145 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
145 lines
2.8 KiB
Markdown
The LORD's Judgment against Israel
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# Chapter 10
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1. How prosperous Israel is--
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a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit.
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But the richer the people get,
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the more pagan altars they build.
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The more bountiful their harvests,
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the more beautiful their sacred pillars.
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2. The hearts of the people are fickle;
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they are guilty and must be punished.
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The LORD will break down their altars
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and smash their sacred pillars.
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3. Then they will say, "We have no king
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because we didn't fear the LORD.
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But even if we had a king,
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what could he do for us anyway?"
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4. They spout empty words
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and make covenants they don't intend to keep.
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So injustice springs up among them
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like poisonous weeds in a farmer's field.
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5. The people of Samaria tremble in fear
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for their calf idol at Beth-aven,
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and they mourn for it.
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Though its priests rejoice over it,
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its glory will be stripped away.
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6. This idol will be carted away to Assyria,
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a gift to the great king there.
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Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed,
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because its people have trusted in this idol.
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7. Samaria and its king will be cut off;
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they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave.
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8. And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel's sin, will crumble.
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Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars.
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They will beg the mountains, "Bury us!"
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and plead with the hills, "Fall on us!"
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9. The LORD says, "O Israel, ever since Gibeah,
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there has been only sin and more sin!
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You have made no progress whatsoever.
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Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked?
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10. Now whenever it fits my plan,
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I will attack you, too.
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I will call out the armies of the nations
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to punish you for your multiplied sins.
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11. "Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain--
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an easy job she loves.
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But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
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I will force Judah to pull the plow
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and Israel to break up the hard ground.
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12. I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
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and you will harvest a crop of love.
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Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
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for now is the time to seek the LORD,
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that he may come
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and shower righteousness upon you.'
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13. "But you have cultivated wickedness
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and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
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You have eaten the fruit of lies--
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trusting in your military might,
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believing that great armies
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could make your nation safe.
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14. Now the terrors of war
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will rise among your people.
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All your fortifications will fall,
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just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel.
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Even mothers and children
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were dashed to death there.
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15. You will share that fate, Bethel,
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because of your great wickedness.
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When the day of judgment dawns,
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the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
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