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171 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
171 lines
6.6 KiB
Plaintext
\s5
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\c 4
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\q1
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\v 1 Yahweh says, "You Israelite people, if you come back to anyone, it should be to me.
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\q2 If you get rid of those detestable idols,
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\q2 if you do not go away from me again,
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\q1
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\v 2 and if you declare, 'Just as surely as Yahweh lives,'
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\q1 when you take your oaths,
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\q2 and if you are truthful, just, and righteous,
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\q1 then the people in the other nations of the world
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\q1 will ask me to bless them as I have blessed you,
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\q1 and they will all come and honor me."
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\p
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\v 3 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and the other cities in Judah,
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\q1 "Cause your inner beings to be ready to receive my messages
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\q2 like farmers plow up hard ground in order that they can plant seed in it.
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\q1 Just as farmers do not waste good seed by sowing seeds among thorny plants,
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\q2 I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 4 Show that your inner beings and your minds are devoted to me.
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\q2 If you do not do that, my being angry with you
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\q2 because of all the sins that you have committed
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\q2 will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.
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\q1
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\v 5 Declare this to all the people in Jerusalem and the rest of Judea;
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\q2 blow the trumpets everywhere in the land to warn the people.
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\q1 Tell them that they should flee to
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\q2 the cities that have high walls around them.
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\q1
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\v 6 Shout to the people of Jerusalem
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\q1 and run away now. Do not delay,
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\q2 because I am about to bring a terrible disaster upon you
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\q2 that will come from the north.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 7 An army that has destroyed many nations will attack you
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\q2 like a lion that comes out of its den to attack other animals.
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\q1 The soldiers of that army
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\q2 are already marching toward your land.
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\q2 They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.
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\p
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\v 8 So, put on rough clothes
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\q1 and weep and beat your breasts
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\q2 to show that you are very sorry for what you have done,
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\q2 because Yahweh is still very angry with us.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 9 Yahweh declares that at the time when Yahweh punishes you, the king of Judah and all his officials will be very afraid.
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\q2 The priests and the prophets will be terrified."
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\p
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\v 10 Then I replied, "Yahweh my God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now our enemies are ready to slaughter us with their swords!"
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\s5
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\p
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\v 11 When that happens, Yahweh will say to the people of Jerusalem,
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\q1 "A huge army will come to attack you.
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\q2 They will not be like a gentle breeze that separates the wheat from the chaff.
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\q1 They will be like a very hot wind that blows in from the desert.
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\q1
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\v 12 They will be like a strong blast that I will send.
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\q2 Now I am declaring that I will punish you."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 13 And the people in Jerusalem will say, "Our enemies are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like whirlwinds.
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\q2 Their horses are faster than eagles.
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\q1 It will be terrible for us!
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\q1
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\v 14 You people of Jerusalem cleanse your inner beings,
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\q2 in order that Yahweh will rescue you.
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\q1 How long will you continue to think about doing evil deeds?
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\q1
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\v 15 From the city of Dan in the far north to the hills of Ephraim a few miles north of Jerusalem messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 16 So I said this to the people in other nations,
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\q2 and also announced it in Jerusalem,
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\q1 "Yahweh says that an army is coming to Jerusalem from far away;
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\q2 they will shout a battle cry against the cities of Judah.
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\q1
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\v 17 They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters around a field at harvest time.
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\q2 That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.
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\q1
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\v 18 You will be punished very severely;
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\q2 it will be as though a sword has stabbed your hearts.
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\q1 But you are causing those things to happen to you
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\q2 because of the evil things that you have done."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 19 Then I said to myself, "I am extremely anguished;
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\q2 the pain in my inner being is very severe.
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\q2 My heart beats wildly!
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\q1 But I cannot remain silent
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\q2 because I have heard our enemies blowing their trumpets
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\q2 to announce that the battle against Judah will start immediately!
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\q1
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\v 20 Disasters will occur one after another
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\q2 until the whole land is ruined.
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\q1 Suddenly all our tents will be destroyed;
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\q2 even the curtains inside the tents will be ripped apart.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 21 How long will this battle continue?
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\q2 How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags
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\q2 and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?
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\q1
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\v 22 Yahweh says: My people are very foolish!
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\q2 They do not have a relationship with me.
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\q1 They are like stupid children
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\q2 who do not understand anything.
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\q1 They very cleverly do what is wrong,
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\q2 but they do not know how to do what is good.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 23 God gave me a vision in which I saw
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\q2 that the earth was barren and without form.
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\q1 I looked at the sky,
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\q2 and there was no light there.
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\q1
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\v 24 I looked at the mountains and hills,
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\q2 and they shook and moved from side to side.
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\q1
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\v 25 I looked and saw that all there were no more people
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\q2 and all the birds had flown away.
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\q1
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\v 26 I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert.
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\q1 The cities were all ruined;
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\q2 they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry."
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\s5
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\p
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\v 27 This is what Yahweh is saying,
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\q1 "the entire land of Judah will be ruined,
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\q2 but I will not destroy it completely.
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\q1
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\v 28 I will do to my people what I said that I would do,
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\q2 and I will not change my mind.
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\q1 So when that happens, it will be as though the earth will mourn
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\q2 and the sky will become very dark.
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\q1
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\v 29 When the people hear the sound of the enemy cavalry and archers marching,
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\q2 they will be terrified as they flee from their cities.
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\q1 Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes,
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\q2 and others will run toward the quarries to escape being killed by their enemies.
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\q1 All the cities in Judah will be abandoned;
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\q2 not one person will remain in them.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 30 So you who will surely be destroyed,
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\q2 what will you do then?
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\q2 Even though you have worn beautiful clothes and jewelry
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\q2 and paint around your eyes,
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\q1 those things will not help you,
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\q2 because the people in other countries that you think love you really despise you,
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\q2 and they will try to kill you.
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\q1
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\v 31 It is as though I already hear the people in Jerusalem crying very loudly,
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\q2 as a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child;
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\q1 she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her,
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\q2 and she shouts, 'Something terrible is happening to me; they are about to murder me!'"
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