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\sectd\sect{\header \pard\qr\plain\f0\fs16 Micah (Page \chpgn) \par}{\pard \pagebb
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs72 Micah 
  
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Superscription to Micah's Sermons

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{\pard\sl280\slmult1\fs24\fi720 
{\cf1 1}The {\scaps {\super\cf2\fs24 1}Lord}'s message which came to Micah of Morsheth in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The visions he saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Lord's Judgment on Guilty Samaria and Judah

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Listen, all you peoples!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the earth!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For the Lord {\scaps God} will be a witness against you, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the Lord from his holy temple!
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}The {\scaps Lord} is coming from his holy place,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
he descends and treads on the heights of the earth,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}so that the mountains melt beneath 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like wax in the presence of the fire, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the valleys break apart
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like water poured down a steep descent.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}All this is because of the crime of Jacob,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and for the sin of the house of Israel.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
What was the crime of Jacob? 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Was it not Samaria? 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
What is the sin of Judah? 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Is it not Jerusalem?
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}\uc1\u8220*I will make Samaria a ruin in an open field,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and a place where a vineyard is planted,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will hurl down her stones into the valley,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and lay bare her foundations.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}\uc1\u8220*All her images will be shattered,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and all her statues will be burned with fire,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and all her idols I will lay in ruins.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For they were acquired by prostitution, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and to prostitution they will return.\uc1\u8221*
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}This is why I will mourn and wail,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will go barefoot and naked,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will howl like the jackals
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and mourn like the desert owl.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}For the blow that Samaria has received is incurable. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
It has spread over Judah,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
it extends even to the gate of my people,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
even to Jerusalem.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Don't tell this in Gath! 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Don't even cry \uc1\u8212* but sit in the dust at Beth-leaphrah.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}Pass by, inhabitants of Shaphir, naked and ashamed!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The inhabitants of Zaanan cannot leave their city.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Beth-ezel laments and removes its support from you. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}The inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
But the {\scaps Lord} has sent disaster to the gates of Jerusalem. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}Harness the horse to the chariot, inhabitants of Lachish.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
You led the daughter of Zion, Jerusalem, into sin, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
in you are found the crimes of Israel.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Therefore you must give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Beth-achzib will betray the kings of Israel.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}I will hand you to a conqueror, people of Mareshah,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the leaders of Israel will hide in Adullam Cave!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}Shave your head in morning for the children you love,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
until you are bald as vultures, because they have left you for exile. 
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Oppression of the Poor

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 2}Woe to those who lie awake planning evil,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}who in the light of morning carry out their plan 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
because they have the power to do it.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}They covet fields and seize them, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
desire houses and take them,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they crush householder and his household, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
people and their possessions.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}Therefore the {\scaps Lord} says:
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*I am planning disaster from which you cannot save your neck,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
nor walk proudly because it will be a terrible time.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}On that day they will sing a taunt-song to you,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
this mocking lament:
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8216*My people's estate is being measured for sale,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
our captors are dividing our fields.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
We are completely undone.\uc1\u8217*
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}There will be no one to measure out land for you
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from the {\scaps Lord}'s community.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}\uc1\u8220*\uc1\u8216*Don't rant!\uc1\u8217* they urge, \uc1\u8216*Of such things one does not prophesy!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Shame will not overtake us!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Is the {\scaps Lord} impatient, or are such things his deeds?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Are not his words favorable to the family of Jacob?\uc1\u8217*
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Aren't my commands good for those who obey them?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}But you, you stand up as a foe against those who are peaceful;
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
you strip the robe from those who pass by quietly, averse to conflict.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Women of my people you drive out from their happy homes, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from their young children you take away my glory forever.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Rise and begone, for this is no place to rest.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Your uncleanness brings destruction, severe destruction.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}If a person walking in wine and falsehood were to say, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
'I will prophesy to you of wine and strong drink,'
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
then he would be the perfect prophet for this people!\uc1\u8221*
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Lord Leading Back His Scattered People

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}\uc1\u8220*I will assuredly assemble all of Jacob,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will surely gather the survivors of Israel.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will herd them together as sheep in a fold, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like a flock in the pasture,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the land will resound with the sounds of multitudes.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}\uc1\u8220*The one who breaks out goes first.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They have broken forth and passed by the gate 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and through it have they gone out.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Their king leads before them,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the {\scaps Lord} at their head.\uc1\u8221* 
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Crimes of Judah's Civil and Spiritual Leaders

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 3}I also said:
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}\uc1\u8220*Listen now, leaders of Jacob,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
judges of the house of Israel.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Is it not your duty to know what is the right?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Haters of that which is good and lovers of evil!
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{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}\uc1\u8220*They devour the flesh of my people,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and their hide they strip from off them,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and break in pieces and serve up their bones, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like meat in a pot or the cooking-pan!
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}\uc1\u8220*Then they will cry out to the {\scaps Lord},
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
but he will not pay attention to them.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He will hide his face from them at that time
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
because they have committed such crimes.\uc1\u8221*
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}Therefore the {\scaps Lord} says:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*To the prophets who lead my people astray,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
who when they have food between their teeth declare peace,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
but against one who puts nothing in their mouths, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they proclaim an open war! 
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}\uc1\u8220*Night will overtake you so that you have no vision,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and darkness so that there will be no divination, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the sun will go down on the prophets,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the day shall be dark over them.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}\uc1\u8220*The seers will be ashamed,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the diviners will turn pale,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
all of them will cover their mouths. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For there will be no answer from God.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}\uc1\u8220*But I, on the contrary am full of power, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the sense of justice and strength, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
to make known to Jacob his crime, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and to Israel his sin.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}\uc1\u8220*Hear this, leaders of the house of Jacob, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
judges of the house of Israel,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
you who spurn justice.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and make all that is straight crooked,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}who build Zion with acts of bloodshed,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and Jerusalem with crime.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}\uc1\u8220*The leaders render judgment for a bribe,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and her priests give oracles for a reward,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and her prophets divine for silver.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Yet they claim to rely on the {\scaps Lord}, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8216*The {\scaps Lord}\uc1\u8217*, they say, \uc1\u8216*is in our midst.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Evil cannot overtake us.\uc1\u8217*
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{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}\uc1\u8220*Therefore for your sakes
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Zion will be plowed as a field,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the temple mount a wooded height.\uc1\u8221* 
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{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Peace and World-wide Renown of Zion

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 4}In the days to come
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}the mountain of the {\scaps Lord} will be established, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the house of our God on the top of the mountain,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
lifted above the hills.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
All the nations will flow to it,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}and many peoples will go and say, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*Come, let us go up to the {\scaps Lord}'s mount, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
to the house of the God of Jacob, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so that he may instruct us in his ways, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so that we may walk in his paths.\uc1\u8221* 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For from Zion proceeds instruction 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the {\scaps Lord}'s word from Jerusalem.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}He will arbitrate between many peoples, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and render decisions for numerous nations, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They will beat their swords into ploughshares,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and their spears into pruning hooks.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Nation will not lift up sword against nation, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they will learn war no more.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}They will live each under his vine,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and under his fig-tree, with none to terrify them.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For the mouth of the {\scaps Lord} of hosts has spoken.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}Each nation trusts in the names of their gods,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
but we will worship the {\scaps Lord} our God forever.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}\uc1\u8220*On that day,\uc1\u8221* says the {\scaps Lord},
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*I will assemble the lame.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will gather exiles I punished.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}I will restore the lame as a remnant,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the exiles into a great nation.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The {\scaps Lord} will rule over them
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
on Mount Zion from that time forever.\uc1\u8221*
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}But you, watchtower for the flock, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
hill of the daughter of Zion, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
to you will return your former rule.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}So why do you now cry aloud? Haven't you any king?
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Or has your counselor perished, so you writhe in pain like a woman in labor?
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}Writhe and scream, daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor!
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For now you must leave the city and camp in the open field.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
You will be taken to Babylon, but there will be rescued.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
There the {\scaps Lord} will save you from the hands of your foes.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}But now many nations gather against you.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They say, \uc1\u8220*Let her be defiled, we will gloat over Zion.\uc1\u8221*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}But they do not know the thoughts of the {\scaps Lord}.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They do not understand his plan, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
for he has gathered them like sheaves for the threshing floor.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}\uc1\u8220*Arise, thresh, daughter of Zion.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will make your horns iron,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and your hoofs brass,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so you might beat in pieces many peoples, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and devote to the {\scaps Lord} their spoil,
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and their wealth to the ruler of all the earth.
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{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
  {\cf1 5}\uc1\u8220*Now cut yourself in bitter grief,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}daughter besieged by soldiers.
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They have set a wall around you.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They strike the ruler of Israel,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
in the face with a rod.
\par}

{\pard 

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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}\uc1\u8220*Bethlehem in Ephrathah,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
small among the tribes of Judah,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from you will come a king 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
who will rule for me over Israel,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
whose family line goes back to the distant past.\uc1\u8221*
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{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}So the {\scaps Lord} will only abandon Israel to its enemies
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
until the woman in labor gives birth. 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Then the survivors will be reunited with their own people. 
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{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}And he will stand and shepherd by the strength of the {\scaps Lord},
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
In the exalted name of the {\scaps Lord} his God;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And they will live in security, for now he will be great, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
even to the ends of the earth.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}This will be our peace:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
when Assyria comes into our land
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and treads on our soil,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
we will raise up against him seven shepherds, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
eight leaders of men.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}They will shepherd Assyria with a sword,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the land of Nimrod with bared blades.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They will deliver us from Assyria, 
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{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
when they come into our land,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and tread within our borders.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}And the survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
in the midst of many peoples
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like dew from the {\scaps Lord}, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like showers on the grass,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
which don't wait for people to come
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
or linger for mortals.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}And the survivors of Jacob will be disbursed among the nations.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
in the midst of many peoples, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like a lion among the beasts of the forest, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like a young lion among the sheep-folds,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
who, when he passes through, pounces. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He savages his prey. There is no rescuer.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Let your hand triumph over your adversaries, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
let all your enemies be cut off.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}On that day, says the {\scaps Lord}:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
\uc1\u8220*I will slaughter your horses from your midst, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and destroy your chariots.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}I will devastate the cities in your land, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and tear down your fortresses.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}I will destroy your magic charms, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and you will have no soothsayers.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}I will cut down your idols and sacred pillars,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and you will not worship any more the work of your hands.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}I will uproot your sacred poles, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and destroy your idols.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}In my wrath and my anger 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will seek vengeance on the nations that ignore me.\uc1\u8221* 
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 Israel's False Conception of the Lord's Character and Demands

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 6}Hear now what the {\scaps {\super\cf2\fs24 1}Lord} is saying:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Arise, present your complaint before the mountains,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
let the hills hear your voice!
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}Hear, mountains, the {\scaps Lord}'s accusation,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
listen, foundations of the earth.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
For the {\scaps Lord} has a case against his people. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He has a dispute with Israel.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}\uc1\u8220*My people, what have I done to you. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
How have I displeased you? Answer me!
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from the land of slavery I redeemed you. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}My people, what did Balak, king of Moab counsel? 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
And how did Balaam, the son of Beor, answer him? 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Remember now the journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so that you might realize the just deeds of the {\scaps Lord}.\uc1\u8221*
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}With what should I come before the {\scaps Lord}?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Bow myself before the God on high?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Should I come before him with burnt-offerings,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
with calves a year old?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}Will the {\scaps Lord} be pleased with thousands of rams,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
With ten thousand streams of oil?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Should I give him my first-born son for my guilt,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}The {\scaps Lord} has told you what is good,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
what he demands of you:
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Only to do justice and love mercy,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and to walk humbly with your God.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 Guilt and Punishment of Jerusalem

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}Listen! The {\scaps Lord} calls to the city!
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
Listen, tribe and assembly of the city!
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}\uc1\u8220*Can I forget the hoarded treasures in the houses of the wicked, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the accursed scant measure?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}Can I leave her unpunished because of evil scales, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and the bag of false weights?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}Whose rich people are full of violence,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
her inhabitants liars,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
whose tongues speak deceit?
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}\uc1\u8220*But I indeed, have begun to punish you, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
to lay you in ruins because of your sins.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}You will eat but not be satisfied,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
your stomach empty within you.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
You will store up but lose everything,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
because whatever you save I will give to the sword.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}You will sow but not reap.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
You will tread the olives but have no oil for rubbing,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
tread grapes but drink no wine!
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}\uc1\u8220*For you have followed the commands of Omri, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and all the practices of the house of Ahab.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
You have acted in accord with their counsels,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so I will give you up to ruin,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the city's inhabitants to derision.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The nations will treat you with contempt!\uc1\u8221* 
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 The Utter Degeneracy of the People

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\cf1 7}Woe, woe is me, for I have become
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
{\super\cf2\fs24 1}like a field after harvest, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
like a vineyard after gathering; 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
not a cluster of grapes to eat,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
not a fig that anyone desires.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 2}The honest have perished from the land, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
of the upright among people there is none.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
All of them lie in wait to shed blood.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
They hunt one another with the net.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 3}Their hands know well how to do evil,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the officer and judge demands a bribe,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
the high official decides as he pleases 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and they conspire to pervert justice.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 4}The best of them are like a thorn thicket, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
their most upright like a prickly hedge. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
The day of their punishment has come, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
now will be their confusion!
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 5}Do not trust your neighbor,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
do not rely on a friend.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
From the wife who lies in your arms 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
guard your tongue.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 6}For son insults father,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
daughter rises up against mother,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
a man's enemies are the people of his own household.
\par}

{\pard\sb360\sa360\fs36 Zion's Ultimate Vindication and Exaltation

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 7}But I will look to the {\scaps Lord},
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will wait for the God of my salvation. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
My God will hear me!
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 8}Do not rejoice over me, my enemy.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
If I have fallen, I will rise.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
If I sit in darkness, the {\scaps Lord} is my light.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 9}The anger of the {\scaps Lord} I will bear,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
for against him have I sinned \uc1\u8212*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
until he champions my cause
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and gives judgment for me.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He will bring me into to the light, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will see his justice.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 10}So my enemy will see, and shame will cover them, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they who said, \uc1\u8220*Where is the {\scaps Lord} your God?\uc1\u8221*
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
I will look upon them,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they will be trampled on like mud in the street!
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 11}It is a day for rebuilding your walls, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
this day will your boundary will be extended.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 12}This day they will come to you,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and from Egypt even to the Euphrates River, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 13}Though the land has become a desolation
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
because of its inhabitants, because of their deeds.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 14}Shepherd your flock with your staff, the flock that belong to you, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
who live alone in the forest, in the midst of meadows;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
so that they may pasture in Bashon and Gilead as in the days of old,
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 15}as in the days when you came from Egypt, gave us wonders to see. 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 16}Nations will see and be ashamed of all their might;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they will put their hands to their mouth, their ears will become deaf, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 17}they will lick the dust like snakes, like creatures that crawl on the earth; 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
they will come trembling and in terror from their hiding places, in dread and fear.
\par}

{\pard 

\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 18}Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
and passing by the rebellion of the remnant of your people?
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
He does not retain his anger forever, but is one who delights in mercy.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 19}He will tread under foot our iniquity;
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
you will cast into the depths of the sea all our iniquities.
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
 {\super\cf2\fs24 20}You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loving kindness to Abraham, 
\par}

{\pard\fi-2440\li2800
as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.
\par}

}