LXX Concordance for λέγοντες

At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment[fn] of the city.”

Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:

The Hethites replied to Abraham,[fn]

When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you ​— ​and he has four hundred men with him.”

So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city.

Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, has been acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant.”

“Bring her out,” Judah said, “and let her be burned to death! ”

He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It's here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us? ”

They said, “My lord, we really did come down here the first time only to buy food.

When the news reached Pharaoh's palace, “Joseph's brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.

They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt! ” Jacob was stunned,[fn] for he did not believe them.

When the silver from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die here in front of you? The silver is gone! ”

When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

So he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before Manasseh when he said, “The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' ”

When the days of mourning were over, Joseph said to Pharaoh's household, “If I have found favor with you, please tell Pharaoh that

So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command:

“But require the same quota of bricks from them as they were making before; do not reduce it. For they are slackers ​— ​that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'

So the overseers and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am not giving you straw.

The overseers insisted, “Finish your assigned work each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

The Israelite foremen saw that they were in trouble when they were told, “You cannot reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

“All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Get out, you and all the people who follow you.[fn] After that, I will get out.” And he went out from Pharaoh's presence fiercely angry.

“Isn't this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD. They said:

I will sing to the LORD,

for he is highly exalted;

he has thrown the horse

and its rider into the sea.

The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink? ”

So the people complained to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”

“Why are you complaining to me? ” Moses replied to them. “Why are you testing the LORD? ”

He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

Moses came and told the people all the commands of the LORD and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the LORD has commanded.”

“Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and eliminate them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for your people.

“Tell the Israelites: You may eat all these kinds of land animals.

“Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. You should say to them,

“Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, ‘Give us meat to eat! '

“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the LORD's hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.' The LORD will give you meat and you will eat.

“but for a whole month ​— ​until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you ​— ​because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt? ' ”

So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.

“If you kill this people with a single blow,[fn] the nations that have heard of your fame will declare,

They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let's go to the place the LORD promised, for we were wrong.”

At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled because they thought, “The earth may swallow us too! ”

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

Then the Israelites declared to Moses, “Look, we're perishing! We're lost; we're all lost!

The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD.

The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food! ”

So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said,

The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands.

The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the LORD has spoken to your servants is what we will do.

“Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart,[fn] saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.'

“Otherwise, those in the land you brought us from will say, ‘Because the LORD wasn't able to bring them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.'

“that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let's go and worship other gods,' which you have not known,

“This is what you requested from the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die! '

“The officers are to address the army, ‘Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.

“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.' ”

The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land.”

and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it.

and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones? '

“So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.” '

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?

The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.

Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don't give up on your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.”

It was reported to Joshua, “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”

Joseph's descendants said to Joshua, “Why did you give us only one tribal allotment as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has been blessing us greatly.”

At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.”

They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them,

The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the Israelite clans,

“We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the LORD, the God of Israel?

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites? ”

Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened? And where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about? They said, ‘Hasn't the LORD brought us out of Egypt? ' But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men? ' ”

so they cried out to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

“No,” they said,[fn] “we won't kill you, but we will tie you up securely and hand you over to them.” So they tied him up with two new ropes and led him away from the rock.

When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded the place and waited in ambush for him all that night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, saying, “Let's wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”

While they were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden, wicked men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man who was the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him! ”

Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this evil act that has happened among you?

They went up, wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of him, “Should we again attack our brothers the Benjaminites? ”

And the LORD answered, “Fight against them.”

The Israelites asked, “Who of all the tribes of Israel didn't come to the LORD with the assembly? ” For a great oath had been taken that anyone who had not come to the LORD at Mizpah would certainly be put to death.

The congregation sent twelve thousand brave warriors there and commanded them, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the sword, including women and dependents.

“But we can't give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjaminite is cursed.”

Then they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.

The people of Gath then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, “They've moved the ark of Israel's God to us to kill us and our people! ”[fn]

the Philistines summoned the priests and the diviners and pleaded, “What should we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we can send it back to its place.”

They sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and get it.”[fn]

Some reported to Saul, “Look, the troops are sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.”

Saul said, “You have been unfaithful. Roll a large stone over here at once.”

Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but it was reported to Samuel, “Saul went to Carmel where he set up a monument for himself. Then he turned around and went down to Gilgal.”

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.' ”

When it was reported to Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah,

Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the LORD when we said, ‘The LORD will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.' ” Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.

It was reported to David, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors.”

Some Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn't it true that David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?

When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, “David sent us to bring you to him as a wife.”

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah saying, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon.”

“Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the LORD who has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD, for today they have banished me from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.'

David did not let a man or woman live to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Or they will inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.' ” This was David's custom during the whole time he stayed in the Philistine territory.

“Isn't this the David they sing about during their dances:

Saul has killed his thousands,

but David his tens of thousands? ”

Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

When Joab and his whole army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites had said to David, “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you” thinking, “David can't get in here.”

It was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed Obed-edom's family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom's house to the city of David with rejoicing.

When it was reported to David, “Uriah didn't go home,” David questioned Uriah, “Haven't you just come from a journey? Why didn't you go home? ”

Then someone reported to David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”

“LORD,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness! ”

“Now send someone quickly and tell David, ‘Don't spend the night at the wilderness ford,[fn] but be sure to cross over the Jordan,[fn] or the king and all the people with him will be devoured.' ”

It was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping. He's mourning over Absalom.”

So the king got up and sat in the city gate, and all the people were told, “Look, the king is sitting in the city gate.” Then they all came into the king's presence.

Meanwhile, each Israelite had fled to his tent.

King David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace? The talk of all Israel has reached the king at his house.

So he won over[fn] all the men of Judah, and they unanimously sent word to the king: “Come back, you and all your servants.”

She said, “In the past they used to say, ‘Seek counsel in Abel,' and that's how they settled disputes.

But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

“The king's servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may he make his throne greater than your throne.' Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.

It was reported to Solomon, “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first[fn] swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.' ”

It was reported to King Solomon, “Joab has fled to the LORD's tabernacle and is now beside the altar.”

Then Solomon sent[fn] Benaiah son of Jehoiada and told him, “Go and strike him down! ”

But then, at the end of three years, two of Shimei's slaves ran away to Achish son of Maacah, king of Gath. Shimei was informed, “Look, your slaves are in Gath.”

It was reported to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned.

and when they come to their senses[fn]

in the land where they were deported

and repent and petition you in their captors' land:

“We have sinned and done wrong;

we have been wicked,”

But they summoned him, and Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam:

They replied, “Today if you will be a servant to this people and serve them, and if you respond to them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

The young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us! ' This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's waist!

The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

Then seat two wicked men opposite him and have them testify against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king! ” Then take him out and stone him to death.

The two wicked men came in and sat opposite him. Then the wicked men testified against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed God and the king! ” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

And all the prophets were prophesying the same: “March up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the LORD will hand it over to the king.”

So the king said, “Go and see where he is, so I can send men to capture him.”

When he was told, “Elisha is in Dothan,”

The diseased men came and called to the city's gatekeepers and told them, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there ​— ​no human sounds. There was nothing but tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”

So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into the city.' ”

Elisha came to Damascus while King Ben-hadad of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”

So the overseer of the palace, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever you think is right.”[fn]

The settlers said to the king of Assyria, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don't know the requirements of the god of the land.”

All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.[fn]

and when they come to their senses

in the land where they were deported

and repent and petition you in their captors' land,

saying, “We have sinned and done wrong;

we have been wicked,”

So they summoned him. Then Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam:

They replied, “If you will be kind to this people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

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'? ”

And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “March up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the LORD will hand it over to the king.”

People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom[fn] has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

They have lived in the land and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name and have said,

So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king's command, saying, “Israelites, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

This is the reply they gave us:

We are the servants of the God of the heavens and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his fierce anger is against all who abandon him.”

After these things had been done, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the surrounding peoples whose detestable practices are like those of the Canaanites, Hethites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.”

For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will drop their hands from[fn] the work, and it will never be finished.”

But now, my God, strengthen my hands.

These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah's good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Don't grieve.”

They were the ones who said to God, “Leave us alone! ”

and “What can the Almighty do to us? ”[fn]

Teach us what we should say to him;

we cannot prepare our case because of our darkness.

saying, “God has abandoned him;

chase him and catch him,

for there is no one to rescue him.”

My eyes grow weary

looking for what you have promised;

I ask, “When will you comfort me? ”

My son, if sinners entice you,

don't be persuaded.

There is one who speaks rashly,

like a piercing sword;

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

to those who say,

“Let him hurry up and do his work quickly

so that we can see it!

Let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take place

so that we can know it! ”

When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[fn] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.

“For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say,

For this is what the LORD said to me with great power, to keep[fn] me from going the way of this people:

All the people —

Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria ​— ​will know it.

They will say with pride and arrogance,

But look: joy and gladness,

butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep and goats,

eating of meat, and drinking of wine —

“Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die! ”

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city.

Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.

He had said to them,

“This is the place of rest;

let the weary rest;

this is the place of repose.”

But they would not listen.

For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it,[fn] he will say, “I can't read it, because it is sealed.”

They say to the seers, “Do not see,”

and to the prophets,

“Do not prophesy the truth to us.

Tell us flattering things.

Prophesy illusions.

and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”

“They will be turned back and utterly ashamed —

those who trust in an idol

and say to a cast image,

‘You are our gods! '

“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?

We have denied ourselves, but you haven't noticed! ”[fn]

“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,

and oppress all your workers.

“They say, ‘Keep to yourself,

don't come near me, for I am too holy for you! '

These practices are smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all day long.

They have treated my people's brokenness superficially,

claiming, “Peace, peace,”

when there is no peace.

“Do not trust deceitful words, chanting, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”

for I was like a docile[fn] lamb led to slaughter.

I didn't know that they had devised plots against me:

“Let's destroy the tree with its fruit;[fn]

let's cut him off from the land of the living

so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

“I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in my name have said: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream! '

“Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! '

Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you write all these words? At his dictation? ”[fn]

“This is what the LORD says: Don't deceive yourselves by saying, “The Chaldeans will leave us for good,” for they will not leave.

“Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land'?

“You have gone astray at the cost of your lives[fn] because you are the ones who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray to the LORD our God on our behalf, and as for all that the LORD our God says, tell it to us, and we'll act accordingly.'

then Azariah[fn] son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other arrogant men responded to Jeremiah, “You are speaking a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to stay there for a while! '

However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by ​— ​a great assembly ​— ​and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,

“They are saying, ‘Isn't the time near to build houses?[fn] The city is the pot, and we are the meat.'

“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have about the land of Israel, which goes, ‘The days keep passing by, and every vision fails'?

“Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now; he prophesies about distant times.'

“You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the LORD.

“ ‘Since they have led my people astray by saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and since when a flimsy wall is being built, they plaster it with whitewash,

“ ‘Look, everyone who uses proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”

“What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel:

‘The fathers eat sour grapes,

and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

“Her prophets plaster for them with whitewash by seeing false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,' when the LORD has not spoken.

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘You have said this: “Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive? ” '

“As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the LORD! '

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to give you an answer to this question.

I will depart and return to my place

until they recognize their guilt and seek my face;

they will search for me in their distress.

But you made the Nazirites drink wine

and commanded the prophets,

“Do not prophesy.”

you who rejoice over Lo-debar

and say, “Didn't we capture Karnaim

for ourselves by our own strength? ”

asking, “When will the New Moon be over

so we may sell grain,

and the Sabbath,

so we may market wheat?

We can reduce the measure

while increasing the price[fn]

and cheat with dishonest scales.

Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria

and say, “As your god lives, Dan,”

or, “As the way[fn][fn] of Beer-sheba lives” —

they will fall, never to rise again.

All the sinners among my people

who say, “Disaster will never overtake[fn]

or confront us,”

will die by the sword.

Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God. Each must turn from his evil ways and from his wrongdoing.[fn]

Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe,

her priests teach for payment,

and her prophets practice divination for silver.

Yet they lean on the LORD, saying,

“Isn't the LORD among us?

No disaster will overtake us.”

Many nations have now assembled against you;

they say, “Let her be defiled,

and let us feast our eyes on Zion.”

And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those who settle down comfortably,[fn]

who say to themselves:

The LORD will do nothing ​— ​good or bad.

“Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me ​— ​this is the LORD's declaration.

“the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let's go at once to plead for the LORD's favor and to seek the LORD of Armies. I am also going.

The LORD of Armies says this: “In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”