New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 This is the message from the LORD against the land of Aram and the city of Damascus, for the eyes of humanity, including all the tribes of Israel, are on the LORD .
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War Bulletin: God's Message challenges the country of Hadrach. It will settle on Damascus. The whole world has its eyes on God. Israel isn't the only one.
2 Doom is certain for Hamath, near Damascus, and for the cities of Tyre and Sidon, though they are so clever.
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That includes Hamath at the border, and Tyre and Sidon, clever as they think they are.
3 Tyre has built a strong fortress and has made silver and gold as plentiful as dust in the streets!
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Tyre has put together quite a kingdom for herself; she has stacked up silver like cordwood, piled gold high as haystacks.
4 But now the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions and hurl its fortifications into the sea, and it will be burned to the ground.
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But God will certainly bankrupt her; he will dump all that wealth into the ocean and burn up what's left in a big fire.
5 The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall and will be filled with fear. Gaza will shake with terror, as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed. Gaza’s king will be killed, and Ashkelon will be deserted.
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Ashkelon will see it and panic, Gaza will wring its hands, Ekron will face a dead end. Gaza's king will die. Ashkelon will be emptied out,
6 Foreigners will occupy the city of Ashdod. I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
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And a villain will take over in Ashdod. "I'll take proud Philistia down a peg:
7 I will grab the bloody meat from their mouths and snatch the detestable sacrifices from their teeth. Then the surviving Philistines will worship our God and become like a clan in Judah. The Philistines of Ekron will join my people, as the ancient Jebusites once did.
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I'll make him spit out his bloody booty and abandon his vile ways." What's left will be all God's - a core of survivors, a family brought together in Judah - But enemies like Ekron will go the way of the Jebusites, into the dustbin of history.
8 I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am watching closely to ensure that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.
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"I will set up camp in my home country and defend it against invaders. Nobody is going to hurt my people ever again. I'm keeping my eye on them. A Humble King Riding a Donkey
9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
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"Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion! Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem! Your king is coming! a good king who makes all things right, a humble king riding a donkey, a mere colt of a donkey.
10 I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
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I've had it with war - no more chariots in Ephraim, no more war horses in Jerusalem, no more swords and spears, bows and arrows. He will offer peace to the nations, a peaceful rule worldwide, from the four winds to the seven seas.
11 Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon.
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"And you, because of my blood covenant with you, I'll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.
12 Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.
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Come home, hope-filled prisoners! This very day I'm declaring a double bonus - everything you lost returned twice-over!
13 Judah is my bow, and Israel is my arrow. Jerusalem is my sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.
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Judah is now my weapon, the bow I'll pull, setting Ephraim as an arrow to the string. I'll wake up your sons, O Zion, to counter your sons, O Greece. From now on people are my swords."
14 The LORD will appear above his people; his arrows will fly like lightning! The Sovereign LORD will sound the ram’s horn and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.
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Then God will come into view, his arrows flashing like lightning! Master God will blast his trumpet and set out in a whirlwind.
15 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people, and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones. They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine. They will be filled with blood like a bowl, drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.
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God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them - all-out war, The war to end all wars, no holds barred.
16 On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
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Their God will save the day. He'll rescue them. They'll become like sheep, gentle and soft, Or like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colors of the sun.
17 How wonderful and beautiful they will be! The young men will thrive on abundant grain, and the young women will flourish on new wine.
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Then how they'll shine! shimmer! glow! the young men robust, the young women lovely!
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.