The Bible in Basic English BBE
Orthodox Jewish Bible OJB
1 Then the Lord said to me, Even if Moses and Samuel came before me, I would have no desire for this people: send them away from before me, and let them go.
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5 Then said Hashem unto me, Though Moshe and Shmuel stood before Me, yet My Nefesh could not be toward HaAm Hazeh; cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it will be, when they say to you, Where are we to go? then you are to say to them, The Lord has said, Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are to be in need of food, to need of food; and such as are to be taken away prisoners, to be taken away.
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And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Where shall we go forth? Then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Hashem: Such as are for mavet, to mavet; and such as are for the cherev, to the cherev; and such as are for the ra’av (famine), to the ra’av (famine); and such as are for shevi (captivity, Golus) to the shevi.
3 And I will put over them four divisions, says the Lord: the sword causing death, dogs pulling the dead bodies about, and the birds of heaven, and the beasts of the earth to take their bodies for food and put an end to them.
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And I will appoint over them four mishpechot (families, categories [of covenant reprisal]), saith Hashem; the cherev to slay, and the kelevim to drag off, and the oph HaShomayim, and the behemat ha’aretz, to devour and destroy.
4 And I will make them a cause of fear to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and what he did in Jerusalem.
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And I will cause them to be a horrific sight to kol mamlechot ha’aretz, because of Menasheh Ben Chizkiyah Melech Yehudah, for that which he did in Yerushalayim.
5 For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem? and who will have sorrow for you? or who will go out of his way to see how you are?
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For who shall have pity upon thee, O Yerushalayim? Or who shall mourn thee? Or who shall go aside to inquire regarding the shalom of thee?
6 You have given me up, says the Lord, you have gone back: so my hand is stretched out against you for your destruction; I am tired of changing my purpose.
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Thou hast forsaken Me, saith Hashem, thou keepeth going backward; therefore will I stretch out My yad against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with relenting.
7 And I have sent a cleaning wind on them in the public places of the land; I have taken their children from them; I have given my people to destruction; they have not been turned from their ways.
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And I will winnow them with a mizreh (winnowing fork) in the sha’arei ha’aretz; I will bereave them, I will destroy My people since they turn not from their drakhim.
8 I have let their widows be increased in number more than the sand of the seas: I have sent against them, against the mother and the young men, one who makes waste in the heat of the day, causing pain and fears to come on her suddenly.
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Their almanot (widows) are increased before Me above the chol (sand) of the seas; I have brought upon them, against the em bochur (mother of youth), a shoded (plunderer) at noonday; I let fall upon her suddenly, Ir and terrors.
9 The mother of seven is without strength; her spirit is gone from her, her sun has gone down while it is still day: she has been shamed and overcome: and the rest of them I will give up to the sword before their haters, says the Lord.
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She that bore shivah (seven [sons]) languisheth; she hath gasped for her nefesh; her shemesh is gone down while it was yet day; she hath been humiliated and disgraced; and the she’erit (remnant) of them will I deliver to the cherev before their oyevim, saith Hashem.
10 Sorrow is mine, my mother, because you have given birth to me, a cause of fighting and argument in all the earth! I have not made men my creditors and I am not in debt to any, but every one of them is cursing me.
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Oy li, immi, that thou bore me, an ish riv (a man of strife) and an ish madon (a man of contention) to kol ha’aretz (the whole land)! I have neither lent, neither have any lent to me; yet every one of them doth curse me.
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Hashem said, Verily I will deliver thee for tov; verily I will cause the oyev (enemy) to supplicate thee in the time of ra’ah and in the time of tzarah (distress).
12 Is it possible for iron to be broken; even iron from the north, and brass?
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Shall barzel (iron) break, barzel (iron) from tzafon (north)? Or nechoshet?
13 I will give your wealth and your stores to your attackers, without a price, because of all your sins, even in every part of your land.
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Thy wealth and thy otzerot (treasures) will I give as plunder without mekhir (price), and that for all thy chataim (sins), even in all thy territories.
14 They will go away with your haters into a land which is strange to you: for my wrath is on fire with a flame which will be burning on you.
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And I will make thee to pass over thine oyevim (enemies) into an eretz which thou knowest not; for eish is kindled in Mine anger, which shall burn against you [plural].
15 O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;
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Hashem, Thou knowest; remember me, and visit me, and take vengeance for me of my [pursuing] persecutors; in Thy patient forbearance take me not away; know that for Thy sake I have suffered cherpah (reproach).
16 But to me your word is a joy, making my heart glad; for I am named by your name, O Lord God of armies.
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Thy Devarim were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Davar was unto me the sasson and simchat levavi; for I am called by Thy Shem, Hashem Elohei Tzva’os.
17 I did not take my seat among the band of those who are glad, and I had no joy; I kept by myself because of your hand; for you have made me full of wrath.
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I sat not in the sod (company) of merrymakers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of Thy yad; for Thou hast filled me with za’am (indignation).
18 Why is my pain unending and my wound without hope of being made well? Sorrow is mine, for you are to me as a stream offering false hope and as waters which are not certain.
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Why is my pain netzach (perpetual, never ending) and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? Wilt Thou be altogether unto me like achzav (deception) and mayim lo ne’emanu (waters that have not proved reliable)?
19 For this cause the Lord has said, If you will come back, then I will again let you take your place before me; and if you give out what is of value and not that which has no value, you will be as my mouth: let them come back to you, but do not go back to them.
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Therefore thus saith Hashem, If thou make teshuva (repentance), then will I restore thee, and thou shalt stand before Me [for service, ministry]; and if thou bring forth [utterance] of the precious rather than the worthless, thou shalt be as My Peh (Mouth): let them turn unto thee; but turn not thou unto them.
20 And I will make you a strong wall of brass to this people; they will be fighting against you, but they will not overcome you: for I am with you to keep you safe, says the Lord.
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And I will make thee unto HaAm Hazeh (this people) a fortified chomat nechoshet; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith Hashem.
21 I will keep you safe from the hands of the evil-doers, and I will give you salvation from the hands of the cruel ones.
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And I will save thee out of the yad of the ra’im (wicked), and I will redeem thee out of the clutches of the ruthless.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.