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Evil Leaders Rebuked

¹ The righteous man perishes, and no man ^(C1)takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken 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 come here, you sons of a ^(C1)sorceress,
^(C2)Offspring 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)rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,

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

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 ^(C1)high and lofty mountain
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 sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^(C1)uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement 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 ^(F1)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 worried and fearful
When you lied, and did ^(C2)not remember Me
^(F1)Nor ^(C3)give Me a thought?
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 carry 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."

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

¹⁵ For thus says the ^(C1)high and exalted One
Who ^(F1)(C2)lives forever, whose name is Holy,
"I ^(C3)dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the ^(C4)contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to ^(C5)revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

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)unjust 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)restore comfort to him and to his mourners,

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 the LORD, "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."