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²³And there shall be no remnant unto them;

For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth,

Even the year of their visitation.

 

12Right wouldest Thou be, O Lord,

Were I to contend with Thee,

Yet will I reason with Thee:

Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper?

Wherefore are all they secure that deal very treacherously?

²Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root;

They grow, yea, they bring forth fruit;

Thou art near in their mouth,

And far from their reins.

³But Thou, O Lord, knowest me,

Thou seest me, and triest my heart toward Thee;

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

And prepare them for the day of slaughter.

 

⁴How long shall the land mourn,

And the herbs of the whole field wither?

For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts are consumed, and the birds;

Because they said: 'He seeth not our end.'

 

⁵'If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee,

Then how canst thou contend with horses?

And though in a land of peace thou art secure,

Yet how wilt thou do in the thickets of the Jordan?

⁶For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father,

Even they have dealt treacherously with thee,

Even they have cried aloud after thee;

Believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.'

 

⁷I have forsaken My house,

I have cast off My heritage;

I have given the dearly beloved of My soul

Into the hand of her enemies.

⁸My heritage is become unto Me

As a lion in the forest;

She hath uttered her voice against Me;

Therefore have I hated her.

⁹Is My heritage unto Me as a speckled bird of prey?

Are the birds of prey against her round about?

Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field,

Bring them to devour.

¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard,

They have trodden My portion under foot,

They have made My pleasant portion

A desolate wilderness.

¹¹They have made it a desolation,

It mourneth unto Me, being desolate;

The whole land is made desolate,

Because no man layeth it to heart.

¹²Upon all the high hills in the wilderness spoilers are come;

For the sword of the Lord devoureth

From the one end of the land even to the other end of the land,

No flesh hath peace.

¹³They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns;

They have put themselves to pain, they profit not;

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