128 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
128 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 6
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1 “Run for cover
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out of Jerusalem, Benjaminites.
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Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa;
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raise a smoke signal over Beth-haccherem,
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for disaster threatens from the north,
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even a crushing blow.
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2 Though she is beautiful and delicate,
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I will destroy Daughter Zion.
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3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
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they will pitch their tents all around her.
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Each will pasture his own portion.
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4 Set them apart for war against her;
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rise up, let’s attack at noon.
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Woe to us, for the day is passing;
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the evening shadows grow long.
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5 Rise up, let’s attack by night.
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Let’s destroy her fortresses.”
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6 For this is what the Lord of Armies says:
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Cut down the trees;
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raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
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This city must be punished.
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There is nothing but oppression within her.
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7 As a well gushes out its water,
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so she pours out her evil.
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Violence and destruction resound in her.
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Sickness and wounds keep coming to my attention.
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8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
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or I will turn away from you;
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I will make you a desolation,
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a land without inhabitants.
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9 This is what the Lord of Armies says:
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Glean the remnant of Israel
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as thoroughly as a vine.
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Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer
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over the branches.
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10 Who can I speak to and give such a warning
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that they will listen?
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Look, their ear is uncircumcised,
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so they cannot pay attention.
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See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them—
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they find no pleasure in it.
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11 But I am full of the Lord’s wrath;
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I am tired of holding it back.
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Pour it out on the children in the street,
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on the gathering of young men as well.
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For both husband and wife will be captured,
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the old with the very old.
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12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
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their fields and wives as well,
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for I will stretch out my hand
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against the inhabitants of the land.
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This is the Lord’s declaration.
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13 For from the least to the greatest of them,
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everyone is making profit dishonestly.
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From prophet to priest,
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everyone deals falsely.
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14 They have treated my people’s brokenness superficially,
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claiming, “Peace, peace,”
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when there is no peace.
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15 Were they ashamed when they acted so detestably?
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They weren’t at all ashamed.
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They can no longer feel humiliation.
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Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
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When I punish them, they will collapse,
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says the Lord.
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16 This is what the Lord says:
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Stand by the roadways and look.
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Ask about the ancient paths,
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“Which is the way to what is good?”
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Then take it
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and find rest for yourselves.
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But they protested, “We won’t!”
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17 I appointed watchmen over you
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and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.”
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But they protested, “We won’t listen!”
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18 Therefore listen, you nations
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and you witnesses,
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learn what the charge is against them.
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19 Listen, earth!
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I am about to bring disaster on these people,
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the fruit of their own plotting,
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for they have paid no attention to my words.
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They have rejected my instruction.
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20 What use to me is frankincense from Sheba
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or sweet cane from a distant land?
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Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
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your sacrifices do not please me.
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21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
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I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
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fathers and sons together will stumble over them;
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friends and neighbors will also perish.
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22 This is what the Lord says:
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Look, an army is coming from a northern land;
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a great nation will be stirred up
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from the remote regions of the earth.
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23 They grasp bow and javelin.
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They are cruel and show no mercy.
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Their voice roars like the sea,
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and they ride on horses,
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lined up like men in battle formation
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against you, Daughter Zion.
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24 We have heard about it,
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and our hands have become weak.
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Distress has seized us—
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pain, like a woman in labor.
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25 Don’t go out to the fields;
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don’t walk on the road.
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For the enemy has a sword;
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terror is on every side.
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26 My dear people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
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and roll in the dust.
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Mourn as you would for an only son,
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a bitter lament,
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for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.
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27 I have appointed you to be an assayer among my people—
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a refiner—
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so you may know and assay their way of life.
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28 All are stubborn rebels
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spreading slander.
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They are bronze and iron;
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all of them are corrupt.
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29 The bellows blow,
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blasting the lead with fire.
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The refining is completely in vain;
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the evil ones are not separated out.
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30 They are called rejected silver,
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for the Lord has rejected them. |