92 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
92 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 42
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1 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
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He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
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I have put my Spirit upon him.
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He will bring justice to the nations.
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2 He will not shout
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or raise his voice in public.
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3 He will not crush the weakest reed
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or put out a flickering candle.
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He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
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4 He will not falter or lose heart
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until justice prevails throughout the earth.
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Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”
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5 God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
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He created the earth and everything in it.
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He gives breath to everyone,
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life to everyone who walks the earth.
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And it is he who says,
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6 “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
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I will take you by the hand and guard you,
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and I will give you to my people, Israel,
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as a symbol of my covenant with them.
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And you will be a light to guide the nations.
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7 You will open the eyes of the blind.
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You will free the captives from prison,
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releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
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8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
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I will not give my glory to anyone else,
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nor share my praise with carved idols.
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9 Everything I prophesied has come true,
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and now I will prophesy again.
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I will tell you the future before it happens.”
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10 Sing a new song to the Lord!
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Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
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Sing, all you who sail the seas,
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all you who live in distant coastlands.
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11 Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
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let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
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Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
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shout praises from the mountaintops!
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12 Let the whole world glorify the Lord;
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let it sing his praise.
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13 The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero;
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he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
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He will shout his battle cry
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and crush all his enemies.
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14 He will say, “I have long been silent;
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yes, I have restrained myself.
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But now, like a woman in labor,
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I will cry and groan and pant.
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15 I will level the mountains and hills
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and blight all their greenery.
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I will turn the rivers into dry land
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and will dry up all the pools.
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16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
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guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
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I will brighten the darkness before them
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and smooth out the road ahead of them.
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Yes, I will indeed do these things;
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I will not forsake them.
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17 But those who trust in idols,
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who say, ‘You are our gods,’
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will be turned away in shame.
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18 “Listen, you who are deaf!
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Look and see, you blind!
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19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
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Who is as deaf as my messenger?
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Who is as blind as my chosen people,
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the servant of the Lord?
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20 You see and recognize what is right
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but refuse to act on it.
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You hear with your ears,
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but you don’t really listen.”
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21 Because he is righteous,
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the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
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22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
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enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
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They are fair game for anyone
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and have no one to protect them,
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no one to take them back home.
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23 Who will hear these lessons from the past
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and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
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24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
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It was the Lord, against whom we sinned,
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for the people would not walk in his path,
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nor would they obey his law.
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25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
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and destroyed them in battle.
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They were enveloped in flames,
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but they still refused to understand.
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They were consumed by fire,
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but they did not learn their lesson. |