12
But if you say to me, `My lamentation is not like the earth's, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth in pain and bore in sorrow;
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but it is with the earth according to the way of the earth -- the multitude that is now in it goes as it came';
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then I say to you, `As you brought forth in sorrow, so the earth also has from the beginning given her fruit, that is, man, to him who made her.'
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Now, therefore, keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear bravely the troubles that have come upon you.
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For if you acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will receive your son back in due time, and will be praised among women.
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Therefore go into the city to your husband."
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She said to me, "I will not do so; I will not go into the city, but I will die here."
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So I spoke again to her, and said,
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"Do not say that, but let yourself be persuaded because of the troubles of Zion, and be consoled because of the sorrow of Jerusalem.
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For you see that our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar thrown down, our temple destroyed;
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our harp has been laid low, our song has been silenced, and our rejoicing has been ended; the light of our lampstand has been put out, the ark of our covenant has been plundered, our holy things have been polluted, and the name by which we are called has been profaned; our free men have suffered abuse, our priests have been burned to death, our Levites have gone into captivity, our virgins have been defiled, and our wives have been ravished; our righteous men have been carried off, our little ones have been cast out, our young men have been enslaved and our strong men made powerless.