114 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
Israel Must Leave Babylon
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# Chapter 48
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1. "Listen to this, house of Jacob--
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those who are called by the name Israel
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and have descended from Judah,
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who swear by the name of the Lord
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and declare the God of Israel,
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but not in truth or righteousness.
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2. For they are named after the holy city,
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and lean on the God of Israel;
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his name is the Lord of Armies.
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3. I declared the past events long ago;
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they came out of my mouth; I proclaimed them.
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Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
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4. Because I know that you are stubborn,
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and your neck is iron
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and your forehead bronze,
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5. therefore I declared to you long ago.
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I announced it to you before it occurred,
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so you could not claim, 'My idol caused them;
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my carved image and cast idol control them.'
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6. You have heard it. Observe it all.
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Will you not acknowledge it?
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From now on I will announce new things to you,
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hidden things that you have not known.
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7. They have been created now, and not long ago;
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you have not heard of them before today,
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so you could not claim, 'I already knew them!'
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8. You have never heard; you have never known;
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for a long time your ears have not been open.
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For I knew that you were very treacherous,
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and were known as a rebel from birth.
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9. I will delay my anger for the sake of my name,
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and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise,
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so that you will not be destroyed.
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10. Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;
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I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
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11. I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own,
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for how can I be defiled?
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I will not give my glory to another.
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12. "Listen to me, Jacob,
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and Israel, the one called by me:
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I am he; I am the first,
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I am also the last.
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13. My own hand founded the earth,
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and my right hand spread out the heavens;
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when I summoned them,
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they stood up together.
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14. All of you, assemble and listen!
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Who among the idols has declared these things?
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The Lord loves him;
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he will accomplish his will against Babylon,
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and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
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15. I--I have spoken;
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yes, I have called him;
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I have brought him,
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and he will succeed in his mission.
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16. Approach me and listen to this.
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From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;
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from the time anything existed, I was there."
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And now the Lord God
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has sent me and his Spirit.
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17. This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
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I am the Lord your God,
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who teaches you for your benefit,
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who leads you in the way you should go.
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18. If only you had paid attention to my commands.
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Then your peace would have been like a river,
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and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
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19. Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,
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and the offspring of your body like its grains;
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their name would not be cut off
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or eliminated from my presence.
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20. Leave Babylon,
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flee from the Chaldeans!
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Declare with a shout of joy,
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proclaim this,
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let it go out to the end of the earth;
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announce,
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"
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The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!"
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21. They did not thirst
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when he led them through the deserts;
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he made water flow from the rock for them;
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he split the rock, and water gushed out.
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22. "There is no peace for the wicked,"
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says the Lord.
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