253 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
253 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
Jerusalem's Last Warning
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# Chapter 6
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1. "Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin!
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Get out of Jerusalem!
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Sound the alarm in Tekoa!
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Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem!
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A powerful army is coming from the north,
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coming with disaster and destruction.
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2. O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter--
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but I will destroy you!
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3. Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city.
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Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.
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4. They shout, 'Prepare for battle!
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Attack at noon!'
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'No, it's too late; the day is fading,
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and the evening shadows are falling.'
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5. 'Well then, let's attack at night
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and destroy her palaces!'"
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6. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says:
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"Cut down the trees for battering rams.
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Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem.
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This is the city to be punished,
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for she is wicked through and through.
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7. She spouts evil like a fountain.
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Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
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I always see her sickness and sores.
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8. Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
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or I will turn from you in disgust.
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Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
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a land where no one lives."
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9. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says:
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"Even the few who remain in Israel
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will be picked over again,
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as when a harvester checks each vine a second time
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to pick the grapes that were missed."
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Judah's Constant Rebellion
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10. To whom can I give warning?
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Who will listen when I speak?
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Their ears are closed,
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and they cannot hear.
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They scorn the word of the LORD.
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They don't want to listen at all.
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11. So now I am filled with the LORD's fury.
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Yes, I am tired of holding it in!
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"I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
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and on gatherings of young men,
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on husbands and wives
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and on those who are old and gray.
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12. Their homes will be turned over to their enemies,
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as will their fields and their wives.
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For I will raise my powerful fist
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against the people of this land,"
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says the LORD.
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13. "From the least to the greatest,
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their lives are ruled by greed.
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From prophets to priests,
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they are all frauds.
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14. They offer superficial treatments
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for my people's mortal wound.
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They give assurances of peace
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when there is no peace.
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15. Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?
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Not at all--they don't even know how to blush!
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Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
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They will be brought down when I punish them,"
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says the LORD.Judah Rejects the LORD's Way
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16. This is what the LORD says:
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"Stop at the crossroads and look around.
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Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
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Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
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But you reply, 'No, that's not the road we want!'
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17. I posted watchmen over you who said,
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'Listen for the sound of the alarm.'
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But you replied,
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'No! We won't pay attention!'
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18. "Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
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Take note of my people's situation.
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19. Listen, all the earth!
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I will bring disaster on my people.
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It is the fruit of their own schemes,
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because they refuse to listen to me.
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They have rejected my word.
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20. There's no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba.
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Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands!
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I will not accept your burnt offerings.
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Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me."
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21. Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
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"I will put obstacles in my people's path.
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Fathers and sons will both fall over them.
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Neighbors and friends will die together."
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An Invasion from the North
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22. This is what the LORD says:
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"Look! A great army coming from the north!
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A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands.
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23. They are armed with bows and spears.
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They are cruel and show no mercy.
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They sound like a roaring sea
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as they ride forward on horses.
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They are coming in battle formation,
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planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem."
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24. We have heard reports about the enemy,
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and we wring our hands in fright.
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Pangs of anguish have gripped us,
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like those of a woman in labor.
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25. Don't go out to the fields!
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Don't travel on the roads!
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The enemy's sword is everywhere
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and terrorizes us at every turn!
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26. Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap
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and sit among the ashes.
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Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son.
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For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!
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27. "Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals,
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that you may determine the quality of my people.
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28. They are the worst kind of rebel,
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full of slander.
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They are as hard as bronze and iron,
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and they lead others into corruption.
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29. The bellows fiercely fan the flames
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to burn out the corruption.
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But it does not purify them,
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for the wickedness remains.
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30. I will label them 'Rejected Silver,'
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for I, the LORD, am discarding them."
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