The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 A Message concerning the Valley of Vision: What's going on here anyway? All this partying and noisemaking,
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The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
2 Shouting and cheering in the streets, the city noisy with celebrations!
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Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
3 You have no brave soldiers to honor, no combat heroes to be proud of. Your leaders were all cowards, captured without even lifting a sword, A country of cowards captured escaping the battle. You Looked, but You Never Looked to Him
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All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.
4 In the midst of the shouting, I said, "Let me alone. Let me grieve by myself. Don't tell me it's going to be all right. These people are doomed. It's not all right."
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Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.
5 For the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, is bringing a day noisy with mobs of people, Jostling and stampeding in the Valley of Vision, knocking down walls and hollering to the mountains, "Attack! Attack!"
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For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
6 Old enemies Elam and Kir arrive armed to the teeth - weapons and chariots and cavalry.
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And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your fine valleys are noisy with war, chariots and cavalry charging this way and that.
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And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 God has left Judah exposed and defenseless.
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And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
9 You found the weak places in the city walls that needed repair. You secured the water supply at the Lower Pool.
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Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You took an inventory of the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some to get bricks to fortify the city wall.
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And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
11 You built a large cistern to ensure plenty of water. You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city.
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Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
12 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, called out on that Day, Called for a day of repentant tears, called you to dress in somber clothes of mourning.
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And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 But what do you do? You throw a party! Eating and drinking and dancing in the streets! You barbecue bulls and sheep, and throw a huge feast - slabs of meat, kegs of beer. "Seize the day! Eat and drink! Tomorrow we die!"
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And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
14 God-of-the-Angel-Armies whispered to me his verdict on this frivolity: "You'll pay for this outrage until the day you die." The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says so. The Key of the Davidic Heritage
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And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 The Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, spoke: "Come. Go to this steward, Shebna, who is in charge of all the king's affairs, and tell him:
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Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
16 What's going on here? You're an outsider here and yet you act like you own the place, make a big, fancy tomb for yourself where everyone can see it, making sure everyone will think you're important.
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What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
17 God is about to sack you, to throw you to the dogs. He'll grab you by the hair,
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Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
18 swing you round and round dizzyingly, and then let you go, sailing through the air like a ball, until you're out of sight. Where you'll land, nobody knows. And there you'll die, and all the stuff you've collected heaped on your grave. You've disgraced your master's house!
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He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
19 You're fired - and good riddance!
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And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
20 "On that Day I'll replace Shebna. I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
21 I'll dress him in your robe. I'll put your belt on him. I'll give him your authority. He'll be a father-leader to Jerusalem and the government of Judah.
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And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22 I'll give him the key of the Davidic heritage. He'll have the run of the place - open any door and keep it open, lock any door and keep it locked.
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And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 I'll pound him like a nail into a solid wall. He'll secure the Davidic tradition.
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And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
24 Everything will hang on him - not only the fate of Davidic descendants but also the detailed daily operations of the house, including cups and cutlery.
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And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
25 "And then the Day will come," says God-of-the-Angel-Armies, "when that nail will come loose and fall out, break loose from that solid wall - and everything hanging on it will go with it." That's what will happen. God says so.
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In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.