Online Bible

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.”