rsv Isaiah:57-59 SEEK
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The righteous man perishes ,
and no one lays it to heart ;
devout men are taken away ,
while no one understands .
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity ,
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he enters into peace ;
they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness .
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But you ,
draw near hither ,
sons of the sorceress ,
offspring of the adulterer and the harlot .
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Of whom are you making sport ?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide and put out your tongue ?
Are you not children of transgression ,
the offspring of deceit ,
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you who burn with lust among the oaks ,
under every green tree ;
who slay your children in the valleys ,
under the clefts of the rocks ?
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Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion ;
they ,
they ,
are your lot ;
to them you have poured out a drink offering ,
you have brought a cereal offering .
Shall I be appeased for these things ?
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Upon a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed ,
and thither you went up to offer sacrifice .
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Behind the door and the doorpost you have set up your symbol ;
for ,
deserting me ,
you have uncovered your bed ,
you have gone up to it ,
you have made it wide ;
and you have made a bargain for yourself with them ,
you have loved their bed ,
you have looked on nakedness .
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You journeyed to Molech with oil and multiplied your perfumes ;
you sent your envoys far off ,
and sent down even to Sheol .
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You were wearied with the length of your way ,
but you did not say , "
It is hopeless ";
you found new life for your strength ,
and so you were not faint .
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Whom did you dread and fear ,
so that you lied ,
and did not remember me ,
did not give me a thought ?
Have I not held my peace ,
even for a long time ,
and so you do not fear me ?
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I will tell of your righteousness and your doings ,
but they will not help you .
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When you cry out ,
let your collection of idols deliver you !
The wind will carry them off ,
a breath will take them away .
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land ,
and shall inherit my holy mountain .
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And it shall be said , "
Build up ,
build up ,
prepare the way ,
remove every obstruction from my people '
s way ."
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For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity ,
whose name is Holy : "
I dwell in the high and holy place ,
and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit ,
to revive the spirit of the humble ,
and to revive the heart of the contrite .
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For I will not contend for ever ,
nor will I always be angry ;
for from me proceeds the spirit ,
and I have made the breath of life .
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Because of the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry ,
I smote him ,
I hid my face and was angry ;
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart .
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I have seen his ways ,
but I will heal him ;
I will lead him and requite him with comfort ,
creating for his mourners the fruit of the lips .
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Peace ,
peace ,
to the far and to the near ,
says the LORD ;
and I will heal him .
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But the wicked are like the tossing sea ;
for it cannot rest ,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt .
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There is no peace ,
says my God ,
for the wicked ."
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Cry aloud ,
spare not ,
lift up your voice like a trumpet ;
declare to my people their transgression ,
to the house of Jacob their sins .
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Yet they seek me daily ,
and delight to know my ways ,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God ;
they ask of me righteous judgments ,
they delight to draw near to God .
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Why have we fasted ,
and thou seest it not ?
Why have we humbled ourselves ,
and thou takest no knowledge of it ?'
Behold ,
in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure ,
and oppress all your workers .
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Behold ,
you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist .
Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high .
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Is such the fast that I choose ,
a day for a man to humble himself ?
Is it to bow down his head like a rush ,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ?
Will you call this a fast ,
and a day acceptable to the LORD ?
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Is not this the fast that I choose :
to loose the bonds of wickedness ,
to undo the thongs of the yoke ,
to let the oppressed go free ,
and to break every yoke ?
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Is it not to share your bread with the hungry ,
and bring the homeless poor into your house ;
when you see the naked ,
to cover him ,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh ?
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Then shall your light break forth like the dawn ,
and your healing shall spring up speedily ;
your righteousness shall go before you ,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard .
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Then you shall call ,
and the LORD will answer ;
you shall cry ,
and he will say ,
Here I am . "
If you take away from the midst of you the yoke ,
the pointing of the finger ,
and speaking wickedness ,
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if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted ,
then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday .
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And the LORD will guide you continually ,
and satisfy your desire with good things ,
and make your bones strong ;
and you shall be like a watered garden ,
like a spring of water ,
whose waters fail not .
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And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt ;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations ;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach ,
the restorer of streets to dwell in .
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If you turn back your foot from the sabbath ,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day ,
and call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable ;
if you honor it ,
not going your own ways ,
or seeking your own pleasure ,
or talking idly ;
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then you shall take delight in the LORD ,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth ;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father ,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken ."
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Behold ,
the LORD '
s hand is not shortened ,
that it cannot save ,
or his ear dull ,
that it cannot hear ;
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but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God ,
and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear .
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For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity ;
your lips have spoken lies ,
your tongue mutters wickedness .
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No one enters suit justly ,
no one goes to law honestly ;
they rely on empty pleas ,
they speak lies ,
they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity .
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They hatch adders '
eggs ,
they weave the spider '
s web ;
he who eats their eggs dies ,
and from one which is crushed a viper is hatched .
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Their webs will not serve as clothing ;
men will not cover themselves with what they make .
Their works are works of iniquity ,
and deeds of violence are in their hands .
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Their feet run to evil ,
and they make haste to shed innocent blood ;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ,
desolation and destruction are in their highways .
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The way of peace they know not ,
and there is no justice in their paths ;
they have made their roads crooked ,
no one who goes in them knows peace .
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Therefore justice is far from us ,
and righteousness does not overtake us ;
we look for light ,
and behold ,
darkness ,
and for brightness ,
but we walk in gloom .
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We grope for the wall like the blind ,
we grope like those who have no eyes ;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight ,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men .
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We all growl like bears ,
we moan and moan like doves ;
we look for justice ,
but there is none ;
for salvation ,
but it is far from us .
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For our transgressions are multiplied before thee ,
and our sins testify against us ;
for our transgressions are with us ,
and we know our iniquities :
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transgressing ,
and denying the LORD ,
and turning away from following our God ,
speaking oppression and revolt ,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words .
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Justice is turned back ,
and righteousness stands afar off ;
for truth has fallen in the public squares ,
and uprightness cannot enter .
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Truth is lacking ,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey .
The LORD saw it ,
and it displeased him that there was no justice .
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He saw that there was no man ,
and wondered that there was no one to intervene ;
then his own arm brought him victory ,
and his righteousness upheld him .
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He put on righteousness as a breastplate ,
and a helmet of salvation upon his head ;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing ,
and wrapped himself in fury as a mantle .
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According to their deeds ,
so will he repay ,
wrath to his adversaries ,
requital to his enemies ;
to the coastlands he will render requital .
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So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west ,
and his glory from the rising of the sun ;
for he will come like a rushing stream ,
which the wind of the LORD drives .
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And he will come to Zion as Redeemer ,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression ,
says the LORD .
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And as for me ,
this is my covenant with them ,
says the LORD :
my spirit which is upon you ,
and my words which I have put in your mouth ,
shall not depart out of your mouth ,
or out of the mouth of your children ,
or out of the mouth of your children '
s children ,
says the LORD ,
from this time forth and for evermore ."
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Arise ,
shine ;
for your light has come ,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you .