The Siege of Jerusalem
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Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city 1where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round.
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Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel.a
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2And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you 3with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you.
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4And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like 5the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.
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But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like 6small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. 7And in an instant, suddenly,
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8you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
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And 9the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be 10like a dream, a vision of the night.
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11As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.
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Astonish yourselvesb and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; 12stagger, but not with strong drink!
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13For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).
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And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is 14sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."
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And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."
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And the Lord said: "Because 15this people 16draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
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therefore, behold, 17I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and 18the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden."
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Ah, 19you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are 20in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"
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21You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
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Is it not yet a very little while 22until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?
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In that day 23the deaf shall hear 24the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness 25the eyes of the blind shall see.
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26The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
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For the ruthless shall come to nothing and 27the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,
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who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and 28lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea 29turn aside him who is in the right.
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Therefore thus says the LORD, 30who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale.
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For when he sees his children, 31the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; 32they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
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And those 33who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)