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Hear this word which I take up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:
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The virgin of Israel has fallen; She will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; [There is] no one to raise her up.
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For thus says the Lord GOD: "The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel."
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For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek Me and live;
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But do not seek Bethel, Nor enter Gilgal, Nor pass over to Beersheba; For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, And Bethel shall come to nothing.
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Seek the LORD and live, Lest He break out like fire [in] the house of Joseph, And devour [it,] With no one to quench [it] in Bethel --
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You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!"
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He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD [is] His name.
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He rains ruin upon the strong, So that fury comes upon the fortress.
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They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
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Therefore, because you tread down the poor And take grain taxes from him, Though you have built houses of hewn stone, Yet you shall not dwell in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, But you shall not drink wine from them.
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For I know your manifold transgressions And your mighty sins: Afflicting the just [and] taking bribes; Diverting the poor [from justice] at the gate.
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Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time, For it [is] an evil time.
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Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the LORD God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.
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Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
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Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: "[There shall be] wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing.
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In all vineyards [there shall be] wailing, For I will pass through you," Says the LORD.
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Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good [is] the day of the LORD to you? It [will be] darkness, and not light.
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It [will be] as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or [as though] he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him!
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[Is] not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? [Is it not] very dark, with no brightness in it?
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" I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
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Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept [them,] Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
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Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
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But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream.
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" Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
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You also carried Sikkuth your king And Chiun, your idols, The star of your gods, Which you made for yourselves.
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Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus," Says the LORD, whose name [is] the God of hosts.
