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The second book of the prophet Ezra,the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,
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the son of Ahijah, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, the son of Arna, the son of Uzzi, the son of Borith, the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar,
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the son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, who was a captive in the land of the Medes in the reign of Artaxerxes king of the Persians.
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And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
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"Go thy way, and show My people their sinful deeds, and their children their wickedness which they have done against Me, that they may tell their children's children,
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because the sins of their fathers are increased in them; for they have forgotten Me and have offered unto strange gods.
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Am not I even He that brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage? But they have provoked Me unto wrath and despised My counsels.
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Pull thou off then the hair of thy head and cast all evil upon them, for they have not been obedient unto My law, but they are a rebellious people.
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How long shall I bear them, unto whom I have done so much good?
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Many kings have I destroyed for their sakes; Pharaoh with his servants and all his power have I smitten down.
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All the nations have I destroyed before them, and in the east I have scattered the people of two provinces, even of Tyre and Sidon, and have slain all their enemies.
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"Speak thou therefore unto them, saying, `Thus saith the Lord:
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I led you through the sea and in the beginning gave you a large and safe passage; I gave you Moses for a leader and Aaron for a priest.
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I gave you light in a pillar of fire, and great wonders have I done among you; yet have ye forgotten Me, saith the Lord.
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"`Thus saith the Almighty Lord: The quails were as a token to you; I gave you tents for your safe-conduct. Nevertheless you murmured there,
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and triumphed not in My name at the destruction of your enemies, but ever to this day do ye yet murmur.
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Where are the benefits that I have done for you? When ye were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, did ye not cry unto Me,
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saying, "Why hast Thou brought us into this wilderness to kill us? It would have been better for us to have served the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness."
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Then had I pity upon your mournings and gave you manna to eat; so ye did eat angels' bread.
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When ye were thirsty, did I not cleave the rock, and waters flowed out to your fill? For the heat I covered you with the leaves of the trees.Œ
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I divided among you a fruitful land; I cast out the Canaanites, the Perizzites and the Philistines before you. What shall I yet do more for you? saith the Lord.
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"`Thus saith the Almighty Lord: When ye were in the wilderness, at the river of the Amorites, being athirst and blaspheming My name,
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I gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but cast a tree in the water and made the river sweet.
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"`What shall I do unto thee, O Jacob? Thou, Judah, wouldest not obey Me. I will turn Me to other nations, and unto those will I give My name, that they may keep My statutes.
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Seeing ye have forsaken Me, I will forsake you also; when ye desire Me to be gracious unto you, I shall have no mercy upon you.
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Whensoever ye shall call upon Me, I will not hear you; for ye have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit manslaughter.
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Ye have not, as it were, forsaken Me, but your own selves, saith the Lord.
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"`Thus saith the Almighty Lord: Have I not prayed you as a father his sons, as a mother her daughters and a nurse her young babes,
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that ye would be My people and I should be your God, that ye would be My children and I should be your Father?
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I gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. But now, what shall I do unto you? I will cast you out from My face.
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When ye offer unto Me, I will turn My face from you; for your solemn feast days, your new moons, and your circumcisions have I forsaken.
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I sent unto you My servants the prophets, whom ye have taken and slain and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will require of your hands, saith the Lord.
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"`Thus saith the Almighty Lord: Your house is desolate; I will cast you out as the wind doth stubble.
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And your children shall not be fruitful, for they have despised My commandment and done the thing that is an evil before Me.
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Your houses will I give to a people that shall come, who, not having heard of Me, yet shall believe Me, to whom I have shown no signs, yet they shall do what I have commanded them.
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They have seen no prophets, yet they shall call their sins to remembrance and acknowledge them.
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I take to witness the grace of the people to come, whose little ones rejoice in gladness; and though they have not seen Me with bodily eyes, yet in spirit they believe the thing that I say.
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"`And now, brother, behold what glory; and see the people that come from the east,
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unto whom I will give for leaders Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Hosea, Amos, and Micah, Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah,
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Nahum, and Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who is called also an angel of the Lord.