New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision : What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops?
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A Message concerning the Valley of Vision: What's going on here anyway? All this partying and noisemaking,
2 The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this reveling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease.
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Shouting and cheering in the streets, the city noisy with celebrations!
3 All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured, too.
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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
4 That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.”
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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."
5 Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides.
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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!"
6 Elamites are the archers, with their chariots and charioteers. The men of Kir hold up the shields.
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Old enemies Elam and Kir arrive armed to the teeth - weapons and chariots and cavalry.
7 Chariots fill your beautiful valleys, and charioteers storm your gates.
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Your fine valleys are noisy with war, chariots and cavalry charging this way and that.
8 Judah’s defenses have been stripped away. You run to the armory for your weapons.
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God has left Judah exposed and defenseless.
9 You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool.
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You found the weak places in the city walls that needed repair. You secured the water supply at the Lower Pool.
10 You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls.
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You took an inventory of the houses in Jerusalem and tore down some to get bricks to fortify the city wall.
11 Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.
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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.
12 At that time the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse.
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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.
13 But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
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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!"
14 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
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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
15 This is what the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message:
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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:
16 “Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself— a monument high up in the rock?
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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.
17 For the LORD is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you,
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God is about to sack you, to throw you to the dogs. He'll grab you by the hair,
18 crumple you into a ball, and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master!
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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!
19 “Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the LORD . “I will pull you down from your high position.
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You're fired - and good riddance!
20 And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you.
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"On that Day I'll replace Shebna. I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
21 I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.
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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.
22 I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.
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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.
23 He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall.
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I'll pound him like a nail into a solid wall. He'll secure the Davidic tradition.
24 They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honor to even the lowliest members of his family. ”
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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.
25 But the LORD of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
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"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.