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1.18 thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; For I am with thee, saith the, to deliver thee.'

And the word of the came to me, saying: Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the :


 * I remember for thee the affection of thy youth,
 * The love of thine espousals;
 * How thou wentest after Me in the wilderness,
 * In a land that was not sown.
 * Israel is the hallowed portion,
 * His first-fruits of the increase;
 * All that devour him shall be held guilty,
 * Evil shall come upon them,
 * Saith the.


 * Hear ye the word of the, O house of Jacob,
 * And all the families of the house of Israel;
 * Thus saith the :
 * What unrighteousness have your fathers found in Me,
 * That they are gone far from Me,
 * And have walked after things of nought, and are become nought?
 * Neither said they:
 * 'Where is the that brought us up
 * Out of the land of Egypt;
 * That led us through the wilderness,
 * Through a land of deserts and of pits,
 * Through a land of drought and of the shadow of death,
 * Through a land that no man passed through,
 * And where no man dwelt?'
 * And I brought you into a land of fruitful fields,
 * To eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof;
 * But when ye entered, ye defiled My land,
 * And made My heritage an abomination.
 * The priests said not: 'Where is the ?'
 * And they that handle the law knew Me not,
 * And the rulers transgressed against Me;
 * The prophets also prophesied by Baal,
 * And walked after things that do not profit.
 * Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the ,
 * And with your children's children will I plead.
 * For pass over to the isles of the Kittites, and see,
 * And send unto Kedar, and consider diligently,
 * And see if there hath been such a thing.
 * Hath a nation changed its gods,
 * Which yet are no gods?
 * But My people hath changed its glory
 * For that which doth not profit.
 * Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this,
 * And be horribly afraid, be ye exceeding amazed,
 * Saith the.
 * For My people have committed two evils:
 * They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
 * And hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
 * That can hold no water.


 * Is Israel a servant?
 * Is he a home-born slave?
 * Why is he become a prey?