Wycliffe WYC
New International Version NIV
4 For the Lord saith these things to the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live;
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This is what the LORD says to Israel: “Seek me and live;
5 and do not ye seek (out) Bethel, and do not ye enter into Gilgal, and ye shall not pass to Beersheba; for why Gilgal shall be led (away) captive, and Bethel shall be unprofitable. (and do not ye go to Bethel, and do not ye enter into Gilgal, and ye shall not go on to Beersheba; because Gilgal shall be led away captive, and Bethel shall come to nothing.)
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do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing. ”
6 Seek ye the Lord, and live ye, lest peradventure the house of Joseph be burnt as fire; and it shall devour Bethel, and there shall none be, that shall quench. (Seek ye the Lord, and live ye, lest perhaps the house of Joseph shall burn like fire; and it shall devour Bethel, and there shall be no one, who shall quench it.)
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Seek the LORD and live, or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire; it will devour them, and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
7 Which convert doom into wormwood, and forsake rightwiseness in the land, (Ye who change justice, or judgement, into wormwood, and desert righteousness in all the land,)
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There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.
8 and forsake him that maketh Arcturus and Orion, and him that turneth (the) darknesses into the morrowtide, and him that changeth day into night; which calleth waters of the sea, and poureth out them on the face of [the] earth; the Lord is name of him. (and desert him who maketh Arcturus, or the Pleiades, and Orion, and him who turneth the darkness into the morning, and him who changeth the day into the night; he who calleth to the waters of the sea, and poureth them out onto the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.)
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He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the LORD is his name.
9 Which scorneth destroying on the strong, and bringeth robbing on the mighty. (Who bringeth destruction and destitution, to the strong and the mighty.)
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With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin.
10 They hated a man reproving in the gate, and they loathed a man speaking perfectly. (They hated the man who rebuked them in the court, and they loathed the man who spoke truthfully.)
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There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth.
11 Therefore for that that ye robbed a poor man, and took from him the chosen prey, ye shall build houses with square stone, and ye shall not dwell in them; ye shall plant most loved vineyards, and ye shall not drink the wine of them. (And so for ye robbed the poor, and took away the chosen prey from them, ye shall build houses with square stones, but ye shall not live in them; ye shall plant the most beautiful vineyards, but ye shall not drink their wine.)
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You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
12 For I knew your great trespasses many, and your strong sins; enemies of the rightwise man, taking a gift, and bearing down poor men in the gate. (For I know of your great many trespasses, and of your strong, or your mighty, sins; ye, the enemies of the righteous, taking bribes, and oppressing the poor in the courts.)
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For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13 Therefore a prudent man shall be still in that time, for the time is evil. (And so the prudent shall be silent at that time, for the time is evil.)
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Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
14 Seek ye good, and not evil, (so) that ye live, and the Lord God of hosts shall be with you, as ye said (that he is).
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Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.