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Isaiah 40

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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¹ Cursed be the day on which I was born; Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!

² Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, "A son has been born to you!" Making him very glad.

³ And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without regret. Let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon;

⁴ Because he did not kill me before my birth, So that my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always pregnant.

⁵ Why did I come out of the womb To see trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been filled with shame?

⁶ The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest the son of Maaseiah, saying,

⁷ Please inquire of the LORD for us, because[1] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal [favorably] with us according to all His wonderful works and force him to withdraw from us.

⁸ Then Jeremiah said to them, "Say this to Zedekiah:

⁹ Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the[2] Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem).

¹⁰ I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm in anger, in fury, and in great indignation and wrath.

¹¹ I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great virulent disease.

¹² Then afterward," says the LORD, "I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the virulent disease, the sword, and the famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them nor have mercy and compassion on them."'

¹³ "And to this people you (Jeremiah) shall also say, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

¹⁴ He who remains in this city [of Jerusalem] will die by the sword and by famine and by virulent disease. But he who goes outside and surrenders to the[3] Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and his life will be like a prize of war to him.

¹⁵ For I have set My face against this city to do harm and not good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire."'

¹⁶ "And concerning the royal house of the king of Judah [you shall say], 'Hear the word of the LORD,

¹⁷ O house of David, thus says the LORD: "Administer justice in the morning, And rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor, That My wrath will not roar up like fire And burn so [hotly] that none can extinguish it, Because of the evil of their deeds.

¹⁸ "Understand this, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain," says the LORD— "You who say, 'Who will come down against us? Or who will enter into our dwelling places?'

¹⁹ "But I will punish you in accordance with the [appropriate] consequences of your decisions and your actions," says the LORD. "I will kindle a fire in your forest, And it will devour all that is around you."'"

²⁰ Thus says the LORD, "Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this word there:

²¹ Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates.

²² Thus says the LORD, "Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

²³ For if you will indeed obey this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this palace, sitting in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

²⁴ But if you will not hear and obey these words, I swear [an oath] by Myself," says the LORD, "that this house will become a desolation."'"

²⁵ For thus says the LORD in regard to the house of the king of Judah: "You are [as valuable] to Me as [the green pastures of] Gilead [east of the Jordan] Or as the [plentiful] summit of Lebanon [west of the Jordan], Yet most certainly [if you will not listen to Me] I will make you a wilderness, And uninhabited cities.

²⁶ "For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedars And throw them in the fire.

²⁷ "Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, 'Why has the LORD done this to this great city?'

²⁸ Then they will answer, 'Because the people ignored and abandoned the [solemn] covenant with the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them.'"

²⁹ Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him; But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile], For he will never return And see his native country [again].

³⁰ For thus says the LORD in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, "Shallum will not return here anymore;

³¹ he will die in the place where they led him captive and not see this land again.

#	AMP
1	Cursed be the day on which I was born; Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!
2	Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, "A son has been born to you!" Making him very glad.
3	And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without regret. Let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon;
4	Because he did not kill me before my birth, So that my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always pregnant.
5	Why did I come out of the womb To see trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been filled with shame?
6	The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest the son of Maaseiah, saying,
7	Please inquire of the LORD for us, because[1] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal [favorably] with us according to all His wonderful works and force him to withdraw from us.
8	Then Jeremiah said to them, "Say this to Zedekiah:
9	Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the[2] Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem).
10	I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm in anger, in fury, and in great indignation and wrath.
11	I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great virulent disease.
12	Then afterward," says the LORD, "I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the virulent disease, the sword, and the famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemy, into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them nor have mercy and compassion on them."'
13	"And to this people you (Jeremiah) shall also say, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
14	He who remains in this city [of Jerusalem] will die by the sword and by famine and by virulent disease. But he who goes outside and surrenders to the[3] Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and his life will be like a prize of war to him.
15	For I have set My face against this city to do harm and not good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire."'
16	"And concerning the royal house of the king of Judah [you shall say], 'Hear the word of the LORD,
17	O house of David, thus says the LORD: "Administer justice in the morning, And rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor, That My wrath will not roar up like fire And burn so [hotly] that none can extinguish it, Because of the evil of their deeds.
18	"Understand this, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain," says the LORD— "You who say, 'Who will come down against us? Or who will enter into our dwelling places?'
19	"But I will punish you in accordance with the [appropriate] consequences of your decisions and your actions," says the LORD. "I will kindle a fire in your forest, And it will devour all that is around you."'"
20	Thus says the LORD, "Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this word there:
21	Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates.
22	Thus says the LORD, "Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
23	For if you will indeed obey this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this palace, sitting in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.
24	But if you will not hear and obey these words, I swear [an oath] by Myself," says the LORD, "that this house will become a desolation."'"
25	For thus says the LORD in regard to the house of the king of Judah: "You are [as valuable] to Me as [the green pastures of] Gilead [east of the Jordan] Or as the [plentiful] summit of Lebanon [west of the Jordan], Yet most certainly [if you will not listen to Me] I will make you a wilderness, And uninhabited cities.
26	"For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedars And throw them in the fire.
27	"Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, 'Why has the LORD done this to this great city?'
28	Then they will answer, 'Because the people ignored and abandoned the [solemn] covenant with the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them.'"
29	Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him; But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile], For he will never return And see his native country [again].
30	For thus says the LORD in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, "Shallum will not return here anymore;
31	he will die in the place where they led him captive and not see this land again.

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