22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood.

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22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
    as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
    like men who cut down trees.(A)

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And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

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Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
    your speech will mumble(A) out of the dust.(B)
Your voice will come ghostlike(C) from the earth;
    out of the dust your speech will whisper.(D)

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Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.

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Even the junipers(A) and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”(B)

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Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.

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Wail, you juniper, for the cedar has fallen;
    the stately trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks(A) of Bashan;
    the dense forest(B) has been cut down!(C)

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16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

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16 Nations will see and be ashamed,(A)
    deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths(B)
    and their ears will become deaf.

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Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

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Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(A) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(B) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.

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20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;

21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;

23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.

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20 “You are my war club,(A)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter(B) nations,(C)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
21 with you I shatter horse and rider,(D)
    with you I shatter chariot(E) and driver,
22 with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,(F)
23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.(G)

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24 By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel.

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24 By your messengers
    you have ridiculed the Lord.
And you have said,
    ‘With my many chariots(A)
I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
    the utmost heights(B) of Lebanon.(C)
I have cut down its tallest cedars,
    the choicest of its junipers.(D)
I have reached its remotest heights,
    the finest of its forests.

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33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

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33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    will lop off(A) the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,(B)
    the tall(C) ones will be brought low.(D)
34 He will cut down(E) the forest thickets with an ax;
    Lebanon(F) will fall before the Mighty One.(G)

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15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

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15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
    or the saw boast against the one who uses it?(A)
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
    or a club(B) brandish the one who is not wood!

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