
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Soon they became vile,
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as vile as the god they worshiped.
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11 The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird,
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for your children will not be born
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or grow in the womb
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or even be conceived.
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12 Even if you do have children who grow up,
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I will take them from you.
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It will be a terrible day when I turn away
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and leave you alone.
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13 I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre.
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But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”
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14 O Lord, what should I request for your people?
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I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth
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and breasts that give no milk.
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15 The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal;
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there I began to hate them.
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I will drive them from my land
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because of their evil actions.
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I will love them no more
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because all their leaders are rebels.
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16 The people of Israel are struck down.
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Their roots are dried up,
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and they will bear no more fruit.
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And if they give birth,
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I will slaughter their beloved children.”
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17 My God will reject the people of Israel
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because they will not listen or obey.
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They will be wanderers,
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homeless among the nations. |