The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 And when the time comes" - God's Decree! - "I'll see to it that they dig up the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of the princes and priests and prophets, and yes, even the bones of the common people.
1
At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
2 They'll dig them up and spread them out like a congregation at worship before sun, moon, and stars, all those sky gods they've been so infatuated with all these years, following their 'lucky stars' in doglike devotion. The bones will be left scattered and exposed, to reenter the soil as fertilizer, like manure.
2
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
3 "Everyone left - all from this evil generation unlucky enough to still be alive in whatever godforsaken place I will have driven them to - will wish they were dead." Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. To Know Everything but God's Word
3
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
4 "Tell them this, God's Message: "'Do people fall down and not get up? Or take the wrong road and then just keep going?
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Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
5 So why does this people go backwards, and just keep on going - backwards! They stubbornly hold on to their illusions, refuse to change direction.
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Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
6 I listened carefully but heard not so much as a whisper. No one expressed one word of regret. Not a single "I'm sorry" did I hear. They just kept at it, blindly and stupidly banging their heads against a brick wall.
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I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
7 Cranes know when it's time to move south for winter. And robins, warblers, and bluebirds know when it's time to come back again. But my people? My people know nothing, not the first thing of God and his rule.
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Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
8 "'How can you say, "We know the score. We're the proud owners of God's revelation"? Look where it's gotten you - stuck in illusion. Your religion experts have taken you for a ride!
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How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
9 Your know-it-alls will be unmasked, caught and shown up for what they are. Look at them! They know everything but God's Word. Do you call that "knowing"?
9
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
10 "'So here's what will happen to the know-it-alls: I'll make them wifeless and homeless. Everyone's after the dishonest dollar, little people and big people alike. Prophets and priests and everyone in-between twist words and doctor truth.
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Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
11 My dear Daughter - my people - broken, shattered, and yet they put on band-aids, Saying, "It's not so bad. You'll be just fine." But things are not "just fine"!
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For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12 Do you suppose they are embarrassed over this outrage? Not really. They have no shame. They don't even know how to blush. There's no hope for them. They've hit bottom and there's no getting up. As far as I'm concerned, they're finished.'" God has spoken.
12
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13 "'I went out to see if I could salvage anything'" - God's Decree - "'but found nothing: Not a grape, not a fig, just a few withered leaves. I'm taking back everything I gave them.'"
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I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
14 So why are we sitting here, doing nothing? Let's get organized. Let's go to the big city and at least die fighting. We've gotten God's ultimatum: We're damned if we do and damned if we don't - damned because of our sin against him.
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Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
15 We hoped things would turn out for the best, but it didn't happen that way. We were waiting around for healing - and terror showed up!
15
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
16 From Dan at the northern borders we hear the hooves of horses, Horses galloping, horses neighing. The ground shudders and quakes. They're going to swallow up the whole country. Towns and people alike - fodder for war.
16
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
17 "'What's more, I'm dispatching poisonous snakes among you, Snakes that can't be charmed, snakes that will bite you and kill you.'" God's Decree! Advancing from One Evil to the Next
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For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
18 I drown in grief. I'm heartsick.
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When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
19 Oh, listen! Please listen! It's the cry of my dear people reverberating through the country. Is God no longer in Zion? Has the King gone away? Can you tell me why they flaunt their plaything-gods, their silly, imported no-gods before me?
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Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
20 The crops are in, the summer is over, but for us nothing's changed. We're still waiting to be rescued.
20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21 For my dear broken people, I'm heartbroken. I weep, seized by grief.
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For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
22 Are there no healing ointments in Gilead? Isn't there a doctor in the house? So why can't something be done to heal and save my dear, dear people?
22
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
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.