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“Seek Me So That You May Live”
Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a asong of mourning, house of Israel:2 She has fallen, she will anot rise again—The bvirgin Israel.She lies unnoticed on her land;There is cno one to raise her up.

3 For this is what the Lord 1GOD says:“The city which goes forth a thousand strongWill have a ahundred left,And the one which goes forth a hundred strongWill have bten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For this is what the LORD says to the house of Israel:“aSeek Me bso that you may live.

5 “But do not 1resort to aBethelAnd do not come to bGilgal,Nor cross over to cBeersheba;For Gilgal will certainly go into captivityAnd Bethel will 2come to nothing.6 “aSeek the LORD so that you may live,Or He will break through like a bfire, 1house of Joseph,And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,7 For those who turn ajustice into wormwood,And 1throw righteousness to the earth.”
8 He who made the aPleiades and Orion,And bchanges deep darkness into morning,1Who also cdarkens day into night,Who dcalls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The eLORD is His name.9 It is He who amakes destruction flash upon the strong,So that bdestruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate him who arebukes in the 1gate,And they bdespise him who speaks with integrity.11 Therefore because you impose heavy 1rent on the poorAnd take a tribute of grain from them,Though you have built ahouses of cut stone,Yet you will not live in them;You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will bnot drink their wine.12 For I know your offenses are many and your sins are great,You who are ahostile to the righteous and accept bribes,And 1turn away the poor from justice at the 2gate.13 Therefore at 1such a time the prudent person akeeps quiet, because it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, so that you may live;And so may the LORD God of armies be with you,aJust as you have said!15 aHate evil, love good,And establish justice in the 1gate!Perhaps the LORD God of armiesbWill be gracious to the cremnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says:“There is amourning in all the public squares,And in all the streets they say, ‘Oh no! Oh no!’They also call the bfarmer to mourningAnd 1cprofessional mourners to mourning rites.

17 “And in all the avineyards there is mourning,Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the LORD.
18 Woe to you who are longing for the aday of the LORD,For what 1purpose will the day of the LORD be to you?It will be bdarkness and not light;19 As when a man aflees from a lionAnd a bear confronts him,1Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall,And a snake bites him.20 Will the day of the LORD not be adarkness instead of light,Even gloom with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I areject your festivals,Nor do I 1bdelight in your festive assemblies.22 “Even though you aoffer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,I will not accept them;And I will not even look at the bpeace offerings of your fattened oxen.23 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs;I will not even listen to the sound of your harps.24 “But let ajustice roll out like waters,And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

25 “1aDid you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel? 26 aYou also carried along 1Sikkuth your king and 2Kiyyun, your images, 3the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of armies.

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“Seek Me that You May Live”
Hear this word which I take up for you as a afuneral song, O house of Israel:2 She has fallen, she will anot rise again—The bvirgin Israel.She lies neglected on her land;There is cno one to raise her up.3 For thus says the Lord GOD,“The city which goes forth a thousand strongWill have a ahundred left,And the one which goes forth a hundred strongWill have bten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,“aSeek Me search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food so bthat you may live. 2+@Chr 15:2; Jer 29:13

5 “But do not resort to aBethel to worship the golden calfNor enter idolatrous bGilgal,Nor cross over to cBeersheba and its idols;For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,And Bethel will come to nothing.6 “aSeek the LORD search diligently for Him and long for Him as your most essential need so that you may live,Or He will rush down like a devouring bfire, O 1house of Joseph,And there will be no one to quench the flame for idolatrous 2Bethel,7 For those shall be consumed who turn ajustice into wormwood (bitterness)And cast righteousness down to the earth.”
8 He who made the cluster of stars called aPleiades and the constellation Orion,Who bturns deep darkness into the morningAnd cdarkens the day into night,Who dcalls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The eLORD is His name.9 It is He who causes sudden destruction to aflash forth on the strongSo that bdestruction comes on the fortress.
10 They hate the one who areprimands the unrighteous in the court held at the city gate regarding him as unreasonable and rejecting his reprimand,And they bdetest him who speaks the truth with integrity and honesty.11 Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poorAnd demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them,Though you have built luxurious ahouses of square stone,You will not live in them;You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will bnot drink their wine.12 For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great (shocking, innumerable) ,You who adistress the righteous and take bribes,And turn away from the poor in the court of the city gate depriving them of justice.13 Therefore, he who is prudent and has insight will akeep silent at such a corrupt and evil time, for it is an evil time when people will not listen to truth and will disregard those of good character.
14 Seek (long for, require) good and not evil, that you may live;And so may the LORD God of hosts be with you,aJust as you have said!15 aHate evil and love good,And establish justice in the court of the city gate.Perhaps the LORD God of hostsbWill be gracious to the cremnant of Joseph that is, those who remain after God’s judgment.

16 Therefore, thus says the LORD God of hosts, the Lord,“There is awailing in all the public plazas,And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’And they call the bfarmers to mourning for those who have diedAnd cprofessional mourners to wailing.

17 “And in all avineyards there is wailing,For I will pass through your midst in judgment,” says the LORD. Ex 12:12
18 Woe (judgment is coming) to you who desire the aday of the LORD expecting rescue from the Gentiles!Why would you want the day of the LORD?It is bdarkness (judgment) and not light and rescue and prosperity;19 It is as if a man aruns from a lion escaping one dangerAnd a bear meets him so he dies anyway,Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wallAnd a snake bites him.20 Will not the day of the LORD be adarkness, instead of light,Even very dark with no brightness in it?
21 “I hate, I adespise and reject your sacred feasts,And I do not take bdelight in your solemn assemblies.22 “Even though you aoffer Me your burnt offerings and your grain offerings,I will not accept them;And I will not even look at the bpeace offerings of your fattened animals.23 “Take the noise of your songs away from Me they are an irritation!I shall not even listen to the melody of your harps.24 “But let ajustice run down like watersAnd righteousness like an ever-flowing stream flowing abundantly.

25 “aDid you bring Me sacrifices and grain offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? Certainly not! 26 aYou carried along your king Sikkuth and Kayyun your man-made gods of Saturn, your images of your star-god which you made for yourselves but you brought Me none of the appointed sacrifices. 27 Therefore, I will send you to go into exile far beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. Acts 7:42, 43