The Bible in Basic English BBE
New International Version NIV
1 Ho! you who make waste those who did not make you waste; acting falsely to those who were not false to you. When you have come to an end of wasting, you will be made waste, and after your false acts, they will do the same to you.
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Woe to you, destroyer, you who have not been destroyed! Woe to you, betrayer, you who have not been betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed; when you stop betraying, you will be betrayed.
2 O Lord, have mercy on us; for we have been waiting for your help: be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble.
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LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
3 At the loud noise the peoples have gone in flight; at your coming up the nations have gone in all directions.
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At the uproar of your army, the peoples flee; when you rise up, the nations scatter.
4 And the goods taken in war will be got together like the massing of young locusts; men will be rushing on them like the rushing of locusts.
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Your plunder, O nations, is harvested as by young locusts; like a swarm of locusts people pounce on it.
5 The Lord is lifted up; his place is on high: he has made Zion full of righteousness and true religion.
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The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.
6 And she will have no more fear of change, being full of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of the Lord is her wealth.
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He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
7 See, the men of war are sorrowing outside the town: those who came looking for peace are weeping bitterly.
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Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are waste, no man is journeying there: the agreement is broken, he has made sport of the towns, he has no thought for man.
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The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected.
9 The earth is sorrowing and wasting away; Lebanon is put to shame and has become waste; Sharon is like the Arabah; and in Bashan and Carmel the leaves are falling.
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The land dries up and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.
10 Now will I come forward, says the Lord; now will I be lifted up; now will my power be seen.
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“Now will I arise,” says the LORD. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up.
11 Your designs will be without profit, and their effect will be nothing: you will be burned up by the fire of my breath.
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You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
12 And the peoples will be like the burning of chalk: as thorns cut down, which are burned in the fire.
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The peoples will be burned to ashes; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze.”
13 Give ear, you who are far off, to what I have done: see my power, you who are near.
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You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power!
14 The sinners in Zion are full of fear; the haters of God are shaking with wonder. Who among us may keep his place before the burning fire? who among us may see the eternal burnings?
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The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: “Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?”
15 He whose ways are true, and whose words are upright; he who gives no thought to the profits of false acts, whose hands have not taken rewards, who will have no part in putting men to death, and whose eyes are shut against evil;
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Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16 He will have a place on high: he will be safely shut in by the high rocks: his bread will be given to him; his waters will be certain.
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they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
17 Your eyes will see the king in his glory: they will be looking on a far-stretching land.
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Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.
18 Your heart will give thought to the cause of your fear: where is the scribe, where is he who made a record of the payments, where is he by whom the towers were numbered?
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In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: “Where is that chief officer? Where is the one who took the revenue? Where is the officer in charge of the towers?”
19 Never again will you see the cruel people, a people whose tongue has no sense for you; whose language is strange to you.
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You will see those arrogant people no more, people whose speech is obscure, whose language is strange and incomprehensible.
20 Let your eyes be resting on Zion, the town of our holy feasts: you will see Jerusalem, a quiet resting-place, a tent which will not be moved, whose tent-pins will never be pulled up, and whose cords will never be broken.
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Look on Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
21 But there the Lord will be with us in his glory, ... wide rivers and streams; where no boat will go with blades, and no fair ship will be sailing.
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There the LORD will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them.
22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our law-giver, the Lord is our king; he will be our saviour.
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For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
23 Your cords have become loose; they were not able to make strong the support of their sails, the sail was not stretched out: then the blind will take much property, the feeble-footed will make division of the goods of war.
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Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder.
24 And the men of Zion will not say, I am ill: for its people will have forgiveness for their sin.
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No one living in Zion will say, “I am ill”; and the sins of those who dwell there will be forgiven.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
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.