The Bible in Its Traditions

Isaiah 24:0; 7:1–9:21

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And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it; but could not prevail against it.

And it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, the king of Judah, that Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, ascended to Jerusalem to battle against it. But they were not able to defeat it.

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And it was told the house of David, saying: 'Aram is confederate with Ephraim.' And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved with the wind.

And a message was brought to the house of David, saying, Aram has conspired with Ephraim. And his soul was amazed, and the soul of his people, as in a wood a tree is moved by the wind.

And they reported to the house of David, saying: “Syria has withdrawn to Ephraim.” And his heart was shaken, with the heart of his people, just as the trees of the forest are moved by the face of the wind.

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Then said YHWH unto Isaiah: 'Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' field;

And the Lord said to Esaias, Go forth to meet Achaz, thou, and thy son Jasub who is left, to the pool of the upper way of the fuller’s field.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is in the highway of the palace's field;

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and say unto him: Keep calm, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and of the son of Remaliah.

And you shall say to him: “See to it that you are silent. Do not be afraid. And have no dread in your heart over the two tails of these firebrands, nearly extinguished, which are the wrath of the fury of Rezin, king of Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.”

And say to him, Take heed and be quiet; fear not, neither be frightened by these two weakening trouble-makers, by the fierce anger of Rezin, and by the son of Romaliah

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Because Aram hath counselled evil against thee, Ephraim also, and the son of Remaliah, saying

And as for the son of Aram, and the son of Romelias, forasmuch as they have devised an evil counsel, saying,

For Syria has undertaken a plan against you, with the evil of Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying

Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel;

We will go up against Judea, and having conferred with them we will turn them away to our side, and we will make the son of Tabeel king of it;

“Let us ascend to Judah, and stir it up, and tear it away for ourselves, and appoint the son of Tabeel as a king in its midst.”

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thus saith YHWH GOD: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

Thus says the Lord God: This shall not stand, and this shall not be.

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For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people;

But the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus, Rasim; and yet within sixty and five years the kingdom of Ephraim shall cease from being a people.

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And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not have faith, surely ye shall not be established.'

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10  And YHWH spoke again unto Ahaz, saying

10  And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying,

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11  'Ask thee a sign of YHWH thy God: ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.'

11  Ask for thyself a sign of the Lord thy God, in the depth or in the height.

11  Ask for a sign for yourself from the Lord your God, from the depths below, even to the heights above.

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12  But Ahaz said: 'I will not ask, neither will I try YHWH.'

12  And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.

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13  And he said: 'Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also?

13  And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? and how do ye contend against the Lord?

13  And he said: “Then listen, O house of David. Is it such a small thing for you to trouble men, that you must also trouble my God?

14  Therefore YHWH Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel.

14  For this reason, the Lord himself will grant to you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive, and she will give birth to a son, and his name will be called Immanuel.

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15  Curd and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

15  Butter and honey shall he eat, before he knows either to prefer evil or choose the good.

15  He will eat butter and honey, so that he may know to reject evil and to choose good.

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16  Yea, before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings thou hast a horror of shall be forsaken.

16  But even before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the land that you detest will be abandoned by the face of her two kings.

17  YHWH shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.'

17  The Lord will lead over you, and over your people, and over the house of your father, such days as have not occurred since the days of the separation of Ephraim from Judah by the king of the Assyrians.

18  And it shall come to pass in that day, that YHWH shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

18  And this shall be in that day: the Lord will call for the fly, which is in the most distant parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for the swarm, which is in the land of Assur.

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19  And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the rugged valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all brambles.

19  And they all shall enter into the clefts of the land, and into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves, and into every ravine.

19  And they will arrive, and they all will rest in the torrents of the valleys, and in the caverns of the rocks, and in every thicket, and in every opening.

20  In that day shall YHWH shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also sweep away the beard.

20  In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard.

20  In that day, the Lord will shave with a razor the ones hired by those who are across the river, by the king of the Assyrians, from the head to the hairs of the feet, with the entire beard.

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21  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall rear a young cow, and two sheep;

21  And this shall be in that day: a man will raise a cow among oxen, and two sheep,

22  and it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give, he shall eat curd; for curd and honey shall every one eat that is left in the midst of the land.

22  and, instead of an abundance of milk, he will eat butter. For all who are left behind in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey.

23  And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, shall even be for briers and thorns.

23  And this shall be in that day: every place, where there were a thousand grapevines worth a thousand pieces of silver, will become thorns and briers.

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24  With arrows and with bow shall one come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns.

24  Men shall enter thither with arrow and bow; for all the land shall be barren ground and thorns.

24  They will enter such places with arrows and bows. For briers and thorns will be throughout the entire land.

25  And all the hills that were digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep.

25  And every mountain shall be certainly ploughed: there shall no fear come thither: for there shall be from among the barren ground and thorns that whereon cattle shall feed and oxen shall tread.

25  But as for all the mountains, which will be dug with a hoe, the terror of thorns and briers will not approach those places. And there will be pasture land for oxen, and a range for cattle.”

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8:1  And YHWH said unto me: 'Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it in common script: The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth;

And the Lord said to me, Take to thyself a volume of a great new book, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning the making a rapid plunder of spoils; for it is near at hand.

MOREOVER the LORD said to me, Take a large scroll and write on it plainly, To hasten the captivity, and to record the spoil.

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8:2  and I will take unto Me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.'

And make me witnesses of faithful men, Urias, and Zacharias the son of Barachias.

And I summoned to myself faithful witnesses: Uriah, the priest, and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.

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8:3  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said YHWH unto me: 'Call his name Maher-shalal- hashbaz.

And I went in to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. And the Lord said to me, Call his name, Spoil quickly, plunder speedily.

Then I went to the prophetess; and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, Call his name Mesarhib-shabey-otakib-baz, Hasten to take away captives; speed to take away the spoil.

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8:4  For before the child shall have knowledge to cry: My father, and: My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.'

For before the boy knows how to call to his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be taken away, in the sight of the king of the Assyrians.”

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8:5  And YHWH spoke unto me yet again, saying

And the Lord spoke to me further, saying

The LORD spoke to me again, saying,

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8:6  Forasmuch as this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoiceth with Rezin and Remaliah's son;

Because this people chooses not the water of Siloam that goes softly, but wills to have Rassin, and the son of Romelias to be king over you;

“Because this people has cast aside the waters of Shiloah, which go forth silently, and has instead chosen Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

8:7  Now therefore, behold, YHWH bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, mighty and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks;

therefore, behold, the Lord brings up upon you the water of the river, strong and abundant, even the king of the Assyrians, and his glory: and he shall come up over every valley of yours, and shall walk over every wall of yours

for this reason, behold, the Lord will lead over them the waters of a river, strong and plentiful: the king of the Assyrians with all his glory. And he will rise up throughout all his streams, and he will overflow all his banks.

8:8  And he shall sweep through Judah overflowing as he passeth through he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

and he shall take away from Juda every man who shall be able to lift up his head, and every one able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of thy land, O God with us.

And he will pass through Judah, inundating it, and he will cross over and arrive, even at its neck. And he will extend his wings, filling the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

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8:9  Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.

O people, gather together, and be conquered! All distant lands, listen! Be strengthened, and be conquered! Gird yourselves, and be conquered!

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8:10  Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us.

10  And whatsoever counsel ye shall take, the Lord shall bring it to nought; and whatsoever word ye shall speak, it shall not stand among you: for God is with us.

10  Undertake a plan, and it will be dissipated! Speak a word, and it will not be done! For God is with us.

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8:11  For YHWH spoke thus to me with a strong hand, admonishing me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying

11  Thus saith the Lord, With a strong hand they revolt from the course of the way of this people, saying,

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8:12  'Say ye not: A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people do say: A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor account it dreadful.

12  Let them not say, It is hard, for whatsoever this people says, is hard: but fear not ye their fear, neither be dismayed.

12  “You should not say ‘It is conspiracy!’ For all that this people speaks is a conspiracy. And you should be frightened or alarmed with their fear.

8:13  YHWH of hosts, Him shall ye sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.

13  Sanctify ye the Lord himself; and he shall be thy fear.

13  Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. Let him be your dread, and let him be your fear.

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8:14  And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

14  And if thou shalt trust in him, he shall be to thee for a sanctuary; and ye shall not come against him as against a stumbling-stone, neither as against the falling of a rock: but the houses of Jacob are in a snare, and the dwellers in Jerusalem in a pit.

14  And so shall he be a sanctification to you. But he will be a stone of offense and a rock of scandal to the two houses of Israel, and a snare and a ruin to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

8:15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.'

15  Therefore many among them shall be weak, and fall, and be crushed; and they shall draw nigh, and men shall be taken securely.

15  And very many of them will stumble and fall, and they will be broken and entangled and seized.

8:16  'Bind up the testimony, seal the instruction among My disciples.'

16  Then shall those who seal themselves that they may not learn the law be made manifest.

16  Bind the testimony, seal the law, among my disciples.”

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8:17  And I will wait for YHWH, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.

17  And one shall say, I will wait for God, who has turned away his face from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in him.

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8:18  Behold, I and the children whom YHWH hath given me shall be for signs and for wonders in Israel from the YHWH of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.

18  Behold: I and my children, whom the Lord has given to me as a sign and a portent, in Israel, from the Lord of hosts, who lives on Mount Zion.

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8:19  And when they shall say unto you: 'Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living unto the dead

19  And if they should say to you, Seek those who have in them a divining spirit, and them that speak out of the earth, them that speak vain words, who speak out of their belly: shall not a nation diligently seek to their God? why do they seek to the dead concerning the living?

19  And though they say to you, “Seek from seers and diviners,” they who hiss in their incantations, should not the people seek from their God, for the sake of the living, and not from the dead?

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8:20  for instruction and for testimony?'--Surely they will speak according to this word, wherein there is no light.--

20  For he has given the law for a help, that they should not speak according to this word, concerning which there are no gifts to give for it.

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8:21  And they shall pass this way that are sore bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their God, and, whether they turn their faces upward,

21  And famine shall come sorely upon you, and it shall come to pass, that when ye shall be hungry, ye shall be grieved, and ye shall speak ill of the prince and your fathers’ ordinances: and they shall look up to heaven above,

21  And he will pass by it; he will fall and become hungry. And when he is hungry, he will become angry, and he will speak evil against his king and his God, and he will lift himself upward.

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8:22  or look unto the earth, behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.

22  and they shall look on the earth below, and behold severe distress, and darkness, affliction, and anguish, and darkness so that one cannot see; and he that is in anguish shall not be distressed only for a time.

22  And he will gaze downward to the earth, and behold: tribulation and darkness, dissolution and distress, and a pursuing gloom. For he will not be able to fly away from its distress.

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9:1  For is there no gloom to her that was stedfast? Now the former hath lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but the latter hath dealt a more grievous blow by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in the district of the nations.

Drink this first. Act quickly, O land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim, and the rest inhabiting the sea-coast, and the land beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

In the earlier time, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were lifted up. But in the later time, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the Gentiles, was weighed down.

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9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. A light has risen for the inhabitants of the region of the shadow of death.

9:3  Thou hast multiplied the nation, Thou hast increased their joy; they joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

The multitude of the people which thou hast brought down in thy joy, they shall even rejoice before thee as they that rejoice in harvest, and as they that divide the spoil.

You have increased the nation, but you have not increased the rejoicing. They will rejoice before you, like those who rejoice at the harvest, like the victorious exulting after capturing the prey, when they divide the spoils.

9:4  For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, Thou hast broken as in the day of Midian.

Because the yoke that was laid upon them has been taken away, and the rod that was on their neck: for he has broken the rod of the exactors, as in the day of Madiam.

For you have prevailed over the yoke of their burden, and over the rod of their shoulder, and over the scepter of their oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

9:5  For every boot stamped with fierceness, and every cloak rolled in blood, shall even be for burning, for fuel of fire.

For they shall compensate for every garment that has been acquired by deceit, and all raiment with restitution; and they shall be willing, even if they were burnt with fire.

For every violent plunder with a tumult, and every garment mixed with blood, will be burned up and will become fuel for the fire.

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9:6  For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele- joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom;

For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him.

9:7  That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts doth perform this.

His government shall be great, and of his peace there is no end: it shall be upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to support it with judgement and with righteousness, from henceforth and forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

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9:8  YHWH sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

The Lord has sent death upon Jacob, and it has come upon Israel.

The Lord sent a word to Jacob, and it fell upon Israel.

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9:9  And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in arrogancy of heart

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9:10  'The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but cedars will we put in their place.'

10  The bricks are fallen down, but come, let us hew stones, and cut down sycamores and cedars, and let us build for ourselves a tower.

10  We shall lay bricks and hew stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

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9:11  Therefore YHWH doth set upon high the adversaries of Rezin against him, and spur his enemies;

11  And God shall dash down them that rise up against him on mount Sion, and shall scatter his enemies;

11  And the Lord will raise up the enemies of Rezin over him, and he will turn his adversaries into a tumult

9:12  The Arameans on the east, and the Philistines on the west; and they devour Israel with open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

12  even Syria from the rising of the sun, and the Greeks from the setting of the sun, who devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but still his hand is exalted.

12  the Syrians from the east and the Philistines from the west. And they will devour Israel with their whole mouth. After all this, his fury was not turned away; instead, his hand was still extended.

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9:13  Yet the people turneth not unto Him that smiteth them, neither do they seek YHWH of hosts.

13  But the people turned not until they were smitten, and they sought not the Lord.

13  And the people did not return to the One who struck them, and they did not seek the Lord of hosts.

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9:14  Therefore YHWH doth cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.

14  So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day

14  And so, the Lord will disperse, away from Israel, the head and the tail, he who bows down and he who refrains, in one day.

9:15  The elder and the man of rank, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.

15  the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail.

15  The long-lived and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

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9:16  For they that lead this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

16  And those who deceitfully praise this people, and those who are praised, will be thrown down violently.

9:17  Therefore YHWH shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall He have compassion on their fatherless and widows; for every one is ungodly and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh wantonness. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

17  For this reason, the Lord will not rejoice over their youths. And he will not take pity on their orphans and widows. For each one is a hypocrite, and each one is wicked, and every mouth has spoken foolishness. After all this, his fury was not turned away; instead, his hand was still extended.

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9:18  For wickedness burneth as the fire; it devoureth the briers and thorns; yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in thick clouds of smoke.

18  And iniquity shall burn as fire, and shall be devoured by fire as dry grass: and it shall burn in the thickets of the wood, and shall devour all that is round about the hills.

18  For impiety has been kindled like a fire: it will devour brier and thorn, and it will burn in the dense forest, and it will be interwoven with the ascending smoke.

9:19  Through the wrath of YHWH of hosts is the land burnt up; the people also are as the fuel of fire; no man spareth his brother.

19  The whole earth is set on fire because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and the people shall be as men burnt by fire: no man shall pity his brother.

19  The earth has been shaken by the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and the people will become like fuel for the fire. A man will not spare his own brother.

9:20  And one snatcheth on the right hand, and is hungry; and he eateth on the left hand, and is not satisfied; they eat every man the flesh of his own arm

20  But one shall turn aside to the right hand, for he shall be hungry; and shall eat on the left, and a man shall by no means be satisfied with eating the flesh of his own arm.

20  And he will turn toward the right, and he will be hungry. And he will eat toward the left, and he will not be satisfied. Each one will eat the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, and together they will be against Judah.

9:21  Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together are against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

21  For Manasses shall eat the flesh of Ephraim, and Ephraim the flesh of Manasses; for they shall besiege Juda together. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is yet exalted.

21  After all this, his fury was not turned away; instead, his hand was still extended.