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Evil Leaders Rebuked

¹ The righteous man perishes at the hand of evil, and no one ^(C1)takes it to heart;
Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understands
That the righteous person is taken away to be spared from disaster and ^(C2)evil.

² He enters into peace through death;
They rest in their beds (graves),
Each one who ^(C1)walked uprightly following God's will, living with integrity.

³ "But come here, you sons of a ^(C1)sorceress raised in deception and superstition,
^(C2)Offspring of an adulterer and a ^(C3)prostitute.

⁴ "Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ^(C1)rebellion (sin),
Offspring of deceit,

⁵ Who inflame yourselves with lust in pagan rites among the ^(C1)oaks (terebinth trees),
^(C2)Under every green and leafy tree,
Who ^(C3)slaughter the children in sacrifice in the ravines
Under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶ "Among the ^(C1)smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;
Even to them you have ^(C2)poured out a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I ^(C3)be quiet concerning these things leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience?

⁷ "Upon a high and ^(C1)lofty mountain
You have openly and shamelessly ^(C2)made your idolatrous and adulterous bed;
Even there you went up to offer sacrifice to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me.

⁸ "Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your pagan symbol;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^(C1)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made a new agreement for yourself with the adulterers,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked with passion on their ^(F1)manhood. ^(VR1)

⁹ "You have gone to ^(F1)the king of a pagan land with oil
And increased your ^(F2)perfumes;
You have ^(C1)sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead).

¹⁰ "You were wearied by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, '^(C1)It is no use.'
You found ^(F1)renewed strength,
Therefore you did not grow weak.

¹¹ "About ^(C1)whom were you worried and fearful
That you lied and did ^(C2)not ^(F1)remember Me,
Nor ^(F2)(C3)give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
And as a result you do not fear Me?

¹² "I will ^(C1)declare your hypocritical righteousness and your ^(C2)deeds,
But they will not benefit you.

¹³ "When you cry out for help, ^(C1)let your ridiculous collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A mere breath will take them.
But he who ^(C2)takes refuge in Me will ^(C3)possess the land Judea
And will ^(C4)inherit My holy mountain." ^(VR1)

¹⁴ And it will be said,
"^(C1)Build up, build up, clear the way.
Remove the stumbling block out of the way of the spiritual return of My people."

¹⁵ For the ^(C1)high and exalted One
He who ^(C2)inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this,
"I ^(C3)dwell on the high and holy place,
But also with the ^(F1)(C4)contrite and humble in spirit
In order to ^(C5)revive the spirit of the humble
And to revive the heart of the contrite overcome with sorrow for sin. ^(VR1)

¹⁶ "For I will ^(C1)not contend forever,
^(C2)Nor will I always be angry;
For if I did stay angry the spirit of man would grow weak before Me,
And the ^(C3)breath of those whom I have created.

¹⁷ "Because of the wickedness of his ^(C1)unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on ^(C2)turning away and backsliding, in the way of his own willful heart.

¹⁸ "I have seen his willful ways, but I will ^(C1)heal him;
I will ^(C2)lead him also and will ^(C3)restore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him, ^(VR1)

¹⁹ As I create the ^(F1)(C1)praise of his lips,
^(C2)Peace, peace, to him who is ^(C3)far away both Jew and Gentile and to him who is near!"
Says the LORD;
"And I will heal him making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise." ^(VR1)

²⁰ But the ^(C1)wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up mire and mud.

²¹ "^(C1)There is no peace," says ^(C2)my God, "for the wicked."