New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Ah, the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of those bloated with rich food, of those overcome with wine!
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Ho! crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim, and the dead flower of his glory which is on the head of those who are overcome by strong drink!
2 See, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters; with his hand he will hurl them down to the earth.
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See, the Lord has a strong and cruel one; like a rain of ice, a storm of destruction, like the overflowing of a strong river, he will violently overcome them.
3 Trampled under foot will be the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim.
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The crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim will be crushed under foot;
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of those bloated with rich food, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer; whoever sees it, eats it up as soon as it comes to hand.
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And the dead flower of his glory, which is on the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first early fruit before the summer; which a man takes and puts in his mouth the minute he sees it.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people;
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In that day will the Lord of armies be a crown of glory, and a fair ornament, to the rest of his people;
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
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And a spirit of wisdom to the judge, and strength to those who keep back the attackers at the door of the town.
7 These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused with wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in giving judgment.
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And further, these are uncertain through wine, and have gone out of the right way through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are uncertain through strong drink, they are overcome by wine, they have gone out of the way through strong drink; their vision is false, they go wrong in their decisions.
8 All tables are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean.
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For all the tables are covered with coughed-up food, so that there is not a clean place.
9 "Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from milk, those taken from the breast?
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To whom will he give knowledge? and to whom will he make clear the word? Will it be to those who have newly given up milk, and who have only now been taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
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For it is one rule after another; one line after another; here a little, there a little.
11 Truly, with stammering lip and with alien tongue he will speak to this people,
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No, but with broken talk, and with a strange tongue, he will give his word to this people:
12 to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear.
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To whom he said, This is the rest, give rest to him who is tired; and by this you may get new strength; but they would not give ear.
13 Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little;" in order that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
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For this cause the word of the Lord will be to them rule after rule, line after line, here a little, there a little; so that they may go on their way, and falling back may be broken, and taken in the net.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
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Give ear then to the word of the Lord, you men of pride, the rulers of this people in Jerusalem:
15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter";
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Because you have said, We have made death our friend, and with the underworld we have made an agreement; when the overflowing waters come through they will not come near us; for we are looking to false words for help, taking cover in what is untrue:
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: "One who trusts will not panic."
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For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.
17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.
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And I will make right decision the measuring-line, and righteousness the weight: and the ice-storm will take away the safe place of false words, and the secret place will be covered by the flowing waters.
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it.
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And the help you were looking for from death will come to nothing, and your agreement with the underworld will be broken; when the overflowing waters come through, then you will be overcome by them.
19 As often as it passes through, it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.
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Whenever they come through they will overtake you; for they will come through morning after morning, by day and by night: and the news will be nothing but fear.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
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For the bed is not long enough for a man to be stretched out on: and the cover is not wide enough for him to be covered with.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim, he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon to do his deed—strange is his deed!— and to work his work—alien is his work!
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For the Lord will come up as on Mount Perazim, he will be moved to wrath as in the valley of Gibeon; so that he may do his work--strange is his work; and give effect to his act--unnatural is his act.
22 Now therefore do not scoff, or your bonds will be made stronger; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.
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And now, take care that you do not make sport of him, or your bands will be made strong; for I have had word from the Lord, the Lord of armies, of an end, of a complete end, which is to come on all the land.
23 Listen, and hear my voice; Pay attention, and hear my speech.
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Let your ears be open to my voice; give attention to what I say.
24 Do those who plow for sowing plow continually? Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
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Is the ploughman for ever ploughing? does he not get the earth ready and broken up for the seed?
25 When they have leveled its surface, do they not scatter dill, sow cummin, and plant wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border?
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When the face of the earth has been levelled, does he not put in the different sorts of seed, and the grain in lines, and the barley in its place, and the spelt at the edge?
26 For they are well instructed; their God teaches them.
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For his God is his teacher, giving him the knowledge of these things.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a rod.
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For the fitches are not crushed with a sharp instrument, and a cart-wheel is not rolled over the cummin; but the grain of the fitches is hammered out with a stick, and of the cummin with a rod.
28 Grain is crushed for bread, but one does not thresh it forever; one drives the cart wheel and horses over it, but does not pulverize it.
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Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.
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This comes from the Lord of armies, purposing wonders, and wise in all his acts.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.