True and False Fasting

58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
    (A)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(B)declare to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.

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True Fasting

58 “Shout it aloud,(A) do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.(B)
Declare to my people their rebellion(C)
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(D)

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15 Declare these things; exhort and (A)rebuke with all authority. (B)Let no one disregard you.

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15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

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26 Therefore (A)I testify to you this day that (B)I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for (C)I did not shrink from declaring to you (D)the whole counsel of God.

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26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.(A) 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.(B)

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And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone (A)worships the beast and its image and receives (B)a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink (C)the wine of God's wrath, (D)poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and (E)he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

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A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast(A) and its image(B) and receives its mark on their forehead(C) or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury,(D) which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.(E) They will be tormented with burning sulfur(F) in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

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51 (A)“You stiff-necked people, (B)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. (C)As your fathers did, so do you. 52 (D)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of (E)the Righteous One, (F)whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

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51 “You stiff-necked people!(A) Your hearts(B) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?(C) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him(D)

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But when he saw many of (A)the Pharisees and (B)Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, (C)“You brood of (D)vipers! Who warned you to flee from (E)the wrath to come? Bear fruit (F)in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, (G)‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from (H)these stones to raise up children for Abraham.

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But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers!(A) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(B) Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.(C) And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(D) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

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Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind

Set (A)the trumpet to your lips!
    One (B)like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because (C)they have transgressed my covenant
    and rebelled against my law.

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Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

“Put the trumpet(A) to your lips!
    An eagle(B) is over the house of the Lord
because the people have broken my covenant(C)
    and rebelled against my law.(D)

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(A)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? (B)Let them know the abominations of their fathers,

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“Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors(A)

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17 (A)“Son of man, (B)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall (C)give them warning from me. 18 (D)If I say to the wicked, (E)‘You shall surely die,’ (F)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person (G)shall die for[a] his iniquity, (H)but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 (I)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, (J)but you (K)will have delivered your soul. 20 (L)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, (M)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. (N)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, (O)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, (P)but his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also verses 19, 20

17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman(A) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.(B) 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,(C)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(D) 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn(E) from their wickedness(F) or from their evil ways, they will die(G) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.(H)

20 “Again, when a righteous person turns(I) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block(J) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.(K) 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20

The Greatness of God

Go on up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, (A)herald of good news;[a]
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;[b]
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    “Behold your God!”
10 (B)Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
(C)behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion
  2. Isaiah 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem

You who bring good news(A) to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,[a](B)
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”(C)
10 See, the Sovereign Lord comes(D) with power,(E)
    and he rules(F) with a mighty arm.(G)
See, his reward(H) is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news

But as for me, (A)I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob (B)his transgression
    and to Israel his sin.

(C)Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob
    and rulers of the house of Israel,
(D)who detest justice
    and make crooked all that is straight,
10 (E)who build Zion with blood
    and Jerusalem with iniquity.
11 (F)Its heads give judgment for a bribe;
    (G)its priests teach for a price;
    (H)its prophets practice divination for money;
(I)yet they lean on the Lord and (J)say,
    “Is not the Lord in the midst of us?
    (K)No disaster shall come upon us.”
12 Therefore because of you
    (L)Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem (M)shall become a heap of ruins,
    and (N)the mountain of the house (O)a wooded height.

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But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin.(A)

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
    you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
    and distort all that is right;(B)
10 who build(C) Zion with bloodshed,(D)
    and Jerusalem with wickedness.(E)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(F)
    her priests teach for a price,(G)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(H)
Yet they look(I) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(J)
12 Therefore because of you,
    Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(K)
    the temple(L) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(M)

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19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(A)“If you return, I will restore you,
    and you shall (B)stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
    you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
    but you shall not turn to them.
20 (C)And I will make you to this people
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
    (D)but they shall not prevail over you,
(E)for I am with you
    to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.

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19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“If you repent, I will restore you
    that you may serve(A) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
    you will be my spokesman.(B)
Let this people turn to you,
    but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(C) to this people,
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
    but will not overcome(D) you,
for I am with you
    to rescue and save you,”(E)
declares the Lord.

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For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. (A)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. (B)But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel (C)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. (D)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like (E)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. (F)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”

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You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,(A) but to the people of Israel— not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.(B) But the people of Israel are not willing to listen(C) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.(D) But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.(E) I will make your forehead(F) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.(G) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.(H)

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