213 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
213 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
God's Relationship with His People
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# Chapter 31
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1. "At that time"--this is
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the Lord's declaration--"I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people."
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2. This is what
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the Lord says:
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The people who survived the sword
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found favor in the wilderness.
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When Israel went to find rest,
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3.
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the Lord appeared to him from far away.
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I have loved you with an everlasting love;
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therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.
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4. Again I will build you so that you will be rebuilt,
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Virgin Israel.
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You will take up your tambourines again
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and go out in joyful dancing.
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5. You will plant vineyards again
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on the mountains of Samaria;
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the planters will plant and will enjoy the fruit.
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6. For there will be a day when watchmen will call out
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in the hill country of Ephraim,
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"Come, let's go up to Zion,
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to
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the Lord our God!"
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God's People Brought Home
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7. For this is what
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the Lord says:
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Sing with joy for Jacob;
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shout for the foremost of the nations!
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Proclaim, praise, and say,
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"Lord, save your people,
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the remnant of Israel!"
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8. Watch! I am going to bring them from the northern land.
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I will gather them from remote regions of the earth--
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the blind and the lame will be with them,
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along with those who are pregnant and those about to give birth.
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They will return here as a great assembly!
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9. They will come weeping,
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but I will bring them back with consolation.
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I will lead them to wadis filled with water,
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by a smooth way where they will not stumble,
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for I am Israel's Father,
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and Ephraim is my firstborn.
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10. Nations, hear the word of
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the Lord,
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and tell it among the far off coasts and islands!
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Say, "The one who scattered Israel will gather him.
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He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,
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11. for
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the Lord has ransomed Jacob
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and redeemed him from the power of one stronger than he."
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12. They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
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they will be radiant with joy
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because of
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the Lord's goodness,
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because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,
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and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
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Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
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and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
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13. Then the young women will rejoice with dancing,
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while young and old men rejoice together.
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I will turn their mourning into joy,
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give them consolation,
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and bring happiness out of grief.
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14. I will refresh the priests with an abundance,
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and my people will be satisfied with my goodness.
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This is
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the Lord's declaration.
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Lament Turned to Joy
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15. This is what
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the Lord says:
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A voice was heard in Ramah,
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a lament with bitter weeping--
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Rachel weeping for her children,
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refusing to be comforted for her children
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because they are no more.
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16. This is what
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the Lord says:
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Keep your voice from weeping
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and your eyes from tears,
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for the reward for your work will come--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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and your children will return from the enemy's land.
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17. There is hope for your future--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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and your children will return to their own territory.
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18. I have surely heard Ephraim moaning,
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"You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
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like an untrained calf.
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Take me back, so that I can return,
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for you, Lord, are my God.
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19. After my return, I felt regret;
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After I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief.
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I was ashamed and humiliated
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because I bore the disgrace of my youth."
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20. Isn't Ephraim a precious son to me,
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a delightful child?
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Whenever I speak against him,
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I certainly still think about him.
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Therefore, my inner being yearns for him;
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I will truly have compassion on him.
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This is
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the Lord's declaration.
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Repentance and Restoration
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21. Set up road markers for yourself;
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establish signposts!
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Keep the highway in mind,
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the way you have traveled.
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Return, Virgin Israel!
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Return to these cities of yours.
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22. How long will you turn here and there,
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faithless daughter?
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For
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the Lord creates something new in the land--
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a female will shelter a man.
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23. This is what
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the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: "When I restore their fortunes, they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: 'May
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the Lord bless you, righteous settlement, holy mountain.'
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24. Judah and all its cities will live in it together--also farmers and those who move with the flocks--
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25. for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak."
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26. At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
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27. "Look, the days are coming"--this is
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the Lord's declaration--"when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and the seed of animals.
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28. Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I watch over them to build and to plant them"--this is
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the Lord's declaration.
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29. "In those days, it will never again be said,
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'The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
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and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
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30. Rather, each will die for his own iniquity. Anyone who eats sour grapes--his own teeth will be set on edge.
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The New Covenant
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31. "Look, the days are coming"--this is
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the Lord's declaration--"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
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32. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt--my covenant that they broke even though I am their master"--
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the Lord's declaration.
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33. "Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days"--
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the Lord's declaration. "I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
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34. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, 'Know
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the Lord,' for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them"--this is
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the Lord's declaration. "For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.
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35. "This is what
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the Lord says:
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The one who gives the sun for light by day,
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the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night,
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who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar--
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the Lord of Armies is his name:
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36. If this fixed order departs from before me--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration--
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only then will Israel's descendants cease
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to be a nation before me forever.
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37. "This is what
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the Lord says:
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Only if the heavens above can be measured
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and the foundations of the earth below explored,
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will I reject all of Israel's descendants
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because of all they have done--
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this is
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the Lord's declaration.
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38. "Look, the days are coming"--
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the Lord's declaration--"when the city from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for
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the Lord.
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39. A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah.
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40. The whole valley--the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east--will be holy
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to
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the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again."
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