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\sectd\sect{\header \pard\qr\plain\f0\fs16 Zephaniah (Page \chpgn) \par}{\pard \pagebb
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs72 Zephaniah
 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\cf1 1}The {\scaps {\super\cf2\fs24 1}Lord}'s message, which came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah, in the time of Josiah of Judah who was son of Amon.
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Day of Judgment on Judah

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}I will utterly destroy everything 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
from off the face of the earth,
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{\pard\fi-1720\li2800
says the {\scaps Lord}. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}I will sweep away human and animal,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
the birds of the sky 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and the fish of the sea. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will cause the wicked to stumble, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and I will cut off humanity from the face of the earth. 
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{\pard\fi-1720\li2800
says the {\scaps Lord}. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}I will stretch out my hand over Judah 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and I will cut off from this place the last remnant of Baal 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and the name of the heathen priests, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}and those who worship on the housetops 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
to the stars in the sky, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and those worshippers of the {\scaps Lord} 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
who also pay homage to Milcom, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}and those who turn back 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
from following the {\scaps Lord}, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And those who do not seek the {\scaps Lord} 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
nor strive to find him. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Be silent before the Lord {\scaps God}, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
for near is the day of the {\scaps Lord}, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
for the {\scaps Lord} has prepared a sacrifice, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
he has sanctified his guests. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}On the day of the {\scaps Lord's} sacrifice:
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will punish the officers and the royal princes, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and all those who clothe themselves in foreign apparel.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}On that day: 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will punish all who leap over the threshold, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Listen on that day, says the {\scaps Lord}:
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
A cry will be heard from the Fish Gate, 
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and a wailing from the New Quarter, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and a great din from the hills. 
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{\pard 
 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 11}Those who live in the Mortar wail,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
for all the traders are silenced,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
the money counters wiped out. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}I will search Jerusalem with a lamp,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
I will punish those who are at ease, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
who sit comfortably with their wine, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
who say to themselves, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*the {\scaps Lord} brings neither prosperity nor calamity.\uc1\u8221*
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}Their wealth will become a prey 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and their houses a desolation.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Though they build houses, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
they will not inhabit them;
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
though they plant vineyards, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
they will not drink wine from them.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Near is the day of the {\scaps Lord}! 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Near and rapidly approaching! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Near is the bitter day of the {\scaps Lord}, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and the scream of the warrior. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}That day is a day of wrath, 
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a day of trouble and distress, 
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a day of destruction and desolation, 
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a day of darkness and gloom, 
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a day of clouds and thick darkness, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}a day of the trumpet and battle-cry, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
against the fortified cities 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and against the high battlements. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 17}And I will bring distress upon the people 
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and they will walk as the blind, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
because they have sinned against the {\scaps Lord}, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and their blood will be poured out as dust 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and their flesh as dung. 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them. For in the day of the wrath of the {\scaps Lord} and in the fire of his fury the whole earth will be consumed. For he will make a speedy end of all the inhabitants of the earth.  
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Imminent Judgment upon the Nations 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 2}Be ashamed within yourselves, be ashamed, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}before you become as the drifting chaff, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
before the anger of the {\scaps Lord} comes upon you, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
before the day of the {\scaps Lord}'s wrath comes upon you. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}Seek the {\scaps Lord} all you meek of the earth, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
you who obey his law; 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Seek righteousness, seek meekness; 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
perhaps you may be hidden in the day of the {\scaps Lord}'s wrath. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}For Gaza will be forsaken; 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Ashkelon a desolation; 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Ashdod - by noon will they rout her 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and Ekron be torn up! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}Woe to those who live by the sea coast, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
people of the Cherethites! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The word of the {\scaps Lord} is against you,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Canaan, land of the Philistines! 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
I will destroy you so that you will be without inhabitants, {\super\cf2\fs24 6}and you will become shepherds' cots and folds for flocks. {\super\cf2\fs24 7}The sea coast will belong to the survivors of the house of Judah.They will pasture their flocks there. In the house of Ashkelon they will lie down at evening. The {\scaps Lord} their God will be with them and restore their fortunes. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}I have heard the taunts of Moab, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and the revilings of the Ammonites, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
how they have taunted my people, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
and spoken boastfully concerning their border. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Therefore as I live, says the {\scaps Lord} of hosts, the God of Israel: 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
Moab will be like Sodom,
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{\pard\fi-1720\li2800
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
a breeding-place of nettles, and saltpits, 
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and a desolation, forever; 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
the residue of my people will plunder them,
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{\pard\fi-1720\li2800
and the survivors of my nation will inherit them. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}This will they have for their pride, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
because they have taunted and spoken boastfully 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
against the people of the {\scaps Lord} of hosts. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}The {\scaps Lord} will terrify them; 
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he will reduce all the gods of the earth; 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
then all the peoples of the nations will worship him, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
each in their own land. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}You, also, Ethiopians,
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
slain by his sword are you! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}And he will stretch out his hand 
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against the north and destroy Assyria; 
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And he will make Nineveh a desolation, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
dry as the wilderness. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Herds will lie down in it, 
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every beast of the earth, 
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Desert owl and screech owl 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
will lodge in its capitals. 
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The owl will hoot in the window,
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the raven on the doorstep, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
all stripped bare of cedar. 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}This is the exultant city which sat secure. The city who said to herself, I am and there is none else! How has she become a desolation! A lair of beasts! Every passerby hisses at her, shakes their hand.  
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 Jerusalem's Deep-seated Corruption 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 3}Woe to the rebellious and unclean city of oppression, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}She has not obeyed the voice, 
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she has not accepted instruction, 
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In the {\scaps Lord} she has not trusted, 
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to her God she has not drawn near. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}Her rulers in her midst are roaring lions. 
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Her judges are evening wolves, 
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who leave nothing over until the morning, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}Her prophets are braggarts, faithless men. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Her priests profane what is holy 
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and do violence to the law. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}The {\scaps Lord} is righteous in her midst, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
he does no wrong, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Morning by morning 
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he establishes his decree, 
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Light is not lacking, 
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an oversight is unknown. 
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But the unjust know no shame. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}\uc1\u8220*I have cut off nations, 
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their turrets are destroyed; 
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I have laid waste their broad streets, 
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so that none passes over them. 
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Desolate are their cities without people, 
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without inhabitants.\uc1\u8221* 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}I said: 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*Surely the city will fear me, 
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she will accept instruction. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Nothing will vanish from her eyes 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
that I have impressed upon her; 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
But the more zealously have they made all their deeds corrupt.\uc1\u8221* 
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Future Vindication and Exultation of Jerusalem  

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}Wait for me, is the {\scaps Lord}'s message, until the day when I stand up as a witness, for it is my fixed purpose to gather the nations, to collect the kingdoms, to pour upon them my wrath and my hot anger; for by the fire of my fury will all the earth be consumed. 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}For then I will purify the lips of all peoples, so that they will all call on the {\scaps Lord}'s name, to serve him with one accord. {\super\cf2\fs24 10}From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers will bring me offerings. 
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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}On that day you will no longer be ashamed of all your deeds by which you rebelled against me. For I will rid you of your proudly arrogant ones, and you will never again be haughty on my holy mountain. {\super\cf2\fs24 12}But I will leave in your midst a people humble and poor, and the remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the {\scaps Lord}. {\super\cf2\fs24 13}They will not do evil, nor speak falsehood, and a deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouth; but they will pasture and lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Cry out with joy, daughter of Zion, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
shout aloud, Israel! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Rejoice and exult with all your heart, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
daughter of Jerusalem. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}The {\scaps Lord} has put away your adversaries, 
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he has turned away your foes; 
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the {\scaps Lord} is king in your midst, 
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you will fear evil no more. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: 
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Fear not! 
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Zion, let not your hands grow weak! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 17}The {\scaps Lord} your God is in your midst, 
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a victorious hero. 
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He will rejoice over you with joy, 
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he will renew his love, 
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he will exult over you with singing, 
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{\pard\fi-2080\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}as on a day of festival. 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will take away from you your disgrace, 
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and put away from you your reproach. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 19}I will destroy at that time 
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all who afflict you. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will deliver the lame, 
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and gather the outcast, 
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I will make them an object of renown 
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and fame in all the earth. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 20}I will do good to you, 
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at the time when I gather you. 
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For I will make you an object of fame and renown 
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among all the peoples of the earth; 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
when I bring back your captivity before your eyes.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
This says the {\scaps Lord}. 
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}