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At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said:

“O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,[a] so that he will return to the few of us who have survived the conquest of the Assyrian kings.

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Footnotes

  1. 30:6 Israel is the name that God gave to Jacob.

31 The news is passed from one runner to the next
    as the messengers hurry to tell the king
    that his city has been captured.

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“O Israel,” says the Lord,
    “if you wanted to return to me, you could.
You could throw away your detestable idols
    and stray away no more.

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14 So urged on by the king’s command, the messengers rode out swiftly on fast horses bred for the king’s service. The same decree was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa.

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29 During Pekah’s reign, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked Israel again, and he captured the towns of Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also conquered the regions of Gilead, Galilee, and all of Naphtali, and he took the people to Assyria as captives.

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19 Then King Tiglath-pileser[a] of Assyria invaded the land. But Menahem paid him thirty-seven tons[b] of silver to gain his support in tightening his grip on royal power.

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Footnotes

  1. 15:19a Hebrew Pul, another name for Tiglath-pileser.
  2. 15:19b Hebrew 1,000 talents [34 metric tons].

25 “My life passes more swiftly than a runner.
    It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.

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20 So when King Tiglath-pileser[a] of Assyria arrived, he attacked Ahaz instead of helping him.

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Footnotes

  1. 28:20 Hebrew Tilgath-pilneser, a variant spelling of Tiglath-pileser.

26 So the God of Israel caused King Pul of Assyria (also known as Tiglath-pileser) to invade the land and take away the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as captives. The Assyrians exiled them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.

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Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

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A Call to Repentance

12 That is why the Lord says,
    “Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
    Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
    but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
    He is eager to relent and not punish.
14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
    sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
    to the Lord your God as before.

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Healing for the Repentant

14 [a]Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for your sins have brought you down.

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Footnotes

  1. 14:1 Verses 14:1-9 are numbered 14:2-10 in Hebrew text.

11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?

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21 Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again!
    Give us back the joys we once had!

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Seek the Lord while you can find him.
    Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways
    and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

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13 If even a tenth—a remnant—survive,
    it will be invaded again and burned.
But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down,
    so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”

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If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    had not spared a few of us,[a]
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
    destroyed like Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:9 Greek version reads a few of our children. Compare Rom 9:29.

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