Online Bible

Evil Leaders Rebuked

The righteous man perishes, and no man ^atakes it to heart;And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.For the righteous man is taken away from ^bevil,2 He enters into peace;They rest in their ¹beds,Each one who ^awalked in his upright way.3 “But come here, you sons of a ^asorceress,^bOffspring of an adulterer and ¹a ^cprostitute.4 “Against whom do you jest?Against whom do you open wide your mouthAnd stick out your tongue?Are you not children of ^arebellion,Offspring of deceit,5 Who inflame yourselves among the ¹^aoaks,^bUnder every luxuriant tree,Who ^cslaughter the children in the ²ravines,Under the clefts of the crags?6 “Among the ¹^asmooth stones of the ²ravineIs your portion, ³they are your lot;Even to them you have ^bpoured out a drink offering,You have made a grain offering.Shall I ⁴^crelent concerning these things?7 “Upon a ^ahigh and lofty mountainYou have ^bmade your bed.You also went up there to offer sacrifice.8 “Behind the door and the doorpostYou have set up your sign;Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^auncovered yourself,And have gone up and made your bed wide.And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,You have loved their ¹bed,You have looked on their ²manhood.9 “You have journeyed to the king with oilAnd increased your perfumes;You have ^asent your envoys a great distanceAnd made them go down to ¹Sheol.10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,Yet you did not say, ‘^aIt is hopeless.’You found ¹renewed strength,Therefore you did not ²faint.

11 “Of ^awhom were you worried and fearfulWhen you lied, and did ^bnot remember Me¹Nor ^cgive Me a thought?Was I not silent even for a long timeSo you do not fear Me?12 “I will ^adeclare your righteousness and your ^bdeeds,But they will not profit you.13 “When you cry out, ^alet 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 ^btakes refuge in Me will ^cinherit the landAnd will ^dpossess My holy mountain.”

14 And it will be said,“^aBuild up, build up, prepare the way,Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”15 For thus says the ^ahigh and exalted OneWho ¹^blives forever, whose name is Holy,“I ^cdwell on a high and holy place,And also with the ^dcontrite and lowly of spiritIn order to ^erevive the spirit of the lowlyAnd to revive the heart of the contrite.16 “For I will ^anot contend forever,^bNor will I always be angry;For the spirit would grow faint before Me,And the ^cbreath of those whom I have made.17 “Because of the iniquity of his ^aunjust gain I was angry and struck him;I hid My face and was angry,And he went on ^bturning away, in the way of his heart.18 “I have seen his ways, but I will ^aheal him;I will ^blead him and ^crestore comfort to him and to his mourners,19 Creating the ¹^apraise of the lips.^bPeace, peace to him who is ^cfar and to him who is near,”Says the LORD, “and I will heal him.”20 But the ^awicked are like the tossing sea,For it cannot be quiet,And its waters toss up refuse and mud.21 “^aThere is no peace,” says ^bmy God, “for the wicked.”

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Evil Leaders Rebuked

The righteous person perishes, and no one ^atakes it to heart;And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.For the righteous person is taken away from ^bevil,2 He enters into peace;They rest in their ¹beds,Each one who ^awalked in his upright way.3 “But come here, you sons of a ^asorceress,^bOffspring of an adulterer and ¹a ^cprostitute!4 “Of whom do you make fun?Against whom do you open wide your mouthAnd stick out your tongue?Are you not children of ^arebellion,Offspring of deceit,5 Who inflame yourselves among the ^aoaks,^bUnder every luxuriant tree,Who ^cslaughter the children in the ¹ravines,Under the clefts of the rocks?6 “Among the ¹^asmooth stones of the ²ravineIs your portion, ³they are your lot;Even to them you have ^bpoured out a drink offering,You have made a grain offering.Should I ⁴^crelent of these things?7 “On a ^ahigh and lofty mountainYou have ^bmade your bed.You also went up there to offer sacrifice.8 “Behind the door and the doorpostYou have set up your sign;Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^auncovered yourself,And have gone up and made your bed wide.And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,You have loved their bed,You have looked at their ¹manhood.9 “You have journeyed to the king with oilAnd increased your perfumes;You have ^asent your messengers a great distanceAnd made them go down to ¹Sheol.10 “You were tired out by the length of your road,Yet you did not say, ‘^aIt is hopeless!’You found ¹renewed strength,Therefore you did not ²faint.

11 “Of ^awhom were you worried and fearfulWhen you lied, and did ^bnot remember Me¹Nor ^cgive Me a thought?Was I not silent, even for a long time,So you do not fear Me?12 “I will ^adeclare your righteousness and your ^bdeeds,And they will not benefit you.13 “When you cry out, ^alet your collection of idols save you.But the wind will carry them all up,And a breath will take them away.But the one who ^btakes refuge in Me will ^cinherit the landAnd ^dpossess My holy mountain.”

14 And it will be said,“^aBuild up, build up, prepare the way,Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”15 For this is what the ^ahigh and exalted OneWho ¹^blives forever, whose name is Holy, says:“I ^cdwell in a high and holy place,And also with the ^dcontrite and lowly of spiritIn order to ^erevive the spirit of the lowlyAnd to revive the heart of the contrite.16 “For I will ^anot contend forever,^bNor will I always be angry;For the spirit would grow faint before Me,And the ^cbreath of those whom I have made.17 “Because of the wrongful act of his ^aunjust gain I was angry and struck him;I hid My face and was angry,And he went on ^bturning away, in the way of his heart.18 “I have seen his ways, but I will ^aheal him;I will ^blead him and ^crestore comfort to him and to his mourners,19 Creating the ¹^apraise of the lips.^bPeace, peace to him who is ^cfar away and to him who is near,”Says the LORD, “and I will heal him.”20 But the ^awicked are like the tossing sea,For it cannot be quiet,And its waters toss up refuse and mud.21 “^aThere is no peace,” says ^bmy God, “for the wicked.”

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Evil Leaders Rebuked

The righteous man perishes at the hand of evil, and no one ^atakes it to heart;Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understandsThat the righteous person is taken away to be spared from disaster and ^bevil.2 He enters into peace through death;They rest in their beds (graves) ,Each one who ^awalked uprightly following God’s will, living with integrity.3 “But come here, you sons of a ^asorceress raised in deception and superstition,^bOffspring of an adulterer and a ^cprostitute.4 “Of whom do you make fun?Against whom do you open wide your mouthAnd stick out your tongue?Are you not children of ^arebellion (sin) ,Offspring of deceit,5 Who inflame yourselves with lust in pagan rites among the ^aoaks (terebinth trees) ,^bUnder every green and leafy tree,Who ^cslaughter the children in sacrifice in the ravinesUnder the clefts of the rocks?6 “Among the ^asmooth stones of the ravineIs your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;Even to them you have ^bpoured out a drink offering,You have offered a grain offering.Should I ^cbe quiet concerning these things leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience?7 “Upon a high and ^alofty mountainYou have openly and shamelessly ^bmade your idolatrous and adulterous bed;Even there you went up to offer sacrifice to idols, in spiritual unfaithfulness to Me.8 “Behind the door and the doorpostYou have set up your pagan symbol;Indeed, far removed from Me, you have ^auncovered yourself,And have gone up and made your bed wide.And you have made a new agreement for yourself with the adulterers,You have loved their bed,You have looked with passion on their ¹manhood. Deut 6:5, 6, 9; 11:18, 209 “You have gone to ¹the king of a pagan land with oilAnd increased your ²perfumes;You have ^asent your messengers a great distanceAnd made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead) .10 “You were wearied by the length of your road,Yet you did not say, ‘^aIt is no use.’You found ¹renewed strength,Therefore you did not grow weak.

11 “About ^awhom were you worried and fearfulThat you lied and did ^bnot ¹remember Me,Nor ²^cgive Me a thought?Was I not silent even for a long timeAnd as a result you do not fear Me?12 “I will ^adeclare your hypocritical righteousness and your ^bdeeds,But they will not benefit you.13 “When you cry out for help, ^alet your ridiculous collection of idols save you.But the wind will carry them all away,A mere breath will take them.But he who ^btakes refuge in Me will ^cpossess the land JudeaAnd will ^dinherit My holy mountain.” Ps 37:9, 11; 69:35, 36; Is 49:8; Matt 5:5; Heb 12:22

14 And it will be said,“^aBuild up, build up, clear the way.Remove the stumbling block out of the way of the spiritual return of My people.”15 For the ^ahigh and exalted OneHe who ^binhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy says this,“I ^cdwell on the high and holy place,But also with the ¹^dcontrite and humble in spiritIn order to ^erevive the spirit of the humbleAnd to revive the heart of the contrite overcome with sorrow for sin. Matt 5:316 “For I will ^anot contend forever,^bNor will I always be angry;For if I did stay angry the spirit of man would grow weak before Me,And the ^cbreath of those whom I have created.17 “Because of the wickedness of his ^aunjust gain I was angry and struck him;I hid My face and was angry,And he went on ^bturning away and backsliding, in the way of his own willful heart.18 “I have seen his willful ways, but I will ^aheal him;I will ^blead him also and will ^crestore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him, Is 61:1, 2; 66:1019 As I create the ¹^apraise of his lips,^bPeace, peace, to him who is ^cfar away both Jew and Gentile and to him who is near!”Says the LORD;“And I will heal him making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise.” Acts 2:39; Eph 2:13-17, 18; Heb 13:1520 But the ^awicked are like the tossing sea,For it cannot be quiet,And its waters toss up mire and mud.21 “^aThere is no peace,” says ^bmy God, “for the wicked.”