Immerse: Prophets - Flipbook - Page 236
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IMMERSE
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PROPHETS
I would weep day and night
for all my people who have been slaughtered.
Oh, that I could go away and forget my people
and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert.
For they are all adulterers—
a pack of treacherous liars.
“My people bend their tongues like bows
to shoot out lies.
They refuse to stand up for the truth.
They only go from bad to worse.
They do not know me,”
says the Lord.
“Beware of your neighbor!
Don’t even trust your brother!
For brother takes advantage of brother,
and friend slanders friend.
They all fool and defraud each other;
no one tells the truth.
With practiced tongues they tell lies;
they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
They pile lie upon lie
and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”
says the Lord.
Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“See, I will melt them down in a crucible
and test them like metal.
What else can I do with my people?
For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.
They speak friendly words to their neighbors
while scheming in their heart to kill them.
Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”
I will weep for the mountains
and wail for the wilderness pastures.
For they are desolate and empty of life;
the lowing of cattle is heard no more;
the birds and wild animals have all fled.
“I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord.
“It will be a place haunted by jackals.
9:2-11
