| 章 |
| 57:1 |
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.
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| 57:2 |
Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
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| 57:3 |
"But you--come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
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| 57:4 |
Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars?
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| 57:5 |
You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.
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| 57:6 |
The idols among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; they, they are your lot. Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In the light of these things, should I relent?
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| 57:7 |
You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices.
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| 57:8 |
Behind your doors and your doorposts you have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide; you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked on their nakedness.
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| 57:9 |
You went to Molech with olive oil and increased your perfumes. You sent your ambassadors far away; you descended to the grave itself!
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| 57:10 |
You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, `It is hopeless. 'You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint.
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| 57:11 |
"Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me?
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| 57:12 |
I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.
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| 57:13 |
When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain."
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| 57:14 |
And it will be said: "Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."
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| 57:15 |
For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
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| 57:16 |
I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me-- the breath of man that I have created.
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| 57:17 |
I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways.
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| 57:18 |
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
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| 57:19 |
creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."
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| 57:20 |
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.
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| 57:21 |
"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."
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