LXX Concordance for ὑμεῖς

“But you, be fruitful and multiply; spread out over the earth and multiply on it.”

“Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”[fn]

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from? ”

“We're from Haran,” they answered.

“We will agree with you only on this condition: if all your males are circumcised as we are.

“Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies! ”

The steward replied, “What you have said is right, but only the one who is found to have it will be my slave, and the rest of you will be blameless.”

Then Joseph said, “I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose possession the cup was found will be my slave. The rest of you can go in peace to your father.”

“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.

“Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

“You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result ​— ​the survival of many people.

“Go get straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but there will be no reduction at all in your workload.' ”

Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

“The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

“Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.

He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, “Get out immediately from among my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the LORD as you have said.

“Today, in the month of Abib,[fn] you are going out.

“The LORD will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

Moses continued, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.”

Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Two quarts[fn] of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' ”

“and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.' These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

Then the LORD told Moses, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

“You must not oppress a resident alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.

“But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

The following day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.”

For the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.”

“And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God who set you apart from the peoples.

“You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or any new grain[fn] until this very day, and until you have brought the offering to your God. This is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations wherever you live.

“The land is not to be permanently sold because it is mine, and you are only aliens and temporary residents on my land.[fn]

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.

“Then the land will make up for its Sabbath years during the time it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time the land will rest and make up for its Sabbaths.

Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went out.

“Only don't rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us. Don't be afraid of them! ”

“Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands,[fn] turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

“I swear that none of you will enter the land I promised[fn] to settle you in, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

But Moses responded, “Why are you going against the LORD's command? It won't succeed.

“When an alien resides with you or someone else is among you and wants to prepare a food offering as a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he is to do exactly as you do throughout your generations.

“you are to offer a contribution to the LORD when you eat from the food of the land.

“These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the LORD's commands and obey them and not prostitute yourselves by following your own heart and your own eyes.

The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD's people! ”

“They are to perform duties for you and for the whole tent. They must not come near the sanctuary equipment or the altar; otherwise, both they and you will die.

“Speak to the Levites and tell them: When you receive from the Israelites the tenth that I have given you as your inheritance, you are to present part of it as an offering to the LORD ​— ​a tenth of the tenth.

“You are to present an offering to the LORD from every tenth you receive from the Israelites. Give some of it to the priest Aaron as an offering to the LORD.

“then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”

“Please stay here overnight as the others did, so that I may find out what else the LORD has to tell me.”

“You are to remain outside the camp for seven days. All of you and your prisoners who have killed a person or touched the dead are to purify yourselves on the third day and the seventh day.

But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here?

“Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

“But if you don't drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs for your eyes and thorns for your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live.

“Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance[fn] with these borders:

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

“Do not defile the land where you live, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

“Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills,[fn] the Negev and the sea coast ​— ​to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.

“But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.'

“Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.

“The LORD said, ‘Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.' So we crossed the Zered Valley.

“The LORD also said, ‘Get up, move out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have handed the Amorites' King Sihon of Heshbon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession of it; engage[fn] him in battle.

“But you who have remained faithful[fn] to the LORD your God are all alive today.

“Then the LORD spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn't see a form; there was only a voice.

“At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.

“I won't be crossing the Jordan because I am going to die in this land. But you are about to cross over and take possession of this good land.

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed.

“He did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive here today.

“Go and tell them: Return to your tents.

“This is the command ​— ​the statutes and ordinances ​— ​the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.

“The LORD had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.

“Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and drive out nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.

“Keep every command I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to cross into and possess the land you are to inherit,

“the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.

“For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it,

“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.

“You will eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do,[fn] because the LORD your God has blessed you.

“You will rejoice before the LORD your God ​— ​you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

“He is to say to them, ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.

“Just as the LORD was glad to cause you to prosper and to multiply you, so he will also be glad to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be ripped out of the land you are entering to possess.

Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes everything the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land.

“All of you are standing today before the LORD your God ​— ​your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel,

“Indeed, you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled.

“I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan.

“Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

“For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life, and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.' ”

“Your wives, dependents, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation[fn] ahead of your brothers and help them

“Now please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my father's family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign[fn]

“This is so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD's hand is strong, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”

“But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you[fn] take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and make trouble for it.

He commanded them, “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.

“you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city. The LORD your God will hand it over to you.

Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

“But as for the rest of you, don't stay there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Don't let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you.”

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all the enemies you fight.”

“When you have written a description of the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God.

and told them, “You have done everything Moses the LORD's servant commanded you and have obeyed me in everything I commanded you.

“and now would you turn away from the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel.

“and you have seen for yourselves everything the LORD your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the LORD your God who was fighting for you.

“I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build, though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.'

“But if it doesn't please you to worship the LORD, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship ​— ​the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD.”

Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the LORD.”

“We are witnesses,” they said.

“You are not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed me. What have you done?

“I said to you: I am the LORD your God. Do not fear the gods of the Amorites whose land you live in. But you did not obey me.' ”

But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead Baal's case for him? Would you save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him plead his own case because someone tore down his altar.”

“When I and everyone with me blow our rams' horns, you are also to blow your rams' horns all around the camp. Then you will say, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon! ' ”

So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

The bramble said to the trees,

“If you really are anointing me

as king over you,

come and find refuge in my shade.

But if not,

may fire come out from the bramble

and consume the cedars of Lebanon.”

“and now you have attacked my father's family today, killed his seventy sons on top of a large stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the citizens of Shechem ‘because he is your brother' ​— ​

“But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again.

Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Didn't you hate me and drive me out of my father's family? Why then have you come to me now when you're in trouble? ”

So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader.”

Then Jephthah gathered all of the men of Gilead. They fought and defeated Ephraim, because Ephraim had said, “You Gileadites are Ephraimite fugitives in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

“But if you can't explain it to me, you must give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes.”

“Tell us your riddle,” they replied.[fn] “Let's hear it.”

They said to him, “We've come to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines.”

Then Samson told them, “Swear to me that you yourselves won't kill me.”

The priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over the journey you are going on.”

When the men went back to their relatives at Zorah and Eshtaol, their relatives asked them, “What did you find out? ”

When they entered Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the silver idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing? ”

“Look, all of you are Israelites. Give your judgment and verdict here and now.”

“When their fathers or brothers come to us and protest, we will tell them, ‘Show favor to them, since we did not get enough wives for each of them in the battle. You didn't actually give the women to them, so[fn] you are not guilty of breaking your oath.' ”

They replied, “If you send the ark of Israel's God away, do not send it without an offering. Send back a guilt offering to him, and you will be healed. Then the reason his hand hasn't been removed from you will be revealed.”[fn]

Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, set your hearts on the LORD, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

“He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants.

“But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You[fn] must set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”

“If you fear the LORD, worship and obey him, and if you don't rebel against the LORD's command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.

Samuel replied, “Don't be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart.

“However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

So he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”

And the troops replied, “Do whatever you want.”

He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation? ” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king's son-in-law.' ”

“That's why all of you have conspired against me! Nobody tells me when my own son makes a covenant with Jesse's son. None of you cares about me or tells me that my son has stirred up my own servant to wait in ambush for me, as is the case today.”

“May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have shown concern for me.

“What you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die[fn] since you didn't protect your lord, the LORD's anointed. Now look around; where are the king's spear and water jug that were by his head? ”

David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “The LORD bless you because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.

“But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king? ”

“You are my brothers, my flesh and blood.[fn] So why should you be the last to restore the king? '

The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for silver and gold from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.”

“Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said.

If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands ​— ​my statutes that I have set before you ​— ​and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,

Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to this people? ”

He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us'? ”

Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions?[fn] If the LORD is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn't answer him a word.

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don't light the fire.”

But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?

“For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water, and you will drink ​— ​you and your cattle and your animals.'

When Jehu came out to his master's servants, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy person come to you? ”

Then he said to them, “You know the sort and their ranting.”

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying:

If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your master's sons[fn] at this time tomorrow at Jezreel.

All seventy of the king's sons were being cared for by the city's prominent men.

The next morning when he went out and stood at the gate, he said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all these?

Jehu met the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah and asked, “Who are you? ”

They answered, “We're Ahaziah's relatives. We've come down to greet the king's sons and the queen mother's sons.”

He said to them, “You are the heads of the Levite families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it.

However, if you turn away and abandon my statutes and my commands that I have set before you and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them,

Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had attended his father Solomon when he was alive, asking, “How do you advise me to respond to this people? ”

He asked them, “What message do you advise we send back to this people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us'? ”

Then the prophet Shemaiah went to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who were gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the LORD says: You have abandoned me; therefore, I have abandoned you to Shishak.”

“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the LORD's kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David's sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.[fn]

“They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the LORD every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the Bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have abandoned him.

“But as for you, be strong; don't give up,[fn] for your work has a reward.”

Then he said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for a man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the matter of judgment.

“Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before the LORD your God?

They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for you plan to bring guilt on us from the LORD to add to our sins and our guilt. For we have much guilt, and burning anger is on Israel.”

“Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery,[fn] as you see with your own eyes.

“Don't be like your ancestors and your brothers who were unfaithful to the LORD, the God of their ancestors so that he made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.

“This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: ‘What are you relying on that you remain in Jerusalem under siege?

they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to him[fn] since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”

Then I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the articles are holy. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD God of your ancestors.

Then the priest Ezra stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt.

Please remember what you commanded your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples.

When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you're doing? Are you rebelling against the king? ”

After seriously considering the matter, I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, “Each of you is charging his countrymen interest.” So I called a large assembly against them

I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil you are doing ​— ​profaning the Sabbath day?

but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I'll use force[fn] against you.” After that they did not come again on the Sabbath.

“Write in the king's name whatever pleases you concerning the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. A document written in the king's name and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”

So this is what you have now become to me.[fn]

When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you!

Everything you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

You use lies like plaster;

you are all worthless healers.

Would you show partiality to him

or argue the case in his defense?

then be afraid of the sword,

because wrath brings punishment by the sword,

so that you may know there is a judgment.

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,

while you are old;

therefore I was timid and afraid

to tell you what I know.

“However, you will die like humans

and fall like any other ruler.”

May you be blessed by the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

The LORD brings this charge

against the elders and leaders of his people:

“You have devastated the vineyard.

The plunder from the poor is in your houses.

On that day

the LORD will thresh grain from the Euphrates River

as far as the Wadi of Egypt,

and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.

So now, do not scoff,

or your shackles will become stronger.

Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Armies

a decree of destruction for the whole land.

“Look, you are nothing

and your work is worthless.

Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

“They will be turned back and utterly ashamed —

those who trust in an idol

and say to a cast image,

‘You are our gods! '

“I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed —

and not some foreign god[fn] among you.

So you are my witnesses” —

this is the LORD's declaration —

“and[fn] I am God.

Do not be startled or afraid.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are my witnesses!

Is there any God but me?

There is no other Rock; I do not know any.

“You have heard it. Observe it all.

Will you not acknowledge it?

From now on I will announce new things to you,

hidden things that you have not known.

In truth, the Lord GOD will help me;

who will condemn me?

Indeed, all of them will wear out like a garment;

a moth will devour them.

Look, all you who kindle a fire,

who encircle yourselves with[fn] torches;

walk in the light of your fire

and of the torches you have lit!

This is what you'll get from my hand:

you will lie down in a place of torment.

“No weapon formed against you will succeed,

and you will refute any accusation[fn]

raised against you in court.

This is the heritage of the LORD's servants,

and their vindication is from me.”

This is the LORD's declaration.

But come here,

you witch's sons,

offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute![fn]

But you will be called the LORD's priests;

they will speak of you as ministers of our God;

you will eat the wealth of the nations,

and you will boast in their riches.

“But you who abandon the LORD,

who forget my holy mountain,

who prepare a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[fn]

Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says:

“Look! My servants will eat,

but you will be hungry.

Look! My servants will drink,

but you will be thirsty.

Look! My servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

Why do you bring a case against me?

All of you have rebelled against me.

This is the LORD's declaration.

They will consume your harvest and your food.

They will consume your sons and your daughters.

They will consume your flocks and your herds.

They will consume your vines and your fig trees.

With the sword they will destroy

your fortified cities in which you trust.

But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

“what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that bears my name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave you and your ancestors.

“However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.' 

Can the Cushite change his skin,

or a leopard his spots?

If so, you might be able to do what is good,

you who are instructed in evil.

“You did more evil than your ancestors. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying me.

“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? ” ​— ​this is the LORD's declaration. “Just like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

“‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to repel the weapons of war in your hands, those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[fn] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.

“Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts” ​— ​this is the LORD's declaration.

“Now when these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden[fn] of the LORD? ' you will respond to them, ‘What is the burden? I will throw you away! This is the LORD's declaration.'

“For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears my name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.'

“So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don't serve the king of Babylon! '

“‘I have not sent them' ​— ​this is the LORD's declaration ​— ​‘and they are prophesying falsely in my name; therefore, I will banish you, and you will perish ​— ​you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.' ”

For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don't let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don't listen to the dreams you elicit from them,

“This is what the LORD says: In this place, which you say is a ruin, without people or animals ​— ​that is, in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets that are a desolation without people, without inhabitants, and without animals ​— ​there will be heard again

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.

The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide and tell no one where you are.”

“As for me, I am going to live in Mizpah to represent you[fn] before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have captured.”

“Don't be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don't be afraid of him' ​— ​this is the LORD's declaration ​— ​‘because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him.

“But if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,' in order to disobey the LORD your God,

“then hear the word of the LORD, remnant of Judah! This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are firmly resolved to go to Egypt and stay there for a while,

“Now therefore, know for certain that by the sword, famine, and plague you will die in the place where you desired to go to stay for a while.”

“So now, this is what the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Why are you doing such terrible harm to yourselves? You are cutting off man and woman, infant and nursing baby from Judah, leaving yourselves without a remnant.

“Have you forgotten the evils of your ancestors, the evils of Judah's kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

“As for the incense you burned in Judah's cities and in Jerusalem's streets ​— ​you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land ​— ​did the LORD not remember them? He brought this to mind.

“The city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel,

“ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: I am against your magic bands with which you ensnare people like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. I will free the people you have ensnared like birds.

“Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Are you coming to inquire of me? As I live, I will not let you inquire of me. This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.'

“So I asked them, “What is this high place you are going to? ” And it is still called Bamah[fn] today.'

“ ‘As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to me, and you will no longer defile my holy name with your gifts and idols.

“ ‘As for you, my flock, the Lord GOD says this: Look, I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and goats.

The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final.

Then the LORD said:

Name him Lo-ammi,[fn]

for you are not my people,

and I will not be your God.[fn]

And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia ​— ​what are you to me? Are you paying me back or trying to get even with me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads.

Do horses gallop on the cliffs?

Does anyone plow there with oxen?[fn]

Yet you have turned justice into poison

and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood —

Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me?

This is the LORD's declaration.

Didn't I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,

the Philistines from Caphtor,[fn]

and the Arameans from Kir?

You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.

“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined[fn] it. Why? ” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

“‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn't it seem to you like nothing by comparison?

“When you eat and drink, don't you eat and drink simply for yourselves?

“Your own eyes will see this, and you yourselves will say, ‘The LORD is great, even beyond[fn] the borders of Israel.'

“But you are profaning it when you say, ‘The Lord's table is defiled, and its product, its food, is contemptible.'

“If you don't listen, and if you don't take it to heart to honor my name,” says the LORD of Armies, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.

“You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated[fn] the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Armies.

“See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in ​— ​see, he is coming,” says the LORD of Armies.

“Because I, the LORD, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.[fn]

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! ”

“How do we rob you? ” you ask.

“By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.

“Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of Armies.

Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.

So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let's rebuild Jerusalem's wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.”