Judges 5:1-5:31 [Deborah's Song]
Now Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying.
"When breaches are made in Israel, when the people offer themselves willingly, bless the L-rd.
Hear, O kings, give ear, O princes; I, to the L-rd I shall sing, I shall sing to the L-rd, the G-d of Israel.
L-rd, when You went forth out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dripped; also the clouds dripped water.
The mountains melted at the presence of the L-rd, this (was at) Sinai, because of the presence of the L-rd, the G-d of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans ceased, and travellers walked on crooked paths.
The open cities ceased, in Israel they ceased, until I Deborah arose; I arose as a mother in Israel.
When they chose new G-ds, then there was war in the cities; was there seen a shield or a spear (when the) forty thousand (went against) Israel?
My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people, (saying,) 'Bless the L-rd.'
The riders of white donkeys, those that sit in judgment, and those that walk on the path, tell of it.
Instead of the noise of adversaries, between the places of drawing water, there they will tell the righteous acts of the L-rd, the righteous acts of restoring open cities in Israel. Then the people of the L-rd went down to the cities.
Praise! Praise! Deborah. Praise! Praise! Utter a song. Arise Barak, and capture your captives, son of Abinoam.
Then ruled a remnant among the mighty of the nations; the L-rd dominated the strong for me.
Out of Ephraim, whose root was against Amalek; after you (will be) Benjamin with your abaters; out of Machir came down officers, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the scribe.
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, as was Issachar with Barak; into the valley they rushed forth with their feet. (But) among the divisions of Reuben, (there were) great resolves of heart.
Why do you sit between the borders, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? At the divisions of Reuben, (there are) great searchings of heart.
Gilead abides beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why does he gather into the ships? Asher dwelt at the shore of the seas, and by his breaches he abides.
Zebulun is a people that jeopardized their lives to die, as did Naphtali, upon the high places of the field.
The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
From heaven they fought; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
The brook Kishon swept them away, that ancient brook, the brook Kishon; tread down, O my soul, (their) strength.
Then were pounded the heels of the horses by reason of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones.
'Curse you Meroz,' said the messenger of the L-rd, 'curse you bitterly (you) inhabitants thereof,' because they came not to the aid of the L-rd, to the aid of the L-rd against the mighty.
Blessed above women shall Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, be; above women in the tent shall she be blessed.
Water he requested, (but) milk she gave him: in a L-rdly bowl she brought him cream.
She put forth her hand to the pin, and her right hand to strike the weary; she struck Sisera, pierced his head, and wounded and penetrated his temple.
At her feet he sank, fell, lay; at her feet he sank (and) fell; where he sank, there he fell down dead.
Through the window the mother of Sisera looked forth, and peered through the window; why is his chariot late in coming? Why tarry the strides of his chariots?
The wisest of her princesses answer her, she too returns answers to herself.
'Are they not finding (and) dividing the spoils? A damsel, two damsels to every man; a spoil of dyed garments to Sisera, a spoil of dyed garments of embroidery; dyed garments of embroidery for the neck of the spoiler.'
So may perish all Your enemies, O L-rd; but they that love Him (should be) as the sun when he goes forth in his might." And the land rested forty years.__________________________________________________________
1 Samuel 2:1-2:10 [Hannah's Song]
And Hannah prayed and said: "My heart has rejoiced through the L-rd; My horn has been raised by the L-rd. My mouth is opened wide against my enemies, For I have rejoiced in Your salvation.
There is none as holy as the L-rd, For there is none besides You; And there is no rock like our G-d.
Do not increasingly speak haughtily; Let not arrogance come out of your mouth, For the L-rd is a G-d of thoughts, And to Him are deeds counted.
The bows of the mighty are broken; And those who stumbled, are girded with strength.
Those who were satiated have hired themselves out for bread, While the hungry have ceased. While the barren woman has born seven, She that had many children, has been bereaved.
The L-rd kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The L-rd impoverishes and makes rich. He humbles; He also exalts.
He lifts the poor from the dust; From the dunghill, He raises the pauper, To seat them with princes, And a seat of honor He causes them to inherit, For the pillars of the earth are the L-rd's, And He placed the world upon them.
The feet of His pious ones He will guard, And the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, For not by strength will man prevail.
Those who strive with the L-rd will be broken; Upon him will He thunder in Heaven; The L-rd will judge the ends of the earth. And He will grant strength to His King, And raise the horn of His anointed one.__________________________________________________________
1 Samuel 5:1-7:1 [Ark of G-d]
Now the Philistines had taken the ark of G-d, and they brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. And the Philistines took the ark of G-d, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of HaShem. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of HaShem; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of HaShem was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: 'The ark of the G-d of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our g-d.' They sent therefore and gathered all the l-rds of the Philistines unto them, and said: 'What shall we do with the ark of the G-d of Israel?' And they answered: 'Let the ark of the G-d of Israel be carried about unto Gath.' And they carried the ark of the G-d of Israel about thither. And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of HaShem was against the city with a very great discomfiture; and He smote the men of the city, both small and great, and emerods broke out upon them. So they sent the ark of G-d to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of G-d came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying: 'They have brought about the ark of the G-d of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.' They sent therefore and gathered together all the l-rds of the Philistines, and they said: 'Send away the ark of the G-d of Israel, and let it go back to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people'; for there was a deadly discomfiture throughout all the city; the hand of G-d was very heavy there. And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods; and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
And the ark of HaShem was in the country of the Philistines seven months. And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: 'What shall we do with the ark of HaShem? declare unto us wherewith we shall send it to its place.' And they said: 'If ye send away the ark of the G-d of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return Him a guilt-offering; then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.' Then said they: 'What shall be the guilt-offering which we shall return to Him?' And they said: 'Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the l-rds of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your l-rds. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the G-d of Israel; peradventure He will lighten His hand from off you, and from off your g-ds, and from off your land. Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when He had wrought among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? Now therefore take and prepare you a new cart, and two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them. And take the ark of HaShem, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return Him for a guilt-offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of its own border to Beth-shemesh, then He hath done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us.' And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. And they put the ark of HaShem upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. And the kine took the straight way by the way to Beth-shemesh; they went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the l-rds of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Beth-shemesh. And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone; and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered up the kine for a burnt-offering unto HaShem. And the Levites took down the ark of HaShem, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto HaShem. And when the five l-rds of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a guilt-offering unto HaShem: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five l-rds, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even unto Abel by the great stone, whereon they set down the ark of HaShem, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. And He smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had gazed upon the ark of HaShem, even He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men; and the people mourned, because HaShem had smitten the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Beth-shemesh said: 'Who is able to stand before HaShem, this holy G-d? and to whom shall it go up from us?' And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying: 'The Philistines have brought back the ark of HaShem; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.'
And the men of Kiriath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of HaShem, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of HaShem.
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2 Samuel 1:17-1:27 [David's Dirge]
And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son.
And he said to teach the sons of Judah the bow. Behold it is written in the book of the just.
O beauty of Israel! On your high places shall lie the slain? How have the heroes fallen?
Tell it not in Gath. Announce it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, nor shall you be fields of heave offerings, for there the shield of the mighty was rejected, Saul's shield was as though not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan's bow did not turn back, nor did Saul's sword return empty.
Saul and Jonathan, his son, who were beloved and pleasant in their lifetime, and in their death they were not separated. They were swifter than eagles, and mightier than lions.
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who dressed you in crimson with delights, who put golden ornaments on your clothes.
How did the mighty fall in the midst of the battle? Jonathan, on your high places you were slain!
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan, you were very pleasant to me. Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women!
How have the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished!__________________________________________________________
2 Samuel 22:1-23:7 [David's Song]
And David spoke to the L-rd the words of this song, on the day that the L-rd delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul;
And he said, "The L-rd is my rock and my fortress, and a rescuer to me.
G-d is my rock, under whom I take cover; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my support, and my refuge; [He is] my savior Who saves me from violence.
With praise, I call to the L-rd, for from my enemies I shall be saved.
For the pains of death have encompassed me; streams of scoundrels would affright me.
Bands of [those that shall inherit] the nether world have surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.
When I am in distress, I call upon the L-rd, yes I call upon my G-d: and out of His abode He hears my voice, and my cry enters His ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked, the [very] foundations of heaven did tremble; and they were shaken when he was angered.
Smoke went up in His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth did devour; coals flamed forth from Him.
And He bent the heavens and He came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub and did fly; He was seen upon the wings of the wind.
And He fixed darkness about Him as booths; gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him flamed forth coals of fire.
The L-rd thundered from heaven; and the Most High gave forth His voice.
And He sent out arrows and He scattered them, lightning and He discomfited them.
And the depths of the sea appeared; the foundations of the world were laid bare, by the rebuke of the L-rd and the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
He sent from on high [and] He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my mighty enemy; from them that hated me; for they were too powerful for me.
They confronted me on the day of my calamity; but the L-rd was a support to me.
And He brought me forth into a wide place; He delivered me because He took delight in me.
The L-rd rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the L-rd and have not wickedly departed from [the commandments of] my G-d.
For all His ordinances were before me; and [as for] His statutes, I did not depart from it.
And I was single-hearted toward Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.
And the L-rd has recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness before His eyes.
With a kind one, You show Yourself kind. With an upright mighty man, You show Yourself upright.
With a pure one, You show Yourself pure; But with a perverse one, You deal crookedly.
And the humble people You do deliver; But Your eyes are upon the haughty [in order] to humble them.
For You are my lamp, O' L-rd; And the L-rd does light my darkness.
For by You I run upon a troop; By my G-d I scale a wall.
[He is] the G-d Whose way is perfect; The word of the L-rd is tried; He is a shield unto all them that trust in him.
For who is G-d, save the L-rd? And who is a rock, save our G-d?
G-d is He who has fortified me with strength; and He looseth perfectly my path.
He makes my feet like hinds; And sets me upon my high places.
He trains my hand for war, so that mine arms do bend a brass bow.
And You have given me the shield of Your salvation; And You have increased Your modesty for me.
You have enlarged my step[s] beneath me; And my ankles have not slipped.
I have pursued my enemies and have destroyed them; Never turning back until they were consumed.
And I have consumed them, and I have crushed them that they cannot rise; Yes, they are fallen under my feet.
For You have girded me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those that rose up against me.
And of my enemies You have given me the back of their necks; them that hate me, that I may cut them off.
They looked about, but there was no one to save them; [Even] to the L-rd, but He answered them not.
Then I ground them as the dust of the earth, as the mud of the streets I did tread upon them, I did stamp them down.
And You have allowed me to escape from the contenders amongst my people; You shall keep me as head of nations; a people whom I have not known serve me.
Strangers lie to me; as soon as their ears hear, they obey me.
The strangers will wilt, and become lame from their bondage.
The L-rd lives, and blessed be my Rock; And exalted be the G-d, [who is] my rock of salvation.
The G-d who takes vengeance for me; And brings down peoples under me.
And that brings me forth from my enemies; And above those that rise against me, You have lifted me; from the violent man You deliver me.
Therefore I will give thanks to You, O' L-rd, among the nations, and to your name I will sing praises.
He gives great salvation to His king, and He performs kindness to His anointed; to David and to his seed, forevermore.
And these are the last words of David; the saying of David the son of Jesse, and the saying of the man raised on high, the anointed of the G-d of Jacob, And the sweet singer of Israel.
The spirit of the L-rd spoke in me, And His word was upon my tongue.
The G-d of Israel said, concerning me spoke the Rock of Israel; 'A ruler over men shall be the righteous (man), he that rules in the fear of G-d.
And as the light of the morning (when) the sun shines; a morning without clouds, more than the light that follows the rain that falls upon the grass of the earth.
For my house is not so with G-d. For an everlasting covenant has He made with me, fully set forth and heeded for all my salvation and all the desire [is before Him], for He will not sprout forth [another on the throne].
But the wicked are all as thorns thrust away, for they cannot be taken in hand.
But if a man touch them, he should be armed with iron and the staff of a spear; and with fire they shall be utterly burned in their place.
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1 Kings 3:5-3:15 [Solomon asks for Wisdon]
In Gibeon HaShem appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and G-d said: 'Ask what I shall give thee.' And Solomon said: 'Thou hast shown unto Thy servant David my father great kindness, according as he walked before Thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with Thee; and Thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O HaShem my G-d, Thou hast made Thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in. And Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give Thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this Thy great people?' And the speech pleased HaShem, that Solomon had asked this thing. And G-d said unto him: 'Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern justice; behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour--so that there hath not been any among the kings like unto thee--all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.' And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream; and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of HaShem, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
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1 Kings 8:10-8:54 [Temple Dedication]
And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy (place), and the cloud filled the house of the L-rd. And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the L-rd filled the house of the L-rd.
Then Solomon said, "The L-rd said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.
I have surely built You a house to dwell in; a settled place for You to dwell in forever."
And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel, and all the congregation of Israel stood.. And he said, "Blessed (be) the L-rd, the G-d of Israel Who spoke with His mouth unto David my father, and has fulfilled it with His hand, saying.
16. 'Since the day that I brought forth My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that My name might be therein; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.'
And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the L-rd, the G-d of Israel. And the L-rd said to David my father, 'Since it was in your heart to build a house unto My name, you did well that it was in your heart. Nevertheless, you shall not build the house; but your son that shall come forth out of your loins, he shall build the house for My name.' And the L-rd has established His word that He spoke, and I have risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the L-rd spoke, and have built a house for the name of the L-rd, the G-d of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein (is) the covenant of the L-rd, which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt."
And Solomon stood before the altar of the L-rd in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven. And he said, "L-rd G-d of Israel, (there is) no G-d like you, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, Who keeps covenant and mercy with Your servants that walk before You with all their heart. Who has kept with Your servant David my father that which You spoke to him, and You spoke with Your mouth, and fulfilled it with Your hand, as (it is) this day. And now, L-rd, the G-d of Israel, keep with Your servant, David my father, that which You spoke to him, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man before Me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before Me as you have walked before Me.' And now, G-d of Israel, please let Your word come true, which You spoke to Your servant David, my father.
But will G-d indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You; much less this temple that I have erected. And You shall turn toward Your servant's prayer and to his supplication, O L-rd my G-d: to hearken to the song and to the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today. That Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place which You said, 'My Name will be there;' to listen to the prayer that Your servant will pray toward this place. And You shall listen to the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel that they will pray toward this place; and You shall hear in heaven, Your abode, and You shall hear and forgive.
If a man sins against his neighbor, and an oath be exacted of him to cause him to swear, and he come and swear before Your altar in this house. And You shall hear in heaven, and do, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
When Your people Israel are struck down before the enemy, because they sin against You, and shall turn again to You, and praise Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this house. And You shall hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to their fathers.
When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against You; and they shall pray toward this place and praise Your name, and repent of their sin, so that You may answer them. And You shall hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, and of Your people Israel, when You teach them the good way wherein they should walk; and give rain upon Your land, which You have given to Your people for an inheritance.
If there be famine in the land, if there be pestilence, blasting, yellowing, locust, (or) if there be destroying locusts; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities, whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness (there be). Any prayer, any supplication, which will be (made) by any man, (or) by all Your people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house. And You shall hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart You know, for You, alone, know the hearts of all the children of men. That they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.
And also to the stranger, who (is) not of Your people Israel, but will come from a far country for the sake of Your Name. For they shall hear of Your great Name, and of Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm, and he will come and pray toward this house. You shall hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls You for, that all peoples of the earth may know Your Name, to fear You, as (do) Your people Israel, and that they may know that Your Name is called upon this house that I have built.
If Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by what way You send them, and pray to the L-rd toward the city that You have chosen, and (toward) the house that I have built for Your name. And you shall hear in heaven their prayer and supplication, and maintain their cause.
If they sin against You, for (there is) no man who does not sin, and You will be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, and their captors will carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near. And they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.' And they shall return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name. And you shall hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause. And forgive Your people what they have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against You, and give mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy on them. For they are Your people, and Your inheritance, whom You have taken out of Egypt, from within the smelting furnace of iron. That Your eyes may be open to the supplication of Your servant, and to the supplication of your people Israel, to hearken to them whenever they call to You.
For You set them apart from among all the peoples of the earth, Your inheritance, as You spoke through Moses Your servant, when You brought our fathers out of Egypt, O L-rd, G-d."
And it was, as Solomon finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the L-rd, that he arose from before the altar of the L-rd, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread out toward heaven. And he stood, and blessed the entire congregation of Israel (with) a loud voice, saying, "Blessed (be) the L-rd, Who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He spoke; there has not failed one word of all his good word, that He spoke through Moses His servant. May the L-rd our G-d be with us, as He was with our forefathers; let Him not leave us, nor forsake us. That He may incline our hearts to Him, to go in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our forefathers. And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the L-rd, be close to the L-rd our G-d, day and night, that He sustain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, each day's need granted on its day. So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the L-rd is G-d: there is none else. Let your heart, [therefore], be whole with the L-rd our G-d, to follow His statutes and to keep His precepts as of this day.
And the King and all Israel with him slaughtered sacrifices before the L-rd.
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1 Kings 13:1-13:3
Just then a man of G-d came to Bethel from Judah by the word of Hashem, while Jeroboam was standing atop the altar to burn incense. He called out to the altar, by the word of Hashem, and said, "Altar, altar! Thus said Hashem: Behold a son will be born to the house of David, - Josiah his name - and he will slaughter upon you the priests of the high placecs, who burn sacrifices upon you; human bones will be burnt upon you." And he provided a proof on that day, saying, "This is the proof which Hashem spoke: Behold, the altar is split and th ashes upon it are spilled."
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II Kings 9:29-9:37 [Jezebel]
And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said: 'Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master's murderer?' And he lifted up his face to the window, and said: 'Who is on my side? who?' And there looked out to him two or three officers. And he said: 'Throw her down.' So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and she was trodden under foot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink; and he said: 'Look now after this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.' And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore they came back, and told him. And he said: 'This is the word of HaShem, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying: In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say: This is Jezebel.'
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II Kings 19:20-19:35 [Isaiah's prophecy]
And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "So has the L-rd G-d of Israel said, 'I have heard what you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib, king of Assyria.
This is the word that the L-rd has spoken about him: 'The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and has mocked you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
Whom have you insulted and blasphemed, and upon whom have you raised [your] voice? And you have lifted your eyes on high against the Holy One of Israel.
Through your messengers you have insulted the L-rd, and you said, "With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of mountains, to the end of the Lebanon, and I will cut down its tallest cedars, its choice cypresses, and I will come to its remotest lodge, to its farmland forest.
I dug and drank strange water, and I dry up with the soles of my feet all rivers of the siege."
Have you not heard from afar what I did in days of yore, and what I formed? Now I have brought it, and it shall be to make desolate, blossoming hills, [of] fortified cities.
And their inhabitants became short of strength, broken and ashamed; they were [like] the grass of the field and green herbage, like grass of the roofs, and blast before becoming standing grain.
And your sitting and your going out and your coming I know, and your raging against Me.
Because you have raged against Me, and your tumult has ascended into My ears, I will place my ring in your nose and My bit in your lips, and I will return you by the road by which you have come.
And this shall be the sign for you, this year you shall eat what grows by itself, and the next year, what grows from the tree stumps, and in the third year, sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. And the remaining survivors of the house of Judah shall continue to take root below and they will produce fruit above. For from Jerusalem shall come out a remnant, and survivors from Mt. Zion; the zeal of the L-rd of Hosts shall do this.
Therefore, so has the L-rd said concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not enter this city, neither shall he shoot there an arrow, nor shall he advance upon it with a shield, nor shall he pile up a siege mound against it. By the way he comes he shall return, and this city he shall not enter,' says the L-rd. 'And I will protect this city to save it, for My sake and for the sake of My servant David.' "
And it came to pass on that night that an angel of the L-rd went out and slew one hundred eighty-five thousand of the camp of Assyria. And they arose in the morning, and behold they were all dead corpses.
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II Kings 21:1-21:15 [Manasseh's iniquitious rule]
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years, and his mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the eyes of the L-rd; like the abominations of the nations that the L-rd had driven out from before the children of Israel. And he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars to the Baal, and he made an asherah as Ahab the king of Israel had made, and he prostrated himself to the entire host of the heaven, and he worshipped them. And he built altars in the house of the L-rd, concerning which the L-rd had said, "In Jerusalem I will establish My Name." And he built altars for the entire host of Heaven in the two courts of the house of the L-rd. And he passed his son through fire; he practiced soothsaying and divination, and he consulted necromancers and those divine by the Jidoa bone; he did much that was evil in the eyes of the L-rd, to provoke [Him]. He placed the graven image of the asherah that he made, in the house concerning which the L-rd had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, will I establish My Name forever. And I will not continue to cause Israel's feet to wander from the land that I have given their forefathers; if they will but observe to act in accordance with all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that Moses My servant commanded them." But they did not obey, and Manasseh led them astray to do what was evil, more than the nations that the L-rd had destroyed from before the children of Israel. And the L-rd spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, "Since Manasseh has committed these abominations, he has done more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him did, and he caused Judah to sin with his idols. Therefore, has the L-rd G-d of Israel said, 'Behold I bring calamity on Jerusalem and Judah, concerning which the two ears of all those who hear it will tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, he wipes and turns it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of My heritage, and I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies, and they will become plunder and prey for all their enemies. Since they did what was evil in My eyes, and they constantly provoked Me since the day that their forefathers left Egypt until this day.' "
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II Kings 22:8-23:27 [Torah found]
And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Scroll of the Law in the house of the L-rd," and Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king, and said, "Your servants have melted the silver that was found in the Temple, and they have given it into the hands of the foremen of the work who were appointed over the house of the L-rd. And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest gave me a scroll," And Shaphan read it before the king. And it was when the king heard the words of the scroll of the Law, that he rent his garments. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam the son of Shaphan and Achbor the son of Micaiah and Shaphan the scribe and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, "Go, inquire of the L-rd on my behalf and on the behalf of the people and on behalf of all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll which has been found, for great is the L-rd's wrath which is kindled against us, since our forefathers did not obey the words of this scroll, to do according to all that is written concerning us." And Hilkiah the priest and Ahikam and Achbor and Shaphan and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah the son of Harhas, the keeper of the raiment, and she was sitting in Jerusalem in the study-hall, and they spoke to her. And she said to them,
"So has the L-rd G-d of Israel spoken, 'Say to the man who sent you to me, "So has the L-rd said, 'Behold I bring calamity to this place and upon its inhabitants-all the words of the scroll that the king of Judah read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to pagan deities, in order to provoke Me with all the deeds of their hands, My wrath is kindled against this place, and it shall not be quenched.'. And concerning the king of Judah who has sent you to inquire of the L-rd, so shall you say to him, 'So has the L-rd G-d of Israel said, "The words are what you heard. Since your heart has become soft, and you have humbled yourself before the L-rd, when you heard what I spoke about this place and about its inhabitants, to become a desolation and a curse, and you rent your garments and wept before Me, I, too, have heard [it],' says the L-rd. Therefore, behold I gather you in to your forefathers, and you shall be gathered into your graves in peace, and your eyes shall not see any of the calamity that I am bringing upon this place." And they brought back word to the king.
And the king summoned, and they assembled before him all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the L-rd, and all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were with him, and the priests and the prophets, and all the people from small to great, and he read within their hearing all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of the L-rd.
And the king stood on his place, and enacted the covenant before the L-rd, to follow the L-rd and to observe His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all their heart and soul, to fulfill the words of this covenant, which are written in this scroll. And all the people were steadfast in their acceptance of the covenant.
And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second rank and the guards of the threshold, to take out of the Temple of the L-rd all the utensils that were made for the Baal and for the asherah, and for the entire host of the heaven, and he burnt them outside Jerusalem in the plains of Kidron, and he carried their ashes to Bethel. And he abolished the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed and who had burnt incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and the environs of Jerusalem, and those who burnt incense to the Baal, to the sun, to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. And he took the asherah out of the house of the L-rd to the outside of Jerusalem, to the Kidron Valley, and he burnt it in the Kidron Valley and he pulverized it into dust; and he threw its dust on the graves of the members of the people. And he demolished the houses devoted to pagan worship that were in the house of the L-rd, where the women weave enclosures for the asherah.
And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and he defiled the high places where the priests had burnt incense, from Geba as far as Beersheba, and he demolished the high places near the gates, the one that was at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the mayor of the city, which is on a person's left in the gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places would not go up to the L-rd's altar in Jerusalem, but they would eat unleavened cakes among their brethren.
And he defiled the Topheth that was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so that no man would pass his son or his daughter in the fire to the Molech. And he abolished the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, from the entrance of the house of the L-rd until the chamber of Nethan-melech the eunuch who was in the outskirts, and he burnt the sun chariots with fire.. And the altars that were on the roof, [the roof of] Ahaz's upper chamber, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the L-rd, the king demolished, and he hurriedly removed [them] from there and threw their dust into the Kidron Valley. And the high places that were before Jerusalem, that were on the right of the Mount of the Destroyer, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Amon, did the king defile. And he broke down the monuments, and cut down the asherim, and filled their place with bones of men.
Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and stamped it small to powder, and burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount; and he sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of HaShem which the man of G-d proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
Then he said: 'What monument is that which I see' And the men of the city told him: 'It is the sepulchre of the man of G-d, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el.'And he said: 'Let him be; let no man move his bones.' So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke HaShem, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there, upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
And the king commanded all the people, saying: 'Keep the passover unto HaShem your G-d, as it is written in this book of the covenant.' For there was not kept such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah was this passover kept to HaShem in Jerusalem.
Moreover them that divined by a ghost or a familiar spirit, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the detestable things that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of HaShem.
And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to HaShem with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. Notwithstanding HaShem turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations wherewith Manasseh had provoked Him. And HaShem said: 'I will remove Judah also out of My sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said: My name shall be there.'
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Isaiah 1:11-1:20 [Worthless Offerings]
Why do I need your numerous sacrificies? says Hashem. I am sated with elevation-offerings of rams and the fat of fatlings; the blood of bulls, sheep and goats I do not desire. When you come to appear before Me, who sought this from your hand, to trample my courtyards? Bring your worthless meal-offering no longer, it is incense of abomination to Me. The New Moon and Sabbath, and your calling of convocations, I cannot abide mendacity with solemn assembly. My soul detests your New Moons and your appointed times; they have become a burden upon Me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even if you were to intensify your prayer, I will not listen; your hands are replete with blood. Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes; cease doing evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, vindicate the victim, render justice to the orphan, take up the grievance of the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith HaShem; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of HaShem hath spoken.
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Isaiah 1:27-1:31 [Redemption]
Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and those who return to her through righteousness; but calamity awaits rebels and sinenners together, and those who forsake Hashem will perish; for they will become ashamed of the idolatrous elems that you desired, and you will be embarrassed iver tge gardens that you chose. For you will be like an elm three with withered leaves, and like a garden without water. The mighty will be like flax and its maker like a spark; and the two of them will burn together, with no one to extinguish it.
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Isaiah 2:1-2:4
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of HaShem'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of HaShem, to the house of the G-d of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem. And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
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Isaiah 2:10-2:22 [Enter the Rock and be hidden]
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of HaShem, and from the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and HaShem alone shall be exalted in that day. For HaShem of hosts hath a day upon all that is proud and lofty, and upon all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low; And upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan; And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; And upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall; And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all delightful imagery. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and HaShem alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of HaShem, and from the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake mightily the earth. In that day a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crevices of the crags, from before the terror of HaShem, and from the glory of His majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.
Cease ye from man, in whose nostrils is a breath; for how little is he to be accounted!
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Isaiah 3:16-3:26
Moreover HaShem said: because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; Therefore the L-rd will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and HaShem will lay bare their secret parts. In that day the L-rd will take away the bravery of their anklets, and the fillets, and the crescents; the pendants, and the bracelets, and the veils; the headtires, and the armlets, and the sashes, and the corselets, and the amulets; the rings, and the nose-jewels; the aprons, and the mantelets, and the cloaks, and the girdles; and the gauze robes, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the mantles. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet spices there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle rags; and instead of curled hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; branding instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and utterly bereft she shall sit upon the ground.
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Isaiah 5:24-5:25
Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, and as the chaff is consumed in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of HaShem of hosts, and contemned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore is the anger of HaShem kindled against His people, and He hath stretched forth His hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.
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Isaiah 6:9-6:13
And He said: 'Go, and tell this people: hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed.' Then said I: 'L-rd, how long?' And He answered: 'Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, And HaShem have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up; as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the stock thereof.'
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Isaiah 11:1-14:29
And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a twig shall sprout from his roots. And the spirit of the L-rd shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and heroism, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the L-rd. And he shall be animated by the fear of the L-rd, and neither with the sight of his eyes shall he judge, nor with the hearing of his ears shall he chastise. And he shall judge the poor justly, and he shall chastise with equity the humble of the earth, and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall put the wicked to death. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his loins.
And a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid; and a calf and a lion cub and a fatling [shall lie] together, and a small child shall lead them. And a cow and a bear shall graze together, their children shall lie; and a lion, like cattle, shall eat straw. And an infant shall play over the hole of an old snake and over the eyeball of an adder, a weaned child shall stretch forth his hand. They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of knowledge of the L-rd as water covers the sea bed.
And it shall come to pass on that day, that the root of Jesse, which stands as a banner for peoples, to him shall the nations inquire, and his peace shall be [with] honor.
And it shall come to pass that on that day, the L-rd shall continue to apply His hand a second time to acquire the rest of His people, that will remain from Assyria and from Egypt and from Pathros and from Cush and from Elam and from Sumeria and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. And He shall raise a banner to the nations, and He shall gather the lost of Israel, and the scattered ones of Judah He shall gather from the four corners of the earth.
And the envy of Ephraim shall cease, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor shall Judah vex Ephraim. And they shall fly of one accord against the Philistines in the west, together they shall plunder the children of the East; upon Edom and Moab shall they stretch forth their hand, and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
And the L-rd shall dry up the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, and He shall lift His hand over the river with the strength of His wind, and He shall beat it into seven streams, and He shall lead [the exiles] with shoes. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, as there was for Israel on the day they went up from the land of Egypt.
And you shall say on that day, "I will thank You, O L-rd, for You were wroth with me; may Your wrath turn away and may You comfort me. Here is the G-d of my salvation, I shall trust and not fear; for the strength and praise of the Eternal the L-rd was my salvation."
And you shall draw water with joy from the fountains of the salvation. And you shall say on that day, "Thank the L-rd, call in His Name, publicize His deeds among the peoples; keep it in remembrance, for His Name is exalted. Sing to the L-rd for He has performed mighty deeds; this is known throughout the land. Shout and praise, O dwellers of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
The harsh prophecy of Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied. On a tranquil mountain raise a banner, raise your voice to them; wave your hand that they may enter the gates of the nobles. I commanded My prepared ones; I summoned My heroes to [execute] My wrath, those who rejoice in My pride. The sound of a multitude in the mountains, the likeness of a numerous people, the sound of the stirring of kingdoms of nations gathering; the L-rd of Hosts appoints officers over the warring host. They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens; the L-rd and the weapons of His fury, to destroy all the land.
Lament, for the day of the L-rd is near; like a raid from the Almighty it shall come. Therefore, all hands shall grow feeble, and the heart of every mortal shall melt. And they shall panic; pangs and throes shall seize them; like a woman in confinement they shall writhe; each man shall be amazed at his fellow; their faces are faces of flames. Behold, the day of the L-rd is coming, cruel with wrath and burning anger, to make the land desolate, and its sinners He shall destroy from it. For the stars of the heavens and its constellations shall not allow their light to illuminate, the sun has become dark in its going forth, and the moon shall not shine its light. And I will visit evil upon the earth, and upon the wicked their iniquity; and I will cut off the pride of the presumptuous, and the arrogance of the tyrants I will humble. I will make mortal man dearer than fine gold, and man [dearer] than the collection of the gold of Ophir. Therefore, I will make heaven quake, and the earth will quake out of its place, because of the anger of the L-rd of Hosts, and on the day of His burning wrath. And he shall be like a roving deer, and like sheep who have no one to gather [them]; each man shall turn to his people, and each man shall flee to his land. Everyone who is found shall be stabbed, and anyone who takes refuge shall fall by the sword. And their babes shall be dashed before their eyes; their houses pillaged, and their wives ravished. Behold I stir up Media against them, who do not value silver, and do not desire gold. And the bows shall dash youths, and on the newborn they shall not have mercy; on children their eye shall not look with pity. And Babylon, the beauty of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldees, shall be like G-d's overturning of Sodom and Gemorrah. It shall not be settled forever, and it shall not be occupied from generation to generation, and no Arab shall pitch his tent there, neither shall shepherds rest their flocks there. And martens shall dwell there, and their houses shall be filled with ferrets, and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And cats shall dwell in his palaces, and serpents in the temples of pleasure, and her time is soon coming, and her days shall not be extended.
For HaShem will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land; and the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of HaShem for servants and for handmaids; and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
And it shall come to pass in the day that HaShem shall give thee rest from thy travail, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! the exactress of gold ceased!
HaShem hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers, That smote the peoples in wrath with an incessant stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing. Yea, the cypresses rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.' The nether-world from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; the shades are stirred up for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; all the kings of the nations are raised up from their thrones. All they do answer and say unto thee: 'Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the nether-world, and the noise of thy psalteries; the maggot is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.' How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, that didst cast lots over the nations! And thou saidst in thy heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of G-d will I exalt my throne, and I will sit upon the mount of meeting, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.' Yet thou shalt be brought down to the nether-world, to the uttermost parts of the pit. They that saw thee do narrowly look upon thee, they gaze earnestly at thee: 'Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?'
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast forth away from thy grave like an abhorred offshoot, in the raiment of the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the pavement of the pit, as a carcass trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever. Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.
And I will rise up against them, saith HaShem of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and offshoot and offspring, saith HaShem. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith HaShem of hosts.
HaShem of hosts hath sworn, saying: Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, That I will break Asshur in My land, and upon My mountains tread him under foot; then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For HaShem of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a basilisk, and his fruit shall be a flying serpent.
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Israiah 22:15-22:19
Thus saith the L-rd, the G-D of hosts: Go, get thee unto this steward, even unto Shebna, who is over the house:
What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre, thou that hewest thee out a sepulchre on high, and gravest a habitation for thyself in the rock? Behold, HaShem will hurl thee up and down with a man's throw; yea, He will wind thee round and round; He will violently roll and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the L-rd's house. And I will thrust thee from thy post, and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.
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Isaiah 24:1-24:16
Behold, HaShem maketh the earth empty and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly emptied, and clean despoiled; for HaShem hath spoken this word. The earth fainteth and fadeth away, the world faileth and fadeth away, the lofty people of the earth do fail. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statute, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath a curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth waste away, and men are left few. The grapes are desolate, the vine is forlorn; all th glad-hearted people groan. Rejoicing with timbrels has ceased; the nose of the revelers has stopped; the joy of the harp has ceased. They drink not wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it. Broken down is the city of wasteness; every house is shut up, that none may come in. There is a crying in the streets amidst the wine; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten unto ruin. For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth, among the peoples, as at the beating of an olive-tree, as at the gleanings when the vintage is done. Those yonder lift up their voice, they sing for joy; for the majesty of HaShem they shout from the sea: 'Therefore glorify ye HaShem in the regions of light, even the name of HaShem, the G-d of Israel, in the isles of the sea.'
From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: 'Glory to the righteous.' But I say: I waste away, I waste away, woe is me! The treacherous deal treacherously; yea, the treacherous deal very treacherously.
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Isaiah 24:19
Broken, broken will be the land; crumbled, crumbled will be the land; trembling, trembling will be the land; tottering, the land will totter like a drunkard, and sway like a shack; and its sins will weigh heavily upon it, and it will fall, never to rise again.
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Isaiah 26:1-26:21
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; walls and bulwarks doth He appoint for salvation.
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation that keepeth faithfulness may enter in.
The mind stayed on Thee Thou keepest in perfect peace; because it trusteth in Thee.
Trust ye in HaShem for ever, for HaShem is G-d, an everlasting Rock.
For He hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city, laying it low, laying it low even to the ground, bringing it even to the dust.
The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
The way of the just is straight; Thou, Most Upright, makest plain the path of the just.
Yea, in the way of Thy judgments, O HaShem, have we waited for Thee; to Thy name and to Thy memorial is the desire of our soul.
With my soul have I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me have I sought Thee earnestly; for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of HaShem.
HaShem, Thy hand was lifted up, yet they see not; they shall see with shame Thy zeal for the people; yea, fire shall devour Thine adversaries.
HaShem, Thou wilt establish peace for us; for Thou hast indeed wrought all our works for us.
O HaShem our G-d, other L-rds beside Thee have had dominion over us; but by Thee only do we make mention of Thy name.
The dead live not, the shades rise not; to that end hast Thou punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
Thou hast gotten Thee honour with the nations, O HaShem, yea, exceeding great honour with the nations; Thou art honoured unto the farthest ends of the earth.
HaShem, in trouble have they sought Thee, silently they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them.
Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been at Thy presence, O HaShem.
We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the land; neither are the inhabitants of the world come to life.
Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise--awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust--for Thy dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to life the shades.
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, HaShem cometh forth out of His place to visit upon the inhabitants of the earth their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
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Isaiah 28:5-28:13
On that day, Hashem, Master of Legions, will be the crown of delight and a diadem of glory for the remnant of His people, and a spirit of judgement for he who sits in judgement, and a source of strength for those who return from war to the gate. For they, too, have erred because of wine and strayed because of liquor and were corrupted by wine; they have strayed because of liquor, erred in vision, perverted justice. For all tables are full of vomit, filfth, with no clean place. To whom whall one teach knowledge? To whom shall one explain a message? To those weaned from milk, removed from the breasts? For it is commandments by commandment, commandment by commandment; line by line, line by line; a bit here and a bit there. For as with unintelligible speech and in another tongue does one speak to this nation. Though he tells them, 'This is the rest, Give rest to the weary; and this is the satisfaction,' yet they would not consent to listen. The word of Hashem shall befall them commandment by commandment, commandment by commandment; line by line, line by line; a bit here and a bit there, so that they will go and stumble backward and be broken, and be tripped up and caught.
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Isaiah 29:1-29:16 [Ariel]
Woe, Ariel, Ariel, the city wherein David encamped! Add year to year, the festivals shall terminate. And I will oppress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and mourning, and it shall be to Me like Ariel. And I will encamp in a circle upon you, and I will besiege you with a camp of siege, and I will erect upon you siege works. And you shall be humble, from the earth shall you speak and from the dust shall your speech be lowered; your voice shall be like a necromancer from the earth, and from the dust shall your speech chirp. And the multitude of foreigners shall be like fine dust, and the multitudes of tyrants like passing chaff, and it shall be a sudden happening. From the L-rd of Hosts she shall be visited with thunder, with earthquake, and a great noise, storm wind and tempest, and a flame of consuming fire. And shall be like a dream, a vision of [the] night, the multitude of all the nations assembled upon Ariel, and all those stationed around her and those who trap her, and those who besiege her. And it shall be, as the hungry man dreams, and behold, he eats, and he shall awaken, and his appetite is unsated, and as the thirsty man dreams, and behold he drinks, and he shall awaken and behold he is faint, and his soul yearns, so shall be the multitude of all the nations gathered on Mount Zion.
Stop and wonder; they became blind and they blinded. They were intoxicated but not from wine; they reeled but not from strong wine. For the L-rd has poured upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and He has closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads who stargaze, He has covered. And the vision of everything has been to you like the words of a sealed book, which they give to one who can read, saying, "Now read this," and he shall say, "I cannot, for it is sealed." And if the book is given to one who cannot read, saying, "Now read this," he shall say, "I cannot read."
And the L-rd said: "Because this people has come near; with their mouth and with their lips they honor Me, but their heart they draw far away from Me, and their fear of Me has become a command of people, which has been taught. Therefore, I will continue to perform obscurity to this people, obscurity upon obscurity, and the wisdom of his wise men shall be lost, and the understanding of his geniuses shall be hidden.
Woe to those who think deeply to hide counsel from the L-rd, and their deeds are in the dark. And they said, "Who sees us and who knows us?" Shall your perversion be regarded like the potter's clay? Shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me," and the impulse say to the One Who formed it, "He does not understand"?
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Isaiah 30:12-30:14
Therefore, so said the Holy One of Israel, "Because you have despised this matter, and you have put your trust in oppression and a perverse one, and you have relied upon it. Therefore, this iniquity shall be to you as a breach of a falling [wall], revealed in a fortified wall, whose breach will come suddenly.". And He shall break it like the breaking of a potter's jug, crushed without pity, and in its crushing shall not be found a shard, to scoop a burning coal from a fire, or to scoop water from a cistern.
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Isaiah 30:33
For Hell has been prepared from yesterday; it has been readied even fr the king; G-d has deepend and widened it; its inferno has much fire and wood, and the breath of Hashem is like a stream of sulfur burning withing it.
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Isaiah 33:11-33:12
Woe to you who spoil and you are not spoiled, and who deal treacherously, and they did not deal treacherously with you. When you finish your spoiling, you shall be spoiled, when you finish dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with you.
O L-rd, be gracious to us! We have hoped for You. Be their arm every morning, also our salvation in time of trouble. From the sound of roaring peoples have wandered; from Your exaltation, nations have scattered.
And your booty shall be gathered like the gathering of the locusts, like the roaring of the cisterns does he roar therein. The L-rd is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And the faith of your times shall be the strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge; fear of the L-rd, that is his treasure.
Behold [for] their altar they have cried in the street; ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. Highways have become desolate, the wayfarer has stopped; he has abrogated the treaty, despised cities, considered no man. The land mourns, it has been cut off; he disgraced the Lebanon, it was cut off; the Sharon became like the plain, and Bashan and Karmel have become emptied.
"Now I will rise," says the L-rd. "Now I will be raised; now I will be exalted. You shall conceive chaff; you shall bear stubble. Your breath is fire; it shall consume you.". And the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime; severed thorns, with fire they shall be burnt. Hearken, you far-off ones, what I did, and know, you near ones, My might.
Sinners in Zion were afraid; trembling seized the flatterers, 'Who will stand up for us against a consuming fire? Who will stand up for us against the everlasting fires?' He who walks righteously, and speaks honestly, who contemns gain of oppression, who shakes his hands from taking hold of bribe, closes his ear from hearing of blood, and closes his eyes from seeing evil. He shall dwell on high; rocky fortresses shall be his defense; his bread shall be given [him], his water sure.
The King in His beauty shall your eyes behold; they shall see [from] a distant land.
18. Your heart shall meditate [in] fear; where is he who counts, where is he who weighs, where is he who counts the towers? A people of a strange tongue you shall not see, a people of speech too obscure to comprehend, of stammering tongue, without meaning.
See Zion, the city of our gathering; your eyes shall see Jerusalem, a tranquil dwelling, a tent that shall not fall, whose pegs shall never be moved, and all of whose ropes shall not be torn. But there, the L-rd is mighty for us; a place of broad rivers and streams, where a galley with oars shall not go, and a great ship shall not pass. For the L-rd is our judge; the L-rd is our ruler; the L-rd is our king; He shall save us. Your ropes are loosed, not to strengthen their mast properly; they did not spread out a sail; then plunder [and] booty were divided by many; the lame takes the prey. And the neighbor shall not say, "I am sick." The people dwelling therein is forgiven of sin.
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Isaiah 34:3-34:11
And their slain ones shall be thrown, and their corpses-their stench shall rise, and mountains shall melt from their blood. And all the host of heaven shall melt, and the heavens shall be rolled like a scroll, and all their host shall wither as a leaf withers from a vine, and as a withered [fig] from a fig tree. For My sword has become sated in the heaven. Behold, it shall descend upon Edom, and upon the nation with whom I contend, for judgment. The L-rd's sword has become full of blood, made fat with fatness, from the blood of lambs and goats, from the fat of the kidneys of rams, for the L-rd has a slaughter in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And wild oxen shall go down with them, and bulls with fat bulls, and their land shall be sated from blood, and their dust shall become saturated from fat. For it is a day of vengeance for the L-rd, a year of retribution for the plea of Zion. And its streams shall turn into pitch and its dust into sulfur, and its land shall become burning pitch. By night and by day, it shall not be extinguished; its smoke shall ascend forever and ever; from generation to generation it shall be waste, to eternity, no one passing through it. Pelican and owl shall inherit it, and night owl and raven shall dwell therein, and He shall stretch over it a line of waste, and weights of destruction.
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Isaiah 38:9-38:20
The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he became ill and recovered from his illness.
I said, "In the desolation of my days will I go into the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the rest of my years."
I said, "I will not see the Eternal; the Eternal is in the land of the living; I will no longer look upon man, [but I will be] with those who dwell in withdrawal.
My generation was removed and exiled from me like a shepherd's tent; I severed, like a weaver, my life; from glory He shall deprive me; from day and night You shall finish me.
I made [myself] until morning like a lion, so it would break my bones; from day and night You shall finish me.
Like a crane [and] a swallow, so I chatter; I moaned like a dove. My eyes were lifted on high. O L-rd! Rob me! Pledge Yourself to me!
What shall I speak? He said to me, and He fulfilled it. I will cause all my sleep to flee because of the bitterness of my soul.
O L-rd! Concerning them, [You said] they shall live, and before all of them the life of my spirit, and You cured me and gave me life.
Behold for peace, it is bitter for me, yea it is bitter, and You desired my soul from the grave of decay, for You have cast behind You all my sins.
For the grave shall not thank You, nor shall death praise You; those who descend into the pit shall not hope for Your truth.
The living, the living, he shall thank You, like me today; a father shall inform his children of Your truth.
The L-rd [has promised] to save me, and we will play my hymns all the days of our life in the house of the L-rd."
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Isaiah 40:6-40:17
A voice says, "Call!" and it says, "What shall I call?" "All flesh is grass, and all its kindness is like the blossom of the field. The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, for a wind from the L-rd has blown upon it; behold the people is grass. The grass shall dry out, the blossom shall wilt, but the word of our G-d shall last forever.
Upon a lofty mountain ascend, O herald of Zion, raise your voice with strength, O herald of Jerusalem; raise [your voice], fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your G-d!" Behold the L-rd G-d shall come with a strong [hand], and His arm rules for Him; behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense is before Him. Like a shepherd [who] tends his flock, with his arm he gathers lambs, and in his bosom he carries [them], the nursing ones he leads.
Who measured water with his gait, and measured the heavens with his span, and measured by thirds the dust of the earth, and weighed mountains with a scale and hills with a balance? Who meted the spirit of the L-rd, and His adviser who informs Him? With whom did He take counsel give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice, and teach him knowledge, and the way of understandings did He let him know? Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and like dust on a balance are they counted; behold the islands are like fine [dust] that blows away. And the Lebanon-there is not enough to burn, and its beasts-there is not enough for burnt offerings. All the nations are as nought before Him; as things of nought and vanity are they regarded by Him.
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Isaiah 40:47-40:31
Why should you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way has been hidden from the L-rd, and from my G-d, my judgment passes"? Do you not know-if you have not heard-an everlasting G-d is the L-rd, the Creator of the ends of the earth; He neither tires nor wearies; there is no fathoming His understanding. Who gives the tired strength, and to him who has no strength, He increases strength. Now youths shall become tired and weary, and young men shall stumble. But those who put their hope in the L-rd shall renew [their] vigor, they shall raise wings as eagles; they shall run and not weary, they shall walk and not tire.
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Isaiah 41:25-41:29
I have aroused from the north and he came; from the rising of the sun he shall call in My name. And he shall come [upon] princes like mortar and as the potter treads clay. Who told from the beginning that we may know, and from before, that we may say, "He is just"? Not one told; not one let us hear; not one hears your statements. The first one to Zion, behold, behold them, and for Jerusalem I will give a herald. And I look, and there is no man, and of these, and there is no counselor, and I ask them that they reply with a word. Behold them all, their deeds are nought, of no substance; wind and nothingness are their molten images.
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Isaiah 42:6-43:7
I am the L-rd; I called you with righteousness and I will strengthen your hand; and I formed you, and I made you for a people's covenant, for a light to nations. To open blind eyes, to bring prisoners out of a dungeon, those who sit in darkness out of a prison. I am the L-rd, that is My Name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to the graven images. The former things, behold they have come to pass, and the new things I tell; before they sprout I will let you hear.
Sing to the L-rd a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, those who go down to the sea and those therein, the islands and their inhabitants.
The desert and its cities shall raise [their voice]; Kedar shall be inhabited with villages; the rock dwellers shall exult, from the mountain peaks they shall shout.
They shall give glory to the L-rd, and they shall recite His praise on the islands.
The L-rd shall go out like a hero; like a warrior shall He arouse zeal; He shall shout, He shall even cry, He shall overpower His foes.
I was silent from time immemorial; I am still, I restrain Myself. Like a travailing woman will I cry; I will be terrified and destroy them together. I will destroy mountains and hills, and all their grass I will dry out, and I will make rivers into islands and I will dry up the pools. And I will lead the blind on a road they did not know; in paths they did not know I will lead them; I will make darkness into light before them, and crooked paths into straight ones. These things, I will do them and I will not forsake them. They shall turn back greatly ashamed, those who trust in the graven image, who say to the molten idols, "You are our G-ds."
You deaf ones, listen, and you blind ones, look to see. Who is blind but My servant, and deaf as My messenger whom I will send? He who was blind is as the one who received his payment, and he who was blind is as the servant of the L-rd. There is much to see but you do not observe, to open the ears but no one listens. The L-rd desires [this] for His righteousness' sake; He magnifies the Torah and strengthens it.
And it is a robbed and pillaged people; all their youths are grieved, and they are hidden in dungeons; they are subject to plunderers, and none rescues [them], to pillagers, and no one says, "Return." Who among you will hearken to this, will listen and hear for the future? Who subjected Jacob to plunder and Israel to spoilers? Was it not the L-rd? This, that we sinned against Him, and they did not want to go in His way and did not hearken to His Torah. And He poured out upon them the fury of His anger and the strength of battle, and it blazed upon them all around and they did not know, and it burned among them and they did not take heed.
And now, so said the L-rd, your Creator, O Jacob, and the One Who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, and I called by your name, you are Mine. When you pass through water, I am with you, and in rivers, they shall not overflow you; when you go amidst fire, you shall not be burnt, neither shall a flame burn amongst you. For I am the L-rd your G-d, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are dear in My eyes, you were honored and I loved you, and I give men in your stead and nations instead of your life.
Fear not for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, "Give," and to the south, "Do not refrain"; bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth." Everyone that is called by My name, and whom I created for My glory, I formed him, yea I made him.
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Isaiah 44:1-44:5
And now, hearken, Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. So said the L-rd your Maker, and He Who formed you from the womb shall aid you. Fear not, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have chosen. As I will pour water on the thirsty and running water on dry land, I will pour My spirit on your seed and My blessing on your offspring. And they shall sprout among the grass like willows on rivulets of water. This one shall say, "I am the L-rd's," and this one shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and this one shall write [with] his hand, "To the L-rd," and adopt the name Israel.
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Isaiah 45:9-45:13
Woe to him who contends with his Creator, a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth, shall the clay say to its potter, "What do you make? And your work has no place.". Woe to him who says to a father, "What do you beget?" and to a woman, "Why do you experience birth pangs?". So said the L-rd, the Holy One of Israel, and his Creator, "Ask Me about the signs; concerning My children and the work of My hands do you command Me?. I made the earth, and I created man upon it; as for Me-My hands stretched out the heavens, and I ordained their host. I aroused him with righteousness, and all his ways I will straighten out. He shall build My city and free My exiles, neither for a price nor for a bribe," said the L-rd of Hosts.
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Isaiah 48:20-48:22
Leave Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare, tell this, publicize it to the end of the earth; say, "The L-rd has redeemed His servant Jacob." And they did not thirst when He led them in the wastelands, He made water run from a rock for them; He split a rock and water flowed. "There is no peace," said the L-rd. "for the wicked."
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Isaiah 49:1-49:26
Hearken, you islands, to me, and listen closely, you nations, from afar; the L-rd called me from the womb, from the innards of my mother He mentioned my name. And He made my mouth like a sharp sword, He concealed me in the shadow of His hand; and He made me into a polished arrow, He hid me in His quiver. And He said to me, "You are My servant, Israel, about whom I will boast." And I said, "I toiled in vain, I consumed my strength for nought and vanity." Yet surely my right is with the L-rd, and my deed is with my G-d. And now, the L-rd, Who formed me from the womb as a servant to Him, said to bring Jacob back to Him, and Israel shall be gathered to Him, and I will be honored in the eyes of the L-rd, and my G-d was my strength. And He said, "It is too light for you to be My servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the besieged of Israel, but I will make you a light of nations, so that My salvation shall be until the end of the earth."
So said the L-rd, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, about him who is despised of men, about him whom the nation abhors, about a slave of rulers, "Kings shall see and rise, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the L-rd Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and He chose you."
So said the L-rd, "In a time of favor I answered you, and on a day of salvation I helped you; and I will watch you, and I will make you for a people of a covenant, to establish a land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages. To say to the prisoners, "Go out!" and to the darkness, "Show yourselves!" By the roads they shall graze, and by all rivers is their pasture. They shall neither hunger nor thirst, nor shall the heat and the sun smite them, for He Who has mercy on them shall lead them, and by the springs of water He shall guide them. And I will make all My mountains into a road, and My highways shall be raised. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, and mountains burst out in song, for the L-rd has consoled His people, and He shall have mercy on His poor.
And Zion said, "The L-rd has forsaken me, and the L-rd has forgotten me." Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from having mercy on the child of her womb? These too shall forget, but I will not forget you. Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you; your walls are before Me always. Your sons have hastened; those who destroy you and those who lay you waste shall go forth from you. Lift your eyes around and see, all of them have gathered, have come to you; as I live, says the L-rd, that you shall wear all of them as jewelry, and you shall tie them as a bride. For your ruins and your desolate places and your land that has been destroyed, for now you shall be crowded by the inhabitants, and those who would destroy you shall be far away. Your children of whom you were bereaved shall yet say in your ears, "The place is too narrow for me; move over for me so that I will dwell." And you shall say to yourself, "Who begot these for me, seeing that I am bereaved and solitary, exiled and rejected, and who raised these? Behold I was left alone; these-[from] where are they?" So said the L-rd G-d, "Behold I will raise My hand to the nations, and to the peoples will I raise My standard, and they shall bring your sons in their armpits, and your daughters shall be borne on their shoulder[s]. And kings shall be your nursing fathers and their princesses your wet nurses; they shall prostrate themselves to you with their face on the ground, and they shall lick the dust of your feet, and you shall know that I am the L-rd, for those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed.
Shall prey be taken from a mighty warrior, or shall the captives of the righteous escape?" For so said the L-rd, "Even the captives of a mighty warrior can be taken and the prey of a tyrant shall escape, and with your contender will I contend, and your sons I will save. And those who taunt you-I will feed their flesh, and as with sweet wine they shall become drunk [from] their blood; and all flesh shall know that I am the L-rd Who saves you, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
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Isaiah 51:1-51:3
Hearken to Me, you pursuers of righteousness, you seekers of the L-rd; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and at the hallow of the pit which you were dug. Look at Abraham your father and at Sarah who bore you, for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many. For the L-rd shall console Zion, He will comfort all her ruins, and He shall make her wilderness like Eden and her wasteland like a garden of Hashem; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the sound of music.
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Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Behold My servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high. As many wondered about you, "How marred his appearance is from that of a man, and his features from that of people!" So shall he cast down many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for, what had not been told them they saw, and [at] what they had not heard they gazed.
Who would have believed our report, and to whom was the arm of the L-rd revealed? And he came up like a sapling before it, and like a root from dry ground, he had neither form nor comeliness; and we saw him that he had no appearance. Now shall we desire him? Despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and accustomed to illness, and as one who hides his face from us, despised and we held him of no account. Indeed, he bore our illnesses, and our pains-he carried them, yet we accounted him as plagued, smitten by G-d and oppressed. But he was pained because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and with his wound we were healed. We all went astray like sheep, we have turned, each one on his way, and the L-rd accepted his prayers for the iniquity of all of us. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he would not open his mouth; like a lamb to the slaughter he would be brought, and like a ewe that is mute before her shearers, and he would not open his mouth. From imprisonment and from judgment he is taken, and his generation who shall tell? For he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the transgression of my people, a plague befell them. And he gave his grave to the wicked, and to the wealthy with his kinds of death, because he committed no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
And the L-rd wished to crush him, He made him ill; if his soul makes itself restitution, he shall see children, he shall prolong his days, and G-d's purpose shall prosper in his hand. From the toil of his soul he would see, he would be satisfied; with his knowledge My servant would vindicate the just for many, and their iniquities he would bear. Therefore, I will allot him a portion in public, and with the strong he shall share plunder, because he poured out his soul to death, and with transgressors he was counted; and he bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
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Isaiah 55:1-55:3
Ho, everyone who is thirsy, go to the water, even one with no money, go, buy and eat; go and buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you weigh out money without getting bread and exert your efforts for that which does not satisfy? Listen well to Me and you will eat well, and your soul will delight in rich food. Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, and your soul will be rejuvenated; I will make an eternal covenant with you, the enduring kindnesses promised to David.
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Isaiah 55:6-55:13
Seek the L-rd when He is found, call Him when He is near. The wicked shall give up his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts, and he shall return to the L-rd, Who shall have mercy upon him, and to our G-d, for He will freely pardon. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," says the L-rd. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts [higher] than your thoughts. For, just as the rain and the snow fall from the heavens, and it does not return there, unless it has satiated the earth and fructified it and furthered its growth, and has given seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall be My word that emanates from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, unless it has done what I desire and has made prosperous the one to whom I sent it. For with joy shall you go forth, and with peace shall you be brought; the mountains and the hills shall burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap hands. Instead of the briar, a cypress shall rise, and instead of the nettle, a myrtle shall rise, and it shall be for the L-rd as a name, as an everlasting sign, which shall not be discontinued."
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Isaiah 56:9-56:12
All the beasts of the field, come to eat all the beasts in the forest.
His lookouts are all blind, they do not know, dumb dogs who cannot bark; they lie slumbering, loving to slumber. And the dogs are of greedy disposition, they know not satiety; and they are shepherds who know not to understand; they all turned to their way, each one to his gain, every last one. "Come, I will take wine, and let us guzzle old wine, and tomorrow shall be like this, [but] greater [and] much more."
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Isaiah 58-60:6
Call with a [full] throat, do not spare, like a shofar raise your voice, and relate to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.Yet they seek Me daily and they wish to know My ways, like a nation that performed righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of its G-d: they ask Me ordinances of righteousness; they desire nearness to G-d. "Why have we fasted, and You did not see; we have afflicted our soul and You do not know?"
Behold, on the day of your fast you pursue business, and [from] all your debtors you exact [payment]. Behold, for quarrel and strife you fast, and to strike with a fist of wickedness. Do not fast like this day, to make your voice heard on high. Will such be the fast I will choose, a day of man's afflicting his soul? Is it to bend his head like a fishhook and spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the L-rd? Is this not the fast I will choose? To undo the fetters of wickedness, to untie the bands of perverseness, and to let out the oppressed free, and all perverseness you shall eliminate. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and moaning poor you shall bring home; when you see a naked one, you shall clothe him, and from your flesh you shall not hide. Then your light shall break forth as the dawn, and your healing shall quickly sprout, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the L-rd shall gather you in. Then you shall call and the L-rd shall answer, you shall cry and He shall say, "Here I am," if you remove perverseness from your midst, putting forth the finger and speaking wickedness. And you draw out your soul to the hungry, and an afflicted soul you sate, then your light shall shine in the darkness, and your darkness shall be like noon. And the L-rd shall always lead you, and He shall satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; and you shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water whose water does not fail. And [those coming] from you shall build ancient ruins, foundations of generations you shall erect, and you shall be called the repairer of the breaches, restorer of the paths, to dwell in.
If you restrain your foot because of the Sabbath, from performing your affairs on My holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the L-rd honored, and you honor it by not doing your wonted ways, by not pursuing your affairs and speaking words. Then, you shall delight with the L-rd, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the land, and I will give you to eat the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the L-rd has spoken.
Behold, the hand of the L-rd is not too short to save, neither is His ear too heavy to hear. But your iniquities were separating between you and between your G-d, and your sins have caused [Him] to hide [His] face from you that He not hear. For your hands were defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters injustice. No one calls sincerely, and no one is judged faithfully; trusting in vanity and speaking lies, conceiving injustice and begetting wickedness. They hatched vipers' eggs, and they weave spider webs; whoever eats of their eggs shall die, and what hatches, emerges a viper. Their webs shall not become a garment, neither shall they cover themselves with their deeds; their deeds are works of wickedness, and there is a deed of violence in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; robbery and ruin are in their paths. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths; they have made themselves crooked paths; whoever goes on it knows no peace.
Therefore, justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light and behold there is darkness, for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We tap a wall like blind men, and like those who have no eyes we tap; we have stumbled at midday like in the darkness of night; [we are] in dark places like the dead. We all growl like bears, and like doves we moan; we hope for justice but there is none, for salvation [but] it has distanced itself from us. For our transgressions against You are many, and our sins have testified against us, for our transgressions are with us, and our iniquities-we know them. Rebelling and denying the L-rd, and drawing away from following our G-d, speaking oppression and perverseness, sprouting and giving forth from the heart words of falsehood. And justice has turned away backward, and righteousness stands from afar, for truth has stumbled in the street, and straightforwardness cannot come. And truth is lacking, and he who turns away from evil is considered mad, and the L-rd saw and was displeased for there is no justice.
And He saw that there was no man, and He was astounded for there was no intercessor, and His armsaved for Him, and His righteousness, that supported Him. And He donned righteousness like a coat of mail, and a helmet of salvation is upon His hand, and He donned garments of vengeance as His attire, and He was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He shall repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He shall pay recompense. And from the west they shall fear the name of the L-rd, and from the rising of the sun, His glory, for distress shall come like a river; the spirit of the L-rd is wondrous in it.
And a redeemer shall come to Zion, and to those who repent of transgression in Jacob, says the L-rd. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the L-rd. "My spirit, which is upon you and My words that I have placed in your mouth, shall not move from your mouth or from the mouth of your seed and from the mouth of your seed's seed," said the L-rd, "from now and to eternity."
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the L-rd has shone upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a gross darkness the kingdoms, and the L-rd shall shine upon you, and His glory shall appear over you. And nations shall go by your light and kings by the brilliance of your shine. Lift up your eyes all around and see, they all have gathered, they have come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be raised on [their] side. Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall be startled and become enlarged, for the abundance of the west shall be turned over to you, the wealth of the nations that will come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah, all of them shall come from Sheba; gold and frankincense they shall carry, and the praises of the L-rd they shall report.
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Isaiah 64:1-65:12
As fire burns materials that melt, fire causes water to bubble, to make Your name known to Your adversaries; nations would quake from before You. When You performed awesome deeds for which we did not hope; [when] You descended, mountains dripped from before You. And whereof no one had ever heard, had ever perceived by ear, no eye had ever seen a G-d besides You perform for him who hoped for him.
You smote him who rejoiced and worked righteousness, those who mentioned You in Your ways; behold, when You became wroth for we had sinned; through them, of old, we would be saved. And we all have become like one unclean, and like a discarded garment are all our righteous deeds, and we all have withered like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. And no one calls in Your name, arouses himself to cling to You, when You hid Your countenance from us, and You caused us to wander through our iniquities.
And now, O L-rd, You are our father; we are the clay, and You are our potter, and all of us are Your handiwork. Be not wroth, O L-rd, so very greatly, and remember not iniquity forever; please look, all of us are Your people. Your holy cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem a desolation. Our sanctuary and our glory, wherein our forefathers praised You is burnt with fire, and all our coveted places have become a waste. Concerning these will You restrain Yourself; will You remain silent and afflict us so very greatly?
I allowed Myself to be sought by those who did not ask; I allowed Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me, I said, "Here I am; here I am!" to a nation not called by My name. I spread out My hands all day to a contrary people, who go in a way that is not good, after their thoughts. The people who vex Me to My face continually; those who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on the bricks. They sit among the graves, and with corpses they lodge; those who eat swine flesh, and broth of abominations is in their vessels. Those who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me for I am holier than you"; these are smoke in My nostrils, a burning fire all day long. Behold it is inscribed before Me; I will not remain silent until I have recompensed, and I will recompense onto their bosom. "Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together," said the L-rd, "that they burnt incense on the mountains, and on the hills they blasphemed Me, and I will mete out the recompense for their deed first into their bosom."
So said the L-rd, "As when wine is found in the cluster, and one shall say, "Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it"; so will I do for the sake of My servants, not to destroy everything. And I will extract seed from Jacob and from Judah, the heir of My mountains, and My elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there. And the Sharon shall become a sheepfold and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie, for My people who sought Me. You, who forsake the L-rd, who forget My holy mount, who set a table for Gad and who fill mingled wine for a number. And I will count you out to the sword, and all of you shall kneel to the slaughter, since I called and you did not reply, I spoke and you did not hearken, and you did what was evil in My eyes, and what I did not desire, you chose.
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Isaiah 66:23-66:24
And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me," says the L-rd. "And they shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring for all flesh."
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Jeremiah 1:7-1:10
Then Hashem said to me, "Do not say, 'I am just a youth'; rather, wherever I shall send you, you shall go, and whatever I shall command you, you shall speak. Do not fear them, for I am with you to rescue you - the word of Hashem." Then Hashem extended His hand and touched my mouth, and Hashem said to me, "Behold! I have placed My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and smash, and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
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Jeremiah 2:14-2:19
Is Israel a slave? Is he a home-born slave? Why has he become a prey?
Young lions roar over him: they have raised their voice, and they have made his land a desolation; his cities were burnt without an inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes will break your crown. Is not this caused to you by your forsaking the L-rd your G-d at the time He leads you by the way? And now, what have you to do in the way of Egypt to drink the water of the Shihor and what have you to do in the way of Assyria to drink the water of the river? Your evil will chastise you, and your backslidings will reprove you, and you shall know and see that your forsaking the L-rd your G-d is evil and bitter, and fear of Me was not upon you, says the L-rd G-d of Hosts.
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Jeremiah 5:3-5:4
O L-rd, are not Your eyes upon faith? You smote them but they felt no pain, You consumed them, [but] they refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to repent. And I said, "But they are poor, they have become foolish, for they did not know the way of the L-rd, the judgment of their G-d.
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Jeremiah 5:20-5:31
Tell this in the house of Jacob and make it heard in Judah, saying:
Hearken to this, foolish people without understanding; they have eyes yet they see not, they have ears yet they hear not. Will you not fear Me? says the L-rd, or, do you not quake from before Me, for I made sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass, and [its waves] toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; and its waves roar, but they do not pass it. And this people had a revolting and rebellious heart; they turned away and they were gone. And they did not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the L-rd our G-d, Who gives rain, the early rain and the latter rain in its time, the weeks of the laws of harvest He keeps for us." Your iniquities have brought these about, and your sins have withheld the good from you. For wicked men are found in My people; they lie in wait as a trap bites; they station an ambush, they catch people. As a cage is full, so are their houses full of deceit; therefore, they have become great and they have become rich. They have become fat, they have become thick; also they transgress in deeds of wickedness; they did not plead the cause of an orphan that they prosper, and the judgment of the poor they did not judge. Shall I not punish for these? says the L-rd, or for such a nation shall My soul not take vengeance?
An appalling and horrible thing has come about in the land. The prophets have prophesied falsely, and the priests govern after them, and My people love to have it so. Now what shall you do in the end thereof?
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Jeremiah 7:16-8:7
And you, pray not on behalf of this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer, and entreat Me not for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
The sons are gathering wood, the fathers are kindling fire, and the women are kneading dough to make starshaped cakes for the queen of the heaven and to pour libations to other G-ds, in order to provoke Me. Are they provoking Me? says the L-rd. Are [they] not [provoking] themselves for the shame of their faces?
Therefore, so says the L-rd G-d: Behold, My wrath and My fury reaches this place, upon man and upon beast, upon the trees of the field and upon the produce of the soil, and it shall burn and not be quenched.
So says the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh. For neither did I speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning a burnt offering or a sacrifice. But this thing did I command them, saying: Obey Me so that I am your G-d and you are My people, and you walk in all the ways that I command you, so that it may be well with you. But they did not obey nor did they incline their ear, but walked according to [their] own counsels and in the view of their evil heart, and they went backwards and not forwards. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt until this day, I sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them day [after day] with every fresh morn. Yet they hearkened not to Me nor did they incline their ear, but stiffened their necks; they did worse than their fathers.
And when you will speak all of these words to them and they will not hearken to you, and you call to them and they will not answer you,
Then say to them: This is the nation that did not hear the voice of the L-rd their G-d and has not received correction; out of their mouth faithfulness has disappeared, yea rooted out!
So tear off your diadem and cast it off, and let lamentation sound out over the hillocks, for the L-rd has rejected and abandoned the generation of His wrath. For the sons of Judah have done what is evil in My eyes, says the L-rd; they placed their abominations in the house upon which My name is called, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Topheth which are in the valley of Ben- Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters with fire, which I did not ordain, neither did it enter My mind.
Therefore, behold days are coming, says the L-rd, that it shall no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, and they shall bury in Topheth for lack of room. And the carcasses of this people shall be for food for the fowl of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them. And I will stop from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall be desolate.
At that time, says the L-rd, they will take out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, from their graves. And spread them before the sun and before the moon and before the entire host of the heavens, which they loved and which they worshipped and which they followed, and which they sought and to which they prostrated themselves; they shall neither be gathered nor be buried; they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth. And death shall be preferable to life for all the residue that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have cast them out, says the L-rd of Hosts.
And you shall say to them; so says the L-rd: Shall they fall and not rise, if he repents, will He not return? Why has this people, Jerusalem, slid back a perpetual backsliding? They have held on to deceit, they refuse to repent. I hearkened and heard, they do not speak properly; no man regrets his wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each one turns away in his course, as a frightening horse into battle. Even the stork in the heaven knows her seasons, and the turtledoves and the crane and the swallow await the time of their coming, but My people do not know the ordinance of the L-rd.
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Jeremiah 8:18-9:2
Were I to suppress my grief, my heart is sick within me.
Hark the voice from a distant land, the cry of the daughter of My people; is the L-rd not in Zion? Is not her King therein? Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with their strange vanities?
The harvest is past, the summer is ended; and we are not saved.
For the wound of the daughter of my people, I am wounded (with grief); I mourn, (and) dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then, has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
O that my head were (full of) waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. O that I had in the desert a wayfarers' lodging-place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of traitors! They have directed their tongue treacherously (as) their bows, and they have grown strong in the land not for the sake of truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, says the L-rd.
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Jeremiah 9:9-9:10
I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the dwellings of the wilderness, because they are withered and without any one passing through, and the lowing of the cattle is not heard; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast have fled and are gone. And I will make Jerusalem heaps (of ruin), a lair of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
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Jeremiah 9:22-9:25
Thus says the L-rd: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, nor the strong man boast of his strength, nor the rich man boast of his riches. But let him that boasts exult in this, that he understands and knows me, for I am the L-rd Who practices kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight, says the L-rd.
Behold, days are coming, says the L-rd, when I will punish every circumcised one with his uncircumcision. Egypt, Judah, Edom, the children of Ammon, Moab, and all those cast off to the corners, who dwell in the desert, for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are of uncircumcised hearts.
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Jeremiah 12:7-12:12
I have abandoned My House, I have forsaken My inheritance; I have delivered My soul's beloved into the hand of her enemies. My inheritance was to Me like a lion in the forest; she raised her voice against Me; therefore, I hated her. Is My inheritance to Me a speckled bird of prey? Are there birds of prey around her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; come to eat. Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trampled My field; they have made My delightful field into a desert waste. He has made it a waste; the wasted one mourns before Me; the entire land is waste because no one lays it to his heart. On all the rivulets in the pastureland have plunderers come, for the sword of the L-rd consumes from one end of the land to the other end of the land; there is no peace for any flesh.
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Jeremiah 15:1-15:9
And the L-rd said to me; If Moses and Samuel stand before Me, I have no desire for this people, send [them] away from before My face and let them go forth. And it shall be if they say to you, "Where shall we go?" you shall say to them, "So said the L-rd: Such as are for death, to death, and such as are for the sword, to the sword, and such as are for famine, to famine, and such as are for captivity, to captivity." And I will appoint over them four families, says the L-rd, the sword to slay and the dogs to drag and the fowl of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy. And I will make them a horror to all the kingdom of the earth because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for all that he did in Jerusalem. For, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, and who will lament over you, and who will turn aside to ask of your welfare? You have forsaken Me, says the L-rd. You shall go backwards, and I have stretched out My hand over you and destroyed you. I am weary of repenting. And I winnowed them with a sieve in the cities of the earth; I bereft, I destroyed My people; they have not returned from their ways. His widows are to Me more numerous than the sand of the seas; I have brought to them upon the mother a chosen one who will rob them at midday; I have cast upon her suddenly a city and terrors. She who bore seven has been cut off, her soul grieves, her sun sets when it is still day. She is ashamed and confounded. And her remnant I shall deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the L-rd.
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Jeremiah 17:5-17:10
So says the L-rd: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart turns away from the L-rd. He shall be like a lone tree in the plain, and will not see when good comes, and will dwell on parched land in the desert, on salt-sodden soil that is not habitable.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the L-rd; the L-rd shall be his trust. For he shall be like a tree planted by the water, and by a rivulet spreads its roots, and will not see when heat comes, and its leaves shall be green, and in the year of drought will not be anxious, neither shall it cease from bearing fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and when it is sick, who will recognize it? I, the L-rd, search the heart, test the kidneys, to give everyone according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
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Jeremiah 17:19-17:27
So said the L-rd to me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, in which the kings of Judah come, and out of which they go, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.
And you shall say to them: Hearken to the word of the L-rd, O kings of Judah and all of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who come into these gates. So said the L-rd: Beware for your souls and carry no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring into the gates of Jerusalem. Neither shall you take a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor shall you perform any labor, and you shall hallow the Sabbath day as I commanded your forefathers. But they did not hearken, neither did they bend their ear[s], and they hardened their nape not to hearken and not to receive instruction. And it shall be if you hearken to Me, says the L-rd, not to bring any burden into the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and to hallow the Sabbath day not to perform any labor thereon, Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on David's throne, riding in chariots and with horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall be inhabited forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland and from the mountain and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices and meal-offerings and frankincense, and those bringing thanksgiving offerings to the house of the L-rd. And if you will not hearken to Me to hallow the Sabbath day and not to carry burdens and to come into the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath, I will kindle a fire in her gates, and it will consume the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.
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Jeremiah 18:1-18:10
The word that came to Jeremiah from the L-rd, saying: Rise and go down to the house of the potter, and there I will let you hear My words. So I went to the house of the potter, and behold, he was doing work on the wheels. And the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he made it again another vessel, as it had pleased the potter to make.
And the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: As this potter can I not do to you, O house of Israel? says the L-rd. Behold, as clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. One instant I may speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to uproot and to demolish and to destroy. And when that nation repents of its evil for which I spoke concerning it, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to it. And at one instant I may speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant, And it will do what is evil in My eyes, not to hearken to My voice, I will repent of the good I said to benefit it.
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Jeremiah 18:14-18:17
Shall one abandon [water flowing] from rocks of the field [that comes from] the snow of Lebanon? Shall strange cold flowing water be abandoned? For My people have forgotten Me; they burn incense to vanity; and the ancient paths caused them to stumble in their ways, to walk [in] paths, [on] a way that is not trodden. To make their land waste, a perpetual hissing, everyone who passes it will be astonished and shake his head. Like an east wind I will scatter them before the enemy; I will look upon their back and not their face on the day of their misfortune.
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Jeremiah 19:1-19:13
So said the L-rd: Go and buy a potter's earthen jug, and [take] along some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. And you shall go out to the Ben- Hinnom Valley which is at the entrance of the Harsith Gate, and you shall call there the words that I will speak to you. And you shall say;
Hearken to the word of the L-rd, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; so said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; Behold I am bringing evil upon this place, which whoever hears, his ears will tingle. Because they forsook Me and they estranged this place and burnt incense therein to other G-ds, which they had not known, they, their forefathers, and the kings of Judah, and they filled this place with the blood of innocent people. And they built the high places of Baal to burn their children with fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command, neither did I speak nor did it enter My mind. Therefore, behold days are coming, says the L-rd, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. And I will frustrate the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will hurl them down by the sword before their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses for food to the fowl of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city into a waste and a hissing; everyone who passes by it shall be astonished and hiss concerning all her plagues. And I will feed them the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and each one will eat the flesh of his friend, in the siege and the straits that their enemies and those who seek their lives will inflict upon them.
And you shall break the jug before the eyes of the men who go with you. And you shall say to them:
So said the L-rd of Hosts: so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks the potter's vessel, which can no longer be repaired, and in the Topheth they will bury without place to bury. So will I do to this place, says the L-rd, and to its inhabitants, and to make this city like the Topheth. And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be like the place of the Topheth, the unclean ones, of all the houses on whose roofs they offered up incense to all the host of heaven and poured libations to other G-ds.
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Jeremiah 22:10-22:19
Weep not for the dead, neither bemoan him: weep for him who goes away, for he will return no more, nor see his native land. For so said the L-rd concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who ruled instead of Josiah his father, who left this place; he shall not return there again. For, in the place where they exiled him, there he will die, and this land he will no longer see.
Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper chambers without justice, who makes his fellowman work without wages and his hire he does not give him. Who says, "I will build myself a wide house with spacious upper chambers, and he cuts out windows for himself, and it is ceiled with cedar and painted with vermilion. Shall you reign, for you compete with the cedar? Your father-did he not eat and drink and perform justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy, then it was good. Is not that the knowledge of Me? says the L-rd. For your eyes and your heart are on nothing but your gain and on innocent blood to shed and on the oppression and on the crushing to do. Therefore, so said the L-rd about Jehoiakim, king of Judah; They will not lament him, [saying], "Hoe, brother!" or "Hoe, sister!" they will not lament him, "Hoe, L-rd!" or "Hoe, his glory!" A donkey's burial shall he be buried, dragged and tossed past the gates of Jerusalem.
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Jeremiah 23:1-23:9
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flocks of My pasture! says the L-rd. Therefore, so says the L-rd G-d of Israel concerning the shepherds: You who pasture My people, you have scattered My flocks and have driven them away and have not taken care of them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds, says the L-rd. And I will gather the remnant of My flocks from all the lands where I have driven them, and I will restore them to their dwellings and they shall be fruitful and multiply. And I will set up shepherds over them and they shall pasture them, and they shall no longer fear nor shall they be dismayed, nor shall [any of them] be missing, says the L-rd.
Behold, days are coming, says the L-rd, when I will set up of David a righteous shoot, and he shall reign a king and prosper, and he shall perform judgment and righteousness in the land. In his days, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name that he shall be called, The L-rd is our righteousness.
Therefore, behold days are coming, says the L-rd, when they shall no longer say, "As the L-rd lives, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt," But, "As the L-rd lives, Who brought up and Who brought the seed of the house of Israel from the northland and from all the lands where I have driven them, and they shall dwell on their land."
Because of the prophets my heart is broken within me, my bones shake, I was like a drunken man and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of the L-rd and because of His holy words.
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Jeremiah 23:16-23:22
So said the L-rd of Hosts: Do not hearken to the words of the prophets who prophesy for you; they mislead you. The vision of their heart they speak, not from the mouth of the L-rd. They say to those who despise Me, "The L-rd has spoken, 'You shall have peace, ' " and [to] everyone who follows the view of his heart they say, "No evil shall befall you." For who stood in the council of the L-rd and will see and hear His word? He who hearkened to His word and listened. Behold a storm from the L-rd has gone forth [with] fury, yea, a whirling storm, on the heads of the wicked it shall rest. The L-rd's anger shall not return until He executes it and until He fulfills the plans of His heart. At the end of days, you shall consider it perfectly. I did not send the prophets yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. And if they stood in My council, they should have let My people hear My words, so that they bring them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.
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Jeremiah 25:8-25:10
Therefore, so said the L-rd of Hosts: Since you have not hearkened to My words. Behold, I send and I will take all the families of the north, says the L-rd, and to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will bring them upon this land and upon its inhabitants and upon all these nations around, and I will destroy them and make them for a desolation and for a hissing and for perpetual ruins. And I will cause to cease from them a voice of mirth and a voice of joy, the sound of a bridegroom and the sound of a bride, the sound of a mill and the light of a candle.__________________________________________________________
Jeremiah 26:16-26:19
And the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, "This man is not liable to the death sentence, for he spoke to us in the name of the L-rd our G-d."
Then certain of the elders of the land rose and said to all the congregation of the people, saying: Micah the Morashtite was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah the king of Judah, saying: So said the L-rd of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed for a field, and Jerusalem shall be heaps, and the Temple Mount as the high places of a forest. Did Hezekiah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the L-rd? And he entreated the L-rd, and the L-rd renounced the evil that He had spoken concerning them. But we are doing great harm to ourselves.
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Jeremiah 30:15-30:16
Why do you cry about your injury [that] your pain is severe? For the magnitude of your iniquity, [since] your sins are many, I have done these to you. Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your adversaries, yea all of them, shall go into captivity, and those who plunder you shall be plunder, and all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
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Jeremiah 31:1-31:38
So says the L-rd: In the wilderness, the people who had escaped the sword found favor; He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place.
From long ago, the L-rd appeared to me; With everlasting love have I loved you; therefore have I drawn you to Me with loving-kindness.
Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel; yet again shall you be adorned with your tabrets, and you shall go out with the dances of those who make merry. Yet again shall you plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria, indeed planters shall plant [them] and redeem [them]. For there is a day, the watchers shall call on the mountains of Ephraim; Rise! Let us go up to Zion, to the L-rd, our G-d. For so says the L-rd to Jacob, "Sing [with] joy and shout at the head of the nations, make it heard, praise, and say, 'O L-rd, help Your people, the remnant of Israel!' " Behold I bring them from the north country and gather them from the uttermost ends of the earth, the blind and the lame amongst them, the woman with child and she who travails with child all together; a great company shall they return there. With weeping will they come, and with supplications will I lead them, along brooks of water will I make them go, on a straight road upon which they will not stumble, for I have become a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
Hear the word of the L-rd, O nations, and declare it on the islands from afar, and say, "He Who scattered Israel will gather them together and watch them as a shepherd his flock. For the L-rd has redeemed Jacob and has saved him out of the hand of him who is stronger than he. And they shall come and jubilate on the height of Zion, and they will stream to the goodness of the L-rd, over corn, wine, and oil, and over sheep and cattle, and their soul shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall have no further worry at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the round dance with music, and the young men and the old men together, and I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will refresh the soul of the priests with fat, and My people-they will be satisfied with My goodness, is the word of the L-rd.
So says the L-rd: A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children for they are not. So says the L-rd: Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, says the L-rd, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. And there is hope for your future, says the L-rd, and the children shall return to their own border.
I have indeed heard Ephraim complaining, [saying,] "You have chastised me, and I was chastised as an ungoaded calf, O lead me back, and I will return, for You are the L-rd, my G-d. For after my return I have completely changed my mind, and after I had been brought to know myself, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, yea I stood confounded, for I bore the reproach of my youth." "Is Ephraim a son who is dear to Me? Is he a child who is dandled? For whenever I speak of him, I still remember him: therefore, My very innards are agitated for him; I will surely have compassion on him," says the L-rd.
Set up markers for yourself, place small palms for yourself, put your heart to the highway, the road upon which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel, return to these your cities. How long will you hide, O backsliding daughter? For the L-rd has created something new on the earth, a woman shall go after a man.
So said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; They shall yet say this thing in the land of Judah and in its cities when I return their captivity; May the L-rd bless You, dwelling of righteousness, holy mount. And Judah shall dwell therein and [in] all its cities together, farmers and those who travel with flocks. For I have sated the faint soul, and every worried soul have I replenished.
Thereupon, I awoke and I had seen, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
Behold days are coming, says the L-rd, and I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with seed of man and seed of beasts. And it shall be, as I have watched over them to uproot and to break down, to demolish and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says the L-rd. In those days, they shall no longer say, "Fathers have eaten unripe grapes, and the teeth of the children shall be set on edge." But each man shall die for his iniquity; whoever eats the unripe grapes- his teeth shall be set on edge.
Behold, days are coming, says the L-rd, and I will form a covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, a new covenant. Not like the covenant that I formed with their forefathers on the day I took them by the hand to take them out of the land of Egypt, that they broke My covenant, although I was a L-rd over them, says the L-rd. For this is the covenant that I will form with the house of Israel after those days, says the L-rd: I will place My law in their midst and I will inscribe it upon their hearts, and I will be their G-d and they shall be My people. And no longer shall one teach his neighbor or [shall] one [teach] his brother, saying, "Know the L-rd," for they shall all know Me from their smallest to their greatest, says the L-rd, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will no longer remember.
So said the L-rd, Who gives the sun to illuminate by day, the laws of the moon and the stars to illuminate at night, Who stirs up the sea and its waves roar, the L-rd of Hosts is His name. If these laws depart from before Me, says the L-rd, so will the seed of Israel cease being a nation before Me for all time. So said the L-rd: If the heavens above will be measured and the foundations of the earth below will be fathomed, I too will reject all the seed of Israel because of all they did, says the L-rd.
Behold days are coming, says the L-rd, and the city shall be built to the L-rd, from the tower of Hananel until the gate of the corner. And the measuring line shall go out further opposite it upon the hill of Gareb, and it shall turn to Goah. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and the ash and all the fields until the Kidron Valley, until the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, shall be holy to the L-rd; it shall never again be uprooted or torn down forever.
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Jeremiah 32:33-32:41
And they turned their backs to Me and not their faces; although I taught them, teaching them betimes, they do not hearken to receive instruction. And they placed their abominations in the house upon which My Name was called, to contaminate it. And they built the high places of Baal, which was in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to pass their sons and their daughters to Molech, which I neither commanded them nor did it enter My mind to commit this abomination, in order to bring guilt upon Judah.
And now, therefore, so said the L-rd G-d of Israel concerning this city which you say, "It has been given into the hand[s] of the king of Babylon by the sword and by famine and by pestilence". Behold I will gather them from all the lands where I have driven them with My anger and with My wrath and with great fury, and I will restore them to this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. And they shall be My people, and I will be their G-d. And I will give them one accord and one way to fear Me all the time, so that it be good for them and for their children after them. And I will form for them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from them to do them good, and My fear I will place in their heart, not to turn away from Me. And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land truly with all My heart and with all My soul.
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Jeremiah 42:7-42:22
And it came to pass at the end of ten days that the word of the L-rd came to Jeremiah. And he called to Johanan the son of Kareah and to all the officers of the armies that were with him, both great and small. And he said to them: So said the L-rd G-d of Israel, to Whom you have sent me to present your supplication before Him.
If you dwell in this land, I will build you up and I will not pluck you up, for I have repented of the evil that I have done to you. Fear not the king of Babylon whom you fear; fear it not, says the L-rd, for I am with you to redeem you and to save you from his hand. And I will give you mercy, and he shall have mercy on you, and he shall return you to your land. But if you say, "We will not dwell in this land, not to hearken to the voice of the L-rd your G-d, saying, 'No, but we will come to the land of Egypt, where we will neither see war not hear the sound of the horn, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell.' " And now, therefore, hearken to the word of the L-rd, O remnant of Judah, so said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; If you direct your faces to come to Egypt and you come to dwell there, the sword that you fear will overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine that you are worried about shall overtake you there in Egypt, and there you shall die. And [so] shall [it] be [with] all the men who directed their faces to Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, and they shall have neither survivor nor refugee because of the evil that I am bringing upon them. For so said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; As My wrath and My fury have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall My wrath and My fury be poured out upon you when you come to Egypt, and you shall be for an oath and for a bewilderment and for a curse and for a reproach, and you shall no longer see this place.
The L-rd spoke concerning you, O remnant of Judah; do not come to Egypt. You shall know certainly that I have warned you today. For you have wilfully deceived, for you have sent me to the L-rd your G-d, saying, "Pray for us to the L-rd our G-d, and according to all that the L-rd our G-d shall say, so tell us, and we will do [it]." And I told you today, but you did not hearken to the voice of the L-rd your G-d or to all that He sent me to you. And now, you shall certainly know that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desired to sojourn.
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Jeremiah 43:8-43:13
And the word of the L-rd came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying: Take in your hand large stones and hide them in the mortar in the framework, which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, before the eyes of Jewish men. And you shall say to them: So said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; Behold I am sending, and I will take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I will put his throne over these stones which I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt, those who are for death, for death, and those who are for captivity, for captivity, and those who are for the sword, for the sword. And I will ignite a fire in the houses of the G-ds of Egypt, and he shall burn them and capture them, and he shall wrap up the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps up his garment, and he shall leave there in peace. And he shall break the monuments of Beth-shemesh which is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the G-ds of Egypt he shall burn with fire.
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Jeremiah 46:25-46:28
The L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel has said: Lo I will visit upon Amon of No and upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt, and upon their G-ds and upon their kings, both upon Pharaoh and upon those who put their trust in him. And I will deliver them into the hand[s] of those who seek their lives and into the hand[s] of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand[s] of his servants-and after that it will be inhabited again as in the days of old, says the L-rd.
You fear not, O Jacob My servant, and be not dismayed, O Israel! for behold, I will redeem you from afar and your children from the land of their captivity, and Jacob shall return and be quiet and at ease, and there shall be none who disturb his rest. You fear not, My servant Jacob, says the L-rd, for I am with you, for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end, but I will chastise you justly, and I will not completely destroy you.
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Jeremiah 48:29-48:39
We have heard the pride of Moab, very proud, his loftiness and his pride and his haughtiness, and the arrogance of his heart.
I know, says the L-rd, his wrath, and it is not so, his mighty men have not dealt properly.
Therefore, I wail for Moab, and for all of Moab I will cry; for the people of Kir-heres they shall moan.
From the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, O grape vine of Sibmah; your tendrils have crossed the sea, they reached the sea of Jazer; upon your dried figs and upon your vintage the spoiler has fallen.
And joy and jubilation shall be taken away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab, and I will cause the wine to cease from the pits. No one shall tread with shouting; The shouting shall be no shouting. From the cry of Heshbon until Elaleh, they let out their voice as far as Jahaz, from Zoar until Horonaim, O third-born heifer, for also the waters of Nimrim shall become wastelands. And I will cause to cease from Moab, says the L-rd, one who offers up [sacrifices] on the high places and who burns incense to his G-ds.
Therefore, my heart shall stir for Moab like flutes, and my heart shall stir for the men of Kir-heres like flutes; because they dealt haughtily.
For every head is bald and every beard clipped; on all hands are scratches, and on the loins sackcloth. On all the roofs of Moab and in her broad places, there is lamentation everywhere, for I have broken Moab like a vessel that has no use, says the L-rd. Wail, "How was she dismayed? How did Moab turn its back?" They were shamed, and Moab became a derision and a dismay to all its surroundings.
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Jeremiah 49:14-49:19
I have heard tidings from the L-rd, and an emissary is sent among the nations: Assemble and come upon her, and arise for war!
For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, despised among man. Your hastiness has enticed you, the wickedness of your heart, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill; if you raise your nest like an eagle, from there will I bring you down, says the L-rd. And Edom shall become a desolation; whoever passes by her shall be astonished and shall hiss at all her plagues. Like the overturning of Sodom and Gemorrah and her neighbors, said the L-rd, no man shall dwell there, and no man shall sojourn there. Behold, as a lion that ascends from the heights of the Jordan to a strong dwelling place, for I will bring the moment when I will hasten him away from her, and he who is chosen I will appoint to her, for who is like Me and who will appoint Me a time, and who is a shepherd who will stand before Me?
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Jeremiah 50:17-50:20
A scattered sheep is Israel which lions have driven away. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and this last one broke his bones, Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon. Therefore, so said the L-rd of Hosts, the G-d of Israel; Behold I visit retribution upon the king of Babylon and upon his land, as I visited upon the king of Assyria. And I will return Israel to his dwelling and he shall pasture in the Carmel and the Bashan, and in Mount Ephraim and Gilead shall his soul be sated. In those days and at that time, says the L-rd, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but it shall not be there, and the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found, for I will forgive those I leave over.
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Jeremiah 50:23-50:28
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken? How has Babylon become a desolation among the nations? I laid a snare for you, and you were also taken, O Babylon, and you were unaware; you were discovered and you were also seized, for you have stricken against the L-rd. The L-rd has opened his treasury and has taken out the weapons of His fury, for the L-rd G-d has work in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the border, open her gates, thresh her like stacks of grain and utterly destroy her: let her have no remnant. Slay all her bulls with the sword, let them go down to the slaughter; woe is to them for their day has come, the time of their visitation. Hearken to those fleeing and escaping from the land of Babylon to tell in Zion the vengeance of the L-rd our G-d, the vengeance of His Temple.
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Jeremiah 50:34-50:46
Their Redeemer is mighty; the L-rd of Hosts is His name, He shall surely plead their cause, in order to give rest to the earth and unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon. A sword is upon the Chaldeans, says the L-rd, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon and upon her princes and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the imposters and they shall become foolish; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall become dismayed. A sword is upon his horses and upon his chariots and upon all the allies who are in her midst, and they shall become [like] women; a sword is upon her treasuries, and they shall be spoiled. A drought is upon her waters, and they shall dry up, for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad upon things of horror. Therefore, martens shall dwell with cats, and ostriches shall dwell therein, and it shall never again be settled until eternity, neither shall it be inhabited from generation to generation. Like G-d's overturning Sodom and Gemorrah and her neighbors, says the L-rd, no man shall dwell there, and no man shall sojourn therein. Behold a people is coming from the north, and a great nation and great kings shall be aroused from the ends of the earth. They grasp bow and spear; they are cruel, having no mercy; their voice is like the roaring sea, and they ride on steeds, arrayed like a man for war, against you, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon has heard the report of them, and his hands have become feeble; distress has grasped him, pangs like a woman in confinement. Behold, as a lion that ascends from the heights of the Jordan to a strong dwelling, when I bring the moment [that] I will hasten them over her, for who is like Me and who will appoint Me a time, and who is a shepherd who will stand before Me? Therefore, hearken to the counsel of the L-rd, which He advised Babylon, and His plans that He planned concerning the land of the Chaldeans, if the young of the flock will not drag them, if He will not make desolate their dwelling with them. From the report that Babylon was taken, the earth quaked, and a cry was heard among the nations.
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Jeremiah 51:36-51:44
Therefore, so said the L-rd: Behold I plead your cause, and I avenge your vengeance, and I will dry up her sea and dry up her fountain. And Babylon shall become heaps, a den of jackals, a desolation and a hissing without an inhabitant. Together they roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs. In their heat I will place their wine feasts, and I will make them drunk in order that they become joyful, and sleep a perpetual sleep and not awaken, says the L-rd. I will lower them like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. How was Sheshach taken and the praise of all the earth seized? How did Babylon become an astonishment among the nations? The sea has ascended upon Babylon; with the multitude of its waves it has been covered. Her cities became desolate, a dry land and a desert, a land where no man dwells, neither does any man pass through them. And I will visit retribution on Bel in Babylon, and I will take what he has swallowed out of his mouth, and nations shall no longer stream to him: even the wall of Babylon has fallen.
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Ezekiel 2:8-3:3
But you, son of man, hearken to what I speak to you; do not be rebellious like the rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." And I saw, and behold, a hand stretched out to me, and behold, in it was a scroll of a book. And it spread it out before me, and it was inscribed before and behind, and there was written upon it lamentations and murmuring and woe.
And He said to me; "Son of man, that which you find, eat; eat this scroll and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, "Feed your stomach and fill your bowels with this scroll, which I give you"; so I ate, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.
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Ezekiel 6:7-6:14
And the slain will fall in your midst, and you will know that I am the L-rd. But I shall leave a remnant insofar as you will have people among the nations who will escape the sword, when you are scattered in the lands. And those of you that escape will remember Me among the nations where they were captured, that I yielded to their straying heart which turned away from Me and to their eyes that strayed after their idols, and they will quarrel with themselves about the evils that they did in addition to all their abominations. And they will know that I am the L-rd; not for naught have I spoken to do this evil to them.
So said the L-rd G-d: Strike with your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, "Ah!" about all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by the sword, through famine, and through pestilence.
The one who is far away will die of the pestilence, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who survives and who is in the siege, will die of hunger, and I shall spend My fury on them. And you will know that I am the L-rd when their slain ones will be among their idols, around their altars, upon every hill of height, on all mountaintops and under every leafy tree and under every branchy terebinth, a place where they offered up a satisfying savor to all their idols. I shall extend My hand upon them, and I shall make the land a desolation and an astonishment -[starting] from the desert of Diblah-in all their dwelling places, and they shall know that I am the L-rd.' "
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Ezekiel 16:1-16:42
Then the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, let Jerusalem know its abominations. And you shall say:
So said the L-rd G-d to Jerusalem; Your dwelling place and your birth place are from the land of the Canaanites; your father was the Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. And as for your birth, on the day you were born, your navel was not cut, neither were you washed with water for cleansing, nor were you salted, nor swaddled at all. No eye pitied you [enough] to do for you any of those, to have mercy on you, and you were cast on the open field in the loathsomeness of your body on the day you were born. And I passed by you and saw you downtrodden with your blood, and I said to you, 'With your blood, live,' and I said to you, 'With your blood, live.' Myriads, like the plants of the field I have made you, and you have increased and grown, and you have come with perfect beauty, breasts fashioned and your hair grown, but you were naked and bare. And I passed by you and saw you, and behold your time was the time of love, and I spread My skirt over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you and came into a covenant with you, says the L-rd, and you were Mine. And I washed you with water, and I rinsed your blood off you, and I anointed you with oil. And I clothed you with embroidered garments, and I shod you with [the skin of the] badger, and I girded you with fine linen, and I covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace on your neck. And I put a nose ring on your nose and earrings on your ears, and a crown of glory on your head. And you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your raiment was fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth; fine flour, honey, and oil you ate, and you became exceedingly beautiful and you became fit for the throne. Then your name went out among the nations for your beauty, for it is all-inclusive, with My majesty that I placed upon you, says the L-rd G-d.
And you relied on your beauty, and you went astray because of your fame, and you poured out your harlotries on every passerby; to him it would be. And you took of your garments and made for yourself mounds of colored garments, and you played the harlot upon them; this should not have come, nor should it be. And you took the vessels of your glory-of My gold and of My silver, which I gave to you- and you made for yourself male images and you fornicated with them. And you took your embroidered garments and covered them. And My bread that I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey I gave you to eat, and you placed it before them for a pleasant odor. So it was, says the L-rd G-d. Then you took your sons and your daughters that you bore for Me, and you slaughtered them for them to eat. Were your harlotries a trivial matter. That you slaughtered My children and gave them over by passing them over to them? And with all your abominations and your harlotries, you did not remember the days of your youth; when you were naked and bare, and you were downtrodden in your blood.
What will be after all your evil? Woe, woe is to you, says the L-rd G-d.
You built yourself an eminent place, and you made yourself a lofty place in every square. At the head of every road you built your lofty place, and you made your beauty an abomination; you spread your legs to every passerby, and you increased your harlotries. You played the harlot with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors great of flesh, and you increased your harlotry to provoke Me. Now behold, I stretched out My hand over you, and I diminished your ration, and I delivered you to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were embarrassed by your lewd way. And you played the harlot with the people of Assyria because you were not sated, and you played the harlot with them, but still you were not sated. And you increased your harlotry with the land of Canaan, with the Chaldeans, and even with this you were not sated. How degenerate is your heart! says the L-rd G-d, when you do all these things-the deed of a harlot dominated [by passion]. When you build your eminent place at the head of every road and you make your lofty place in every square, but you are not like a harlot to boast of a hire. [You are] the adulterous wife, who, under her husband, takes strangers. To all harlots they give gifts, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, and you bribed them to come to you from around because of your harlotries. With you was the opposite of [other] women because of your harlotries, and after you, there was no such harlotry, and when you gave hire and it was not given to you, you were the opposite.
Therefore, [you] harlot, listen to the word of the L-rd. So said the L-rd G-d: Because your bottom was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered because of your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all your abominable idols, and according to the blood of your sons, which you gave them. Therefore, behold I gather all your lovers with whom you mingled, and all whom you loved with all whom you hated, and I shall gather them against you from around and I shall expose your nakedness to them, and they will see all your nakedness. And I shall judge you [with] the judgments of adulteresses and murderesses, and I shall deliver you [to those who shed] blood with fury and zeal. And I shall deliver you into their hands, and they will demolish your eminent place, and they will break down your lofty places and strip you of your clothing and take the vessels of your glory and leave you naked and bare. And they will raise up a mob against you and pelt you with stones, and they will pierce you with their swords. And they will burn your houses with fire and will inflict judgments upon you before the eyes of many women, and I shall stop you from [being] a harlot, neither will you any longer give hire.
And I shall relieve My fury in you, and My jealousy will depart from you, and I shall be quiet and be angry no longer.
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Ezekiel 17:1-17:24
Now the word of the L-rd came to me, saying, "Son of man, propound a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel. And you shall say:
So said the L-rd G-d: The great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, who had diverse colors, came to the Lebanon and took the lofty top of the cedar. He plucked the top of its branches and brought it to a land of merchants; in a city of traffickers he placed it.Then he took of the seed of the land and placed it in a fertile field; it took [root] beside abundant waters; a mountain willow he made it. And it grew and became a spreading vine of low stature, to turn its tendrils to him, and its roots were under him, and it became a vine and it sprouted branches and sent forth boughs.
Now there was one great eagle with great wings and many feathers, and behold, this vine gathered its roots upon him, and its tendrils it sent forth to him, to water it from the furrows of its planting.
In a good field, beside abundant waters it is planted, to sprout branches and to bear fruit, to become a sturdy vine.
Say:
So said the L-rd G-d: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit so that it will wither? All the leaves of its plant will dry up, and not with great power and many people [will he come] against those who rip it out by its roots. And behold it is planted-will it prosper? when the east wind touches it, will it not wither? By the furrows of its planting it will wither."
Then the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these are? Say:
Behold the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon. And he took of the royal seed and formed a covenant with him, and he brought him into an oath and the mighty of the land he took away. To be a lowly kingdom, that it might not elevate itself, to keep his covenant that it might stand. But he rebelled against him by sending his emissaries to Egypt to give him horses and many men. Will he prosper? Will one who does these escape? Can one violate a covenant and escape? As I live, says the L-rd G-d, surely in the locality of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he violated, with him in the midst of Babylon, he shall die. And not with a great army and a great multitude will Pharaoh aid him in the war, when he casts up mounds and builds forts, to cut off many souls. Seeing that he disparaged the oath to break the covenant, and behold he gave his hand, yet he did all these! He shall not escape.
Therefore, so said the L-rd G-d: As I live, surely My oath that he disparaged and My covenant that he broke, I will bring it upon his head. And I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and contend with him there for his treachery that he committed against Me. And all his fugitives with all his wings shall fall by the sword, and the survivors will disperse in every direction and you will know that I, the L-rd, have spoken.
So says the L-rd G-d: And I Myself will take from the lofty top of the cedar, and I will place [it]; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I Myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain. In the mountain of the height of Israel I will plant it, and it will bear boughs and bring forth fruit and become a sturdy cedar, and under it shall dwell all birds of every feather; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field will recognize that I, the L-rd, have lowered the high tree, have raised aloft the low tree; that I have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree blossom. I, the L-rd, have spoken, and I will accomplish it."
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Ezekiel 18:23-18:32
Do I desire the death of the wicked? says the L-rd G-d. Is it not rather in his repenting of his ways that he may live?
And when the righteous repents of his righteousness and does wrong and does like all the abominations that the wicked man did, shall he live? All his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered; in his treachery that he has perpetrated and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
Yet you say, 'The way of the L-rd is not right!' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is not right? Is it not rather your ways that are not right? When a righteous man repents of his righteousness and does wrong and dies on that account; for the wrong that he has done he should die. And when a wicked man repents of his wickedness that he has done, and does justice and righteousness, he will keep his soul alive. He will see and repent of all his transgressions that he has committed-he shall surely live; he shall not die. And yet the house of Israel say, 'The way of the L-rd is not right!' Is it My ways that are not right, O house of Israel? Is it not rather your ways that are not right? Therefore, every man according to his ways I will judge you, O house of Israel, says the L-rd G-d: repent and cause others to repent of all your transgressions, and it will not be a stumbling block of iniquity for you. Cast away from yourselves all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, and why should you die, O house of Israel! For I do not desire the death of him who dies, says the L-rd G-d: so turn away and live!"
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Ezekiel 19:1-19:14
And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel. And you shall say:
How was your mother a lioness! Among the lions she couched; amidst young lions she reared her cubs. And she raised up one of her cubs; he was a young lion; he learned to attack prey; he devoured men. Nations gathered around him: in their pit he was caught, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
Now she saw that she had taken ill; her hope was lost, and she took one of her cubs and made him a young lion. Now he walked among the lions-he was a young lion- and he learned to attack prey; he devoured men. And he was intimate with their widows, and their cities he laid waste; and the land and the fullness thereof became desolate from the sound of his roar. And nations gathered around against him from provinces, and they spread their net upon him: he was caught in their pit. And they put him into a collar, with hooks, and they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds in order that his voice no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
Your mother is like a vine in your likeness, planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches; it resulted from many waters. And it had sturdy rods for the scepters of the rulers, and its height was raised over between the interwoven branches, and it could be seen because of its height with its many tendrils. And it was scattered with fury; to the ground it was cast, and the east wind dried up its fruit; they were broken and withered; its sturdy rod-fire devoured it. And now it is planted in the desert, in a desolate and thirsty land.
And fire came out of the staff of its sturdy branches [and] devoured its fruit, and in it was no sturdy rod or scepter to rule. It is a lamentation, and it will be a lamentation.
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Ezekiel 20:5-20:44
And you shall say to them:
So says the L-rd G-d, On the day I chose Israel, then I lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up My hand to them, saying: I am the L-rd your G-d. On that day I lifted up My hand to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt, to a land that I had sought out for them, flowing with milk and honey; it is the glory of all the lands. And I said to them: Every man cast away the despicable idols from before his eyes, and pollute not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the L-rd your G-d.
But they rebelled against Me and would not consent to hearken to Me; they did not cast away, every man, the despicable idols from before their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt; and I said to pour out My wrath over them, to give My anger full rein over them, in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I wrought for the sake of My Name so that it should not be desecrated before the eyes of the nations in whose midst they were, before whose eyes I made Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
And I brought them out of the land of Egypt, and I brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them My statutes, and My ordinances I made known to them, which, if a man perform, he shall live through them. Moreover, I gave them My Sabbaths to be for a sign between Me and them, to know that I, the L-rd, make them holy.
But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they walked not in My statutes, and they despised My ordinances, which, if a man keep, he will live through them, and My Sabbaths they desecrated exceedingly. Then I said to pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make an end to them. And I wrought for the sake of My Name, so it should not be desecrated before the eyes of the nations before whose eyes I had brought them out. But I also lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey; it is the glory of all lands. Because they despised My ordinances, and in My statutes they did not walk, and My Sabbaths they desecrated- for their heart went constantly after their idols.
Nevertheless, My eye looked pityingly upon them, not to destroy them, and I did not make an end to them in the wilderness.
But I said to their children in the wilderness: 'In the statutes of your fathers do not walk and do not observe their ordinances, and do not defile yourselves with their idols. I am the L-rd your G-d: walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and fulfill them. And keep My Sabbaths holy so that they be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the L-rd your G-d.'
But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and they did not observe My ordinances to perform them, which if a man perform, he shall live through them; My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I said to pour out My wrath upon them, to spend My anger upon them in the wilderness. I drew back My hand and acted for the sake of My Name, that it should not be desecrated before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I took them out.
I also lifted My hand to them in the wilderness to scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the lands. Because they did not perform My ordinances, and they rejected My statutes and desecrated My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after the idols of their fathers. I, too, gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances through which they should not live. And I defiled them with their gifts, when causing to pass all who open the womb, in order that I lay them desolate, in order that they know that I am the L-rd.
Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them: So said the L-rd G-d, [With] this too, your fathers blasphemed Me when they dealt treacherously with Me. And I brought them to the land, that which I lifted My hand to give to them, and they saw every high hill and every many-branched tree, and they slaughtered there their sacrifices, and they presented the provocation of their offering, and there they placed their pleasing savors, and there they poured their libations. And I said to them: 'What is this high place that you are the ones coming there?' So its name was called Bamah until this day.
Therefore, say to the house of Israel: So said the L-rd G-d: Are you defiling yourselves in the way of your forefathers, and are you going astray after their abominations? And when you take your gifts, when you cause your children to pass through the fire, you defile yourselves to all your idols until this day, shall I then be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the L-rd G-d, I will not be inquired of by you. But what enters your mind shall not come about, what you say, 'Let us be like the nations, like the families of the lands, to serve wood and stone.' As I live, says the L-rd G-d, surely with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with poured out fury, will I reign over you. And I shall take you out of the peoples, and I shall gather you from the lands in which you were scattered, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with poured out fury. And I shall bring you to the wilderness of the peoples, and I shall contend with you there face to face. As I contended with your forefathers in he wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I contend with you, says the L-rd G-d. And I shall cause you to pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the transmission of the covenant. And I shall separate from you those who rebel and those who transgress against Me; from the land of their sojournings I shall take them, but to the land of Israel they shall not come, and you will know that I am the L-rd.
And you, the house of Israel, so said the L-rd G-d: Each man, go worship his idols since you do not hearken to Me, and no longer desecrate My holy Name with your gifts and with your idols.
But on My holy mount, on the mountain of the height of Israel, says the L-rd G-d. There all the house of Israel-yea, all of them-will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your heave offerings and the first of your food with all your hallowed things. With a pleasing savor I shall accept you when I take you out of the nations, and I shall gather you from the lands in which you were scattered, and I shall be hallowed through you before the eyes of the nations. And you will know that I am the L-rd when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I lifted My hand to give to your forefathers. And there you will remember your ways and your deeds, with which you have been defiled, and you will quarrel with yourselves because of all your evils that you have done. And you will know that I am the L-rd when I do with you for My Name's sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel," says the L-rd G-d.
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Ezekiel 21:1-21:10
Now the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, set your face southward and speak to the south and prophesy to the forest of the field in the south. And you shall say to the forest of the south, Hearken to the word of the L-rd G-d: Behold I kindle within you fire, and it will consume within you every moist tree and every dry tree; it shall not be quenched, yea a flaming flame, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it. And all flesh shall see that I am the L-rd; I have kindled it, it shall not be quenched.
Then said I, "Alas, O L-rd G-d, they say of me, 'Is he not an inventor of parables?' "
Then the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and prophesy about the sanctuaries and prophesy about the land of Israel. And you shall say to the land of Israel; So said the L-rd: Behold I am against you, and I shall draw my sword from its sheath, and I shall cut off from you righteous and wicked. Since I cut off from you righteous and wicked, Therefore, My sword shall emerge from its sheath upon all flesh from south to north. And all flesh shall know that I am the L-rd; I have taken My sword out of its sheath, it shall no longer return.
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Ezekiel 26:1-26:6
It came to pass in the eleventh year on the first of the month, that the word of the L-rd came to me, saying:"Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, 'Aha! The doors of the peoples have been broken; it has turned to me; I shall become full from the destroyed city.' Therefore, so said the L-rd G-d: Behold I am against you, Tyre, and I shall bring upon you many nations, as the sea brings up its waves. And they will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers, and I shall remove her earth from her and make her a smooth rock. She will become a place to spread out nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken, says the L-rd G-d, and she will become plunder for the nations. And her daughters that are in the field shall be slain, and they will know that I am the L-rd.
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Ezekiel 28:11-28:19
Then the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him:
So said the L-rd G-d:
You are the one who engraves images, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
In Eden, the garden of G-d you were;
Every precious stone was [set in] your covering;
Ruby, topaz, diamond, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, carbuncle, and crystal and gold;
The work of your drums and your orifices is in you;
On the day of your creation they were established.
You were a cherub of great measure, that covers, and I gave that to you;
You were on the mount of the sanctuary of G-d: you walked among stones of fire.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created
until wrongdoing was found in you.
Because of the multitude of your commerce
They filled you with violence and you sinned,
And I shall cast you as profane from the mountain of G-d,
And I shall destroy you, O covering cherub, from among the stones of fire.
Your heart became haughty because of your beauty;
You destroyed your wisdom with your brightness;
I have cast you upon the ground;
I have set you before kings to gaze upon you.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities, with the wrongdoing of your commerce,
You profaned your sanctity, and I shall bring forth fire out of your midst
It will consume you, and I shall make you ashes on the ground before the eyes of all who see you.
All who know you among the peoples will wonder over you; you shall be a terror, and you shall be no more, ever."
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Ezekiel 29:1-29:7
In the tenth year, in the tenth [month], on the twelfth of the month, the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man! Set your face against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. Speak and you shall say:
So says the L-rd G-d: Behold I am upon you, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great crocodile that lies down in the midst of its rivers, who said, "My river is my own, and I made myself." And I will put hooks in your jaws and I will cause the fish of your rivers to fasten onto your scales, and I will drag you up out of the midst of your rivers and all the fish of your rivers shall stick to your scales. And I will scatter you in the desert, you and all the fish of your rivers; upon the open fields shall you fall-you shall not be brought home, nor gathered together; to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air have I given you to be devoured. And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the L-rd, because they have been a prop of reeds to the house of Israel. When they took hold of you with the hand, you splintered and pierced the whole of their shoulders, and when they learned upon you, you broke, and you made all their loins stand upright.
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Ezekiel 31:1-32:10
Now it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third [month], on the first of the month, that the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, say to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to his multitude:
Whom are you like in your greatness? Behold Assyria [was] a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches, shady woods, and of tall stature, and among the interwoven branches was its lofty top. Water nurtured it; the deep made it grow tall; [each of] its rivers flows around its planting, and its canals it sent forth to all the trees of the field. Therefore, its height became taller than all the trees of the field, and its boughs multiplied, and its branches grew long because of abundant waters when it sent forth. In its boughs all birds of the heavens nested, and under its branches all beasts of the field gave birth, and in its shade all the many nations sat. And it became beautiful in its stature, in the length of its tendrils, for its roots were upon abundant waters. Cedars did not dim it in the garden of G-d: junipers did not equal its boughs, and chestnut trees were not like its branches; no tree in the garden of G-d equaled it in its beauty. I made it beautiful with its many tendrils, and all the trees of Eden, which are in the garden of G-d, envied it.
Therefore, so said the L-rd G-d: Because you grew haughty with your height, and it placed its lofty top among interwoven branches, and its heart became haughty with its height, I delivered it into the hands of the strongest of nations, that he execute [My will] upon him: according to his wickedness I banished him. And strangers, the strong of the nations, cut it off and cast it down; on the mountains and in all the valleys its tendrils fell, and its branches were broken in all the channels of the earth, and all the peoples of the earth went down from its shade and abandoned it. Upon its carcass all the fowl of the heaven rested, and upon its branches were all the beasts of the field. In order that all the water trees should not become haughty with their height, and they should not place their lofty tops among the interwoven branches, and all that drink water should not stand over them with their height, for all of them were given to death, to the nether parts of the earth, among the sons of men with those who descend into the Pit.
So said the L-rd G-d: On the day he descended into the Grave, I caused mourning; I covered the deep on his account, I withdrew its rivers, abundant waters stopped; I darkened the Lebanon because of him, and all the trees of the field swooned over him. From the sound of his fall I made the nations quake, when I lowered him into the Grave with those who descend into the Pit, and they were consoled in the nether part of the earth, all the trees of Eden, the choice and the best of the Lebanon, all those that drink water. They too descended into the Grave with him, with those slain by the sword, and his allies, who dwelt in his shade in the midst of the nations.
To whom have you likened yourself so with glory and with greatness among the trees of Eden, and you were lowered with the trees of Eden into the nether part of the earth; among the uncircumcised you shall lie with those slain by the sword; that is Pharaoh and all his multitude," says the L-rd G-d.
Now it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, that the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, lift up a lamentation over Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him:
You resembled a young lion among the nations but you are like a crocodile in the seas, and you went out with your rivers, and you sullied the water with your feet, and you trod their rivers.
So said the L-rd G-d: I shall spread My net over you in the congregation of many peoples, and they will draw you up with My net. And I shall scatter you on the earth; upon the face of the field I shall cast you, and I shall cause all the fowl of the heavens to rest upon you, and I shall sate the beasts of all the earth with you. And I shall lay your flesh upon the mountains, and I shall fill the valleys with what is cast off from you. And I shall water with your blood the land where you float, even to the mountains, and the streams will fill up from you. And with your smoke I will cover the heavens, and I will darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine its light. All the bright lights in the heavens-I will darken them because of you, and I will cast darkness upon your land, says the L-rd G-d. And I will vex the heart of many peoples, when I bring your ruin among the nations upon lands that you did not know. And I will cause many peoples to be appalled by you, and their kings will storm over you when I cause My sword to fly before their faces, and they will quake at their ruin, everyone for himself on the day of your downfall.
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Ezekiel 34:1-34:6
Then the word of the L-rd came to me, saying: "Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, to the shepherds:
So said the L-rd G-d: Woe, shepherds of Israel who were shepherding themselves! Do not the shepherds shepherd the flocks? You eat the fat and you clothe yourselves with the wool; the fatlings you slaughter; the flocks you do not shepherd. The frail you did not strengthen, the sick you did not heal, the broken you did not bind, those astray you did not bring back, and the lost you did not seek, but with strength and with rigor you chastised them. They scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became prey for all the beasts of the field, and they scattered. My flock strayed throughout all the mountains and upon every lofty hill, and upon the entire face of the land My flock scattered-and none searches or seeks.
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Ezekiel 36:28-36:38
Then will you dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you will be a people to Me, and I will be to you as a G-d. And I will save you from all your uncleannesses, and I will call to the corn and will multiply it, and I will not decree famine again over you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you shall no more have to accept the shame of famine among the nations. And you shall remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own eyes on account of your sins and on account of your abominations. Not for your sake do I do it, says the L-rd G-d, may it be known to you; be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
So says the L-rd G-d: On the day that I will have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and I will resettle the cities, and the ruins shall be built up. And the desolate land shall be worked, instead of its lying desolate in the sight of all that pass by. And they shall say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and the cities that were destroyed and desolate and pulled down have become settled as fortified [cities].' And the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, the L-rd, have built up the ruined places and have planted the desolate ones; I, the L-rd, have spoken, and I will perform [it].
So says the L-rd G-d: I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do for them; I will multiply them-the men-like a flock of sheep. Like the flocks appointed for the holy offerings, like the flocks of Jerusalem on its festivals, so will these cities now laid waste be filled with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the L-rd."
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Ezekiel 37:1-37:14
The hand of the L-rd came upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the L-rd, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and that was full of bones. And He made me pass by them round about, and lo! they were exceedingly many on the surface of the valley, and lo! they were exceedingly dry. Then He said to me; "Son of man, can these bones become alive?"
And I answered, "O L-rd G-d, You [alone] know."
And He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the L-rd.' So says the L-rd G-d to these bones; Behold, I will cause spirit to enter into you, and you shall live! And I will lay sinews upon you, and I will make flesh grow over you and cover you with skin and put breath into you, and you will live, and you will then know that I am the L-rd."
So I prophesied as I was commanded, and there arose a noise when I prophesied, and behold a commotion, and the bones came together, bone to its bone! And I looked, and lo! sinews were upon them, and flesh came upon them, and skin covered them from above, but there was still no spirit in them. Then He said to me, "Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, O son of man, and say to the spirit, 'So says the L-rd G-d: From four sides come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain ones that they may live.' "
And I prophesied as He had commanded me, and the spirit came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a very great army, exceedingly so.
Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Behold they say, 'Our bones have become dried up, our hope is lost, we are clean cut off to ourselves.' Therefore, prophesy and say to them:
So says the L-rd G-d: Lo! I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves as My people, and bring you home to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the L-rd, when I open your graves and lead you up out of your graves as My people. And I will put My spirit into you, and you shall live, and I will set you on your land, and you shall know that I, the L-rd, have spoken it and have performed it," says the L-rd.
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Ezekiel 39:17-39:20
And you, son of man, so said the L-rd G-d: Say to every winged bird and to every beast of the field, Assemble and come; gather from around My slaughter, which I am slaughtering for you in a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. The flesh of the mighty you shall eat and the blood of the princes of the earth you shall drink; rams, lambs, he-goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And you shall eat fat until you are full, and you shall drink blood until you are drunk, from My slaughtering that I have slaughtered for you. And you shall be sated on My table with horses and riders, mighty men and all warriors, says the L-rd G-d.
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Ezekiel 47:1-47:9
Then he brought me back to the entrance of the House, and behold there was water coming out from under the threshold of the House toward the east, for the House faced eastward, and the water was descending from below, from the right side of the House, from the south of the alter. And he took me out by way of the Northern Gate and led me around by way of the outside to the Outer Gate, the way that faces east, and behold, water was trickling from the right side. When the man went out eastward with a cord in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. And he measured one thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees, and he measured one thousand and he led me though water that reached the loins. And he measured one thousand [cubits], a stream that I could not cross, for the water was so high that it was water for swimming, a stream that could not be crossed.
And he said to me, "Have you seen, Son of man?" And he led me and brought me back upon the bank of the stream. When I returned, and behold, upon the bank of the stream was a very great profusion of trees on either side. And he said to me, "This water is going out to the eastern frontier, and will descend upon the plain, and come to the sea, to the sea that is brought out, and the waters will be healed. And every living creature that will swarm wherever the two streams will go, will live, and the fish will be very abundant, for these waters have come there, and wherever the stream flows, they shall be healed and live.
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