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Jerusalem Is Warned

¹ Woe, O ^(F1)Ariel, ^(F1)Ariel the city where David once ^(C1)camped!
Add year to year, ^(F2)(C2)observe your feasts on schedule.

² I will bring distress to Ariel,
And she will be a city of lamenting and ^(C1)mourning;
And she will be like an Ariel to me.

³ I will ^(C1)camp against you ^(F1)encircling you,
And I will set siegeworks against you,
And I will raise up battle towers against you.

⁴ Then you will ^(C1)be brought low;
From the earth you will speak,
And from the dust where you are prostrate
Your words will come.
Your voice will also be like that of a ^(F1)spirit from the ground,
And your speech will whisper from the dust.

⁵ But the multitude of your ^(F1)enemies will become like fine ^(C1)dust,
And the multitude of the ^(C2)ruthless ones like the chaff which ^(F2)blows away;
And it will happen ^(C3)instantly, suddenly.

⁶ From the LORD of hosts you will be ^(C1)punished with ^(C2)thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

⁷ And the ^(C1)multitude of all the nations who wage war against ^(F1)Ariel,
Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
Will be like a dream, a ^(C2)vision of the night.

⁸ It will be as when a hungry man dreams--
And behold, he is eating;
But when he awakens, his ^(F1)hunger is not satisfied,
Or as when a thirsty man dreams--
And behold, he is drinking,
But when he awakens, behold, he is faint
And his ^(F1)thirst is not quenched.
^(C1)Thus the multitude of all the nations will be
Who wage war against Mount Zion.

^9 (C1)Be delayed and wait,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They ^(C2)become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with strong drink.

¹⁰ For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep ^(C1)sleep,
He has ^(C2)shut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.

¹³ Then the Lord said,

"Because ^(C1)this people draw near with their ^(F1)words
And honor Me with their ^(F2)lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their ^(F3)reverence for Me ^(F4)consists of ^(F5)tradition learned by rote,

¹⁴ Therefore behold, I will once again deal ^(C1)marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And ^(C2)the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

¹⁵ Woe to those who deeply ^(C1)hide their ^(F1)plans from the LORD,
And whose ^(C2)deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, "^(C3)Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"

¹⁶ You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered ^(F1)as equal with the clay,
That ^(C1)what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me";
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Blessing after Discipline

¹⁷ Is it not yet just a little while
^(F1)Before Lebanon will be turned into a ^(C1)fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

¹⁸ On that day the ^(C1)deaf will hear ^(C2)words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the ^(C3)eyes of the blind will see.

¹⁹ The ^(C1)afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD,
And the ^(C2)needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁰ For the ^(C1)ruthless will come to an end and the ^(C2)scorner will be finished,
Indeed ^(C3)all who ^(F1)are intent on doing evil will be cut off;

²¹ Who ^(F1)cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And ^(C1)ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate,
And ^(F2)(C2)defraud the one in the right with ^(F3)meaningless arguments.

²² Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed ^(C1)Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:

"Jacob ^(C2)shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;

²³ But when ^(F1)he sees his ^(C1)children, the ^(C2)work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will ^(C3)sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

²⁴ "Those who ^(C1)err in ^(F1)mind will ^(C2)know ^(F2)the truth,
And those who ^(F3)criticize will ^(F4)(C3)accept instruction.