1
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Hear ye the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O house of Israel.
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2
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Thus saith the Lord: Learn not according to the ways of the Gentiles: and be not afraid of the signs of heaven, which the heathens fear:
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3
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For the laws of the people are vain: for the works of the hand of the workman hath cut a tree out of the forest with an axe.
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4
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He hath decked it with silver and gold: he hath put it together with nails and hammers, that it may not fall asunder.
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5
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They are framed after the likeness of a palm tree, and shall not speak: they must be carried to be removed, because they cannot go. Therefore fear them not, for they can neither do evil nor good.
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6
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There is none like to thee, O Lord: thou art great, and great is thy name in might.
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7
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Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations? for thine is the glory: among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms there is none like unto thee.
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8
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They shall be all proved together to be senseless and foolish: the doctrine of their vanity is wood.
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9
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Silver spread into plates is brought from Tharsis, and gold from Ophaz: the work of the artificer, and of the hand of the coppersmith: violet and purple is their clothing: all these things are the work of artificers.
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10
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But the Lord is the true God: he is the living God, and the everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his threatening.
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11
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Thus then shall you say to them: The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish from the earth, and from among those places that are under heaven.
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12
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He that maketh the earth by his power, that prepareth the world by his wisdom, and stretcheth out the heavens by his knowledge.
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13
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At his voice he giveth a multitude of waters in the heaven, and lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings for rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
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14
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Every man is become a fool for knowledge, every artist is confounded in his graven idol: for what he hath cast is false, and there is no spirit in them.
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15
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They are vain things, and a ridiculous work: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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16
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The portion of Jacob is not like these: for it is he who formed all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.
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17
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Gather up thy shame out of the land, thou that dwellest in a siege.
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18
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For thus saith the Lord: Behold I will cast away far off the inhabitants of the land at this time: and I will afflict them, so that they may be found.
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19
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Woe is me for my destruction, my wound is very grievous. But I said: Truly this is my own evil, and I will bear it.
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20
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My tabernacle is laid waste, all my cords are broken: my children are gone out from me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
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21
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Because the pastors have done foolishly, and have not sought the Lord: therefore have they not understood, and all their flock is scattered.
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22
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Behold the sound of a noise cometh, a great commotion out of the land of the north: to make the cities of Juda a desert, and a dwelling for dragons.
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23
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I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not his: neither is it in a man to walk, and to direct his steps.
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24
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Correct me, O Lord, but yet with judgment: and not in thy fury, lest thou bring me to nothing.
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25
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Pour out thy indignation upon the nations that have not known thee, and upon the provinces that have not called upon thy name: because they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have destroyed his glory.
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