| 章 |
| 6:1 |
Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem; for evil looms out of the north, and great destruction.
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| 6:2 |
I have likened daughter Zion to the loveliest pasture.
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| 6:3 |
Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her. They shall pitch their tents around her; they shall pasture, all in their places.
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| 6:4 |
"Prepare war against her; up, and let us attack at noon!""Woe to us, for the day declines, the shadows of evening lengthen!"
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| 6:5 |
"Up, and let us attack by night, and destroy her palaces!"
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| 6:6 |
For thus says the LORD of hosts: Cut down her trees; cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.
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| 6:7 |
As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her wickedness; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.
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| 6:8 |
Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation, an uninhabited land.
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| 6:9 |
Thus says the LORD of hosts: Glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel; like a grape-gatherer, pass your hand again over its branches.
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| 6:10 |
To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? See, their ears are closed, they cannot listen. The word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
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| 6:11 |
But I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary of holding it in. Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the gatherings of young men as well; both husband and wife shall be taken, the old folk and the very aged.
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| 6:12 |
Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD.
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| 6:13 |
For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
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| 6:14 |
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
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| 6:15 |
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination; yet they were not ashamed, they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD.
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| 6:16 |
Thus says the LORD: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."
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| 6:17 |
Also I raised up sentinels for you: "Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!" But they said, "We will not give heed."
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| 6:18 |
Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
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| 6:19 |
Hear, O earth; I am going to bring disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not given heed to my words; and as for my teaching, they have rejected it.
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| 6:20 |
Of what use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.
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| 6:21 |
Therefore thus says the LORD: See, I am laying before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; parents and children together, neighbor and friend shall perish.
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| 6:22 |
Thus says the LORD: See, a people is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
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| 6:23 |
They grasp the bow and the javelin, they are cruel and have no mercy, their sound is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, equipped like a warrior for battle, against you, O daughter Zion!
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| 6:24 |
"We have heard news of them, our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
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| 6:25 |
Do not go out into the field, or walk on the road; for the enemy has a sword, terror is on every side."
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| 6:26 |
O my poor people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only child, most bitter lamentation: for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
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| 6:27 |
I have made you a tester and a refiner among my people so that you may know and test their ways.
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| 6:28 |
They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron, all of them act corruptly.
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| 6:29 |
The bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed.
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| 6:30 |
They are called "rejected silver," for the LORD has rejected them.
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