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Evil Leaders Rebuked

¹ The righteous man perishes, and no man ^(C1)puts it upon his heart;
And men of lovingkindness are gathered away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is gathered away from ^(C2)evil,

² He enters into peace;
They rest in their ^(F1)beds,
Each one who ^(C1)walked in his upright way.

³ "But draw near, you sons of a ^(C1)soothsayer,
^(C2)Seed of an adulterer and ^(F1)a ^(C3)prostitute.

⁴ "Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of ^(C1)transgression,
Seed of lying,

⁵ Who inflame yourselves among the ^(F1)(C1)oaks,
^(C2)Under every green tree,
Who ^(C3)slaughter the children in the ^(F2)ravines,
Under the clefts of the cliffs?

⁶ "Among the ^(F1)(C1)smooth stones of the ^(F2)ravine
Is your portion, ^(F3)they are your lot;
Even to them you have ^(C2)poured out a drink offering;
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I ^(F4)(C3)relent concerning these things?

⁷ "Upon a mountain ^(C1)lofty and lifted up
You have ^(C2)made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

⁸ "Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your memorial;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^(C1)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide,
And you have cut a covenant for yourself with them;
You have loved their ^(F1)bed;
You have looked on their ^(F2)manhood.

⁹ "You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have ^(C1)sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.

¹⁰ "You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, '^(C1)It is hopeless.'
You found ^(F1)renewed strength;
Therefore you did not ^(F2)faint.

¹¹ "Of ^(C1)whom were you anxious and fearful
When you lied and did ^(C2)not remember Me,
Nor even ^(C3)put Me upon your heart?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?

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

¹³ "When you cry out, ^(C1)let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will lift all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who ^(C2)takes refuge in Me will ^(C3)inherit the land
And will ^(C4)possess My holy mountain."

Yahweh Revives the Spirit of the Lowly

¹⁴ And it will be said,
"^(C1)Build up, build up, prepare the way,
^(F1)Remove every stumbling block out of the way of My people."

¹⁵ For thus says the One ^(C1)high and lifted up
Who ^(C2)dwells forever, whose name is Holy,
"I ^(C3)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the ^(C4)crushed and lowly of spirit
In order to ^(C5)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the crushed.

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

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

¹⁸ "I have seen his ways, but I will ^(C1)heal him;
I will ^(C2)lead him and ^(C3)pay him and his mourners in full with comfort,

¹⁹ Creating the ^(F1)(C1)praise of the lips.
^(C2)Peace, peace to him who is ^(C3)far and to him who is near,"
Says Yahweh, "and I will heal him."

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

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