95 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
95 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 2
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1 “In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’
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2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
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for she is no longer my wife,
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and I am no longer her husband.
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Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
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and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
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3 Otherwise, I will strip her as naked
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as she was on the day she was born.
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I will leave her to die of thirst,
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as in a dry and barren wilderness.
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4 And I will not love her children,
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for they were conceived in prostitution.
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5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute
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and became pregnant in a shameful way.
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She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
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and sell myself to them for food and water,
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for clothing of wool and linen,
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and for olive oil and drinks.’
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6 “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.
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I will block her path with a wall
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to make her lose her way.
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7 When she runs after her lovers,
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she won’t be able to catch them.
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She will search for them
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but not find them.
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Then she will think,
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‘I might as well return to my husband,
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for I was better off with him than I am now.’
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8 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
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the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
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I even gave her silver and gold.
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But she gave all my gifts to Baal.
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9 “But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine
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I generously provided each harvest season.
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I will take away the wool and linen clothing
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I gave her to cover her nakedness.
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10 I will strip her naked in public,
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while all her lovers look on.
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No one will be able
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to rescue her from my hands.
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11 I will put an end to her annual festivals,
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her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—
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all her appointed festivals.
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12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees,
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things she claims her lovers gave her.
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I will let them grow into tangled thickets,
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where only wild animals will eat the fruit.
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13 I will punish her for all those times
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when she burned incense to her images of Baal,
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when she put on her earrings and jewels
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and went out to look for her lovers
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but forgot all about me,”
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says the Lord.
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14 “But then I will win her back once again.
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I will lead her into the desert
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and speak tenderly to her there.
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15 I will return her vineyards to her
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and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.
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She will give herself to me there,
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as she did long ago when she was young,
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when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
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16 When that day comes,” says the Lord,
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“you will call me ‘my husband’
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instead of ‘my master.’
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17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
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and you will never mention them again.
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18 On that day I will make a covenant
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with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky
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and the animals that scurry along the ground
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so they will not harm you.
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I will remove all weapons of war from the land,
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all swords and bows,
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so you can live unafraid
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in peace and safety.
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19 I will make you my wife forever,
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showing you righteousness and justice,
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unfailing love and compassion.
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20 I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
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and you will finally know me as the Lord.
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21 “In that day, I will answer,”
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says the Lord.
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“I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.
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And the sky will answer the earth with rain.
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22 Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries
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of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees.
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And they in turn will answer,
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‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’
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23 At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites
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and raise them for myself.
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I will show love
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to those I called ‘Not loved.’
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And to those I called ‘Not my people,’
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I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’
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And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’” |