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195 lines
8.4 KiB
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195 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
\s5
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\c 2
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\p
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\v 1 Yahweh gave me another message
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\v 2 to proclaim to everyone in Jerusalem. He said that I should tell them this,
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\q1 "I, Yahweh, remember in your favor that you followed me and trusted in our covenant long ago.
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\q2 You tried to please me like a bride tries to please her husband;
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\q1 You loved me,
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\q2 and you followed me through the desert.
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\q1
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\v 3 At that time you Israelites were set apart to me;
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\q2 you belonged to me like the first part of the harvests belong to me.
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\q1 I promised to punish all those who harmed you, my people,
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\q2 and send disasters on them.
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\q2 This is the way it will always be since I, Yahweh, said that it would happen."
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 4 Listen to what Yahweh says, descendants of Jacob, all you people of Israel. You must listen to what Yahweh says.
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\p
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\v 5 He says,
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\q2 "What sin did I commit that caused your ancestors to turn far away from me?
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\q1 They worshiped worthless idols,
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\q2 and they themselves became worthless.
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\q1
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\v 6 They should have said,
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\q2 'We need Yahweh. He is the one who brought us safely out of Egypt
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\q1 and led us through a desert plain where there were a lot of pits.
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\q2 We need Yahweh. He is the one who led us
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\q1 where there was no water and where it was very dangerous,
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\q2 through a land where no one lives or even travels.'
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 7 But when I, Yahweh, brought you into a very fertile land,
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\q2 in order that you could enjoy all the fruit and other good things that you would harvest,
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\q1 you caused the land that I promised to give to you to be unfit for me
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\q2 and to become disgusting to me.
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\q1
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\v 8 Your priests also did not ask
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\q2 if I was still with them.
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\q1 Those who teach God's laws are not faithful to me themselves!
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\q2 And your leaders have rebelled against me.
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\q1 Your prophets gave you messages from their god Baal,
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\q2 and they worship worthless idols.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 9 So I, Yahweh, will accuse you in court.
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\q1 In future years, I will also bring your children and your grandchildren to trial!
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\q1 That will happen because I, Yahweh, have said that it will happen.
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\q1
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\v 10 If you go west to the island of Cyprus,
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\q2 or if you go east to Kedar land,
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\q1 and if you ask people in those places,
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\q2 they will tell you that no people from their countries have ever done the wicked things that you people have done!
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\q1
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\v 11 No people of any nation have ever abandoned their gods that they thought were glorious
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\q2 and started to worship gods that are not really gods,
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\q1 but you people have abandoned me, your glorious God,
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\q2 and are worshiping gods that are useless.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 12 It is as though everything in the sky is dismayed about what you have done;
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\q2 it is as though they tremble and are very horrified. I, Yahweh, see and declare this to you.
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\q1
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\v 13 You, my people, have done two evil things:
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\q1 you have rejected me, the one who is like a fountain where you can obtain fresh water,
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\q2 and you are worshiping gods that are like pits in the ground
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\q2 that are cracked and which are not able to hold any water.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 14 You Israelite people, you were certainly not slaves when you were born;
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\q2 so why were you captured by your enemies?
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\q1
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\v 15 Your enemies roared like lions,
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\q2 and they destroyed your land.
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\q1 Now your towns have been burned,
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\q2 and no one lives in them.
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\q1
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\v 16 Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, cities in Egypt, have defeated you
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\q2 and shaved your heads to show that you are their slaves.
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\q1
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\v 17 But it is because you abandoned me, Yahweh your God,
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\q2 that these disasters have happened to you, since I had been leading your to safety.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 18 So why are you trying to make an alliance with the rulers of Egypt who live near the Shihor?
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\q2 Why are you trying to make an alliance with the rulers of Assyria who live near the Euphrates River?
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\q1
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\v 19 It is because you have been very wicked that I will punish you.
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\q2 It is because you have turned away from me that I will condemn you.
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\q1 When I do that, you will realize that bitter and evil things will happen to you because you have forsaken me, Yahweh, your God,
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\q2 and you no longer have an awesome respect for me.
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\q1 That will certainly happen because I, the Lord, Yahweh, commander of the angel armies in heaven, have said it.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 20 Long ago, you stopped obeying me and you would not allow me to lead you.
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\q2 You refused to worship me, even though I saved you from being slaves.
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\q1 Instead, you worship idols that are under trees on the top of every hill.
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\q2 You love and worship those idols instead of me just like an unfaithful man loves a prostitute instead of his wife.
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\q1
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\v 21 It is as though you were the best grapevine that I could plant,
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\q2 and I planted you so you would grow from the very best seed.
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\q1 So how could you change yourself from the best grapevine into becoming like a vine that is disgusting and rotten?
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\q1
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\v 22 Your guilt from your sins is like very bad stains on a cloth,
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\q2 and you cannot get rid of those stains even by using very strong soap.
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\q1 This is true because I, Yahweh, have said it.
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 23 You say that you have not sinned.
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\q1 You claim to be acceptable to God
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\q2 and that you have not worshiped the images of Baal.
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\q1 But think about the disgusting things that you do very eagerly in Hinnom Valley outside Jerusalem.
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\q2 You are like desperate female camels running here and there to find male camels to mate with.
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\q1
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\v 24 You are like wild female donkeys that live in the desert.
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\q2 They sniff the air to find where the male donkeys are,
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\q2 and there is no one who can restrain their lust.
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\q1 The male donkeys that want to mate with them only wear themselves out chasing after them;
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\q2 because at mating time they find them easily.
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\q1
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\v 25 You constantly run here and there to find idols to worship, with the result that your sandals are worn out,
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\q2 and your throats have become dry.
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\q1 I told you to stop doing that but you said that you could not stop,
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\q2 and you said that you loved those foreign gods
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\q2 and had to worship them!
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 26 A robber is disgraced when he is caught.
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\q2 And all of you, including your kings and priests and prophets, are similarly disgraced.
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\q1
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\v 27 You call a piece of wood that is carved to become a sacred idol, your 'father,'
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\q2 and you call a stone that you have set up, your 'mother.'
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\q1 You have rejected me
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\q2 but when you experience troubles,
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\q1 you call for me to rescue you!
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\q1
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\v 28 Why do you not shout to the gods that you made?
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\q2 Why do you not plead with them to rescue you
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\q2 when you experience disasters?
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\q1 For you have as many gods as you have cities and towns in Judah!
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 29 You complain that it was wrong for me not to have rescued you,
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\q2 but you have all rebelled against me, Yahweh, the one who is speaking to you right now.
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\q1
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\v 30 I punished some of you,
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\q2 but you did not learn anything from my doing that.
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\q1 Instead you have killed many of the prophets that I sent to you,
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\q2 like fierce lions kill other animals.
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\p
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\v 31 You people of Israel, pay attention to what I say.
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\q1 I have certainly never abandoned you in a desert;
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\q2 I have never left you in a very dark land.
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\q1 So, why do you, my people, say that you are free from my control
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\q2 and that you will not return to worship me anymore?
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 32 A young woman would certainly never forget to wear her jewelry,
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\q2 and a bride would never forget to wear her wedding dress,
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\q1 but you my people have forgotten me for many years.
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\q1
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\v 33 You know how to easily find gods from other countries whom you can love.
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\q2 You can find them more easily than a prostitute can find men to sleep with. You could teach her about infidelity!
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\q1
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\v 34 You also have the blood of poor people on your clothes; the very people you have murdered;
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\q2 people who were innocent! You did not catch them robbing you!
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\s5
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\q1
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\v 35 Yet you say, 'I have done nothing wrong!
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\q2 I am sure that Yahweh will not be angry with me for much longer.'
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\q1 But I will punish you severely
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\q2 for claiming that you have not sinned.
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\q1
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\v 36 Previously you requested the army of Assyria to help you,
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\q2 but they were not able to help you.
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\q1 Now you have requested the army of Egypt to help you,
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\q2 but they will not be able to help you, either.
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\q1
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\v 37 They will capture you, and you will be their prisoners,
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\q2 very ashamed with your hands on your heads.
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\q1 That will happen because Yahweh has rejected those nations that you are relying on,
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\q2 and they will not be able to help you at all."
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