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And they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

¹¹Therefore, because ye trample upon the poor,

And take from him exactions of wheat,

Ye have built houses of hewn stone,

But ye shall not dwell in them,

Ye have planted pleasant vineyards,

But ye shall not drink the wine thereof.

¹²For I know how manifold are your transgressions,

And how mighty are your sins;

Ye that afflict the just, that take a ransom,

And that turn aside the needy in the gate.

¹³Therefore the prudent doth keep silence in such a time;

For it is an evil time.

 

¹⁴Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live;

And so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as ye say.

¹⁵Hate the evil, and love the good,

And establish justice in the gate;

It may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,

Will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

 

¹⁶Therefore thus saith the Lord,

The God of hosts, the Lord.

Lamentation shall be in all the broad places,

And they shall say in all the streets: 'Alas! alas!'

And they shall call the husbandman to mourning,

And proclaim lamentation to such as are skilful of wailing.

¹⁷And in all vineyards shall be lamentation;

For I will pass through the midst of thee,

Saith the Lord.

 

¹⁸Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord!

Wherefore would ye have the day of the Lord?

It is darkness, and not light.

¹⁹As if a man did flee from a lion,

And a bear met him;

And went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall,

And a serpent bit him.

²⁰Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?

Even very dark, and no brightness in it?

²¹I hate, I despise your feasts,

And I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

²²Yea, though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meal-offerings,

I will not accept them,

Neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.

²³Take thou away from Me the noise of thy songs;

And let Me not hear the melody of thy psalteries.

²⁴But let justice well up as waters,

And righteousness as a mighty stream.

²⁵Did ye bring unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? ²⁶So shall ye take up Siccuth your king and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. ²⁷Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith He, whose name is the Lord God of hosts.

6Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,

And to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria,

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