He remembers his covenant(A) forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,(B)
    the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it(C) to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(D)
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan(E)
    as the portion you will inherit.”(F)

12 When they were but few in number,(G)
    few indeed, and strangers in it,(H)
13 they wandered from nation to nation,(I)
    from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress(J) them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:(K)
15 “Do not touch(L) my anointed ones;
    do my prophets(M) no harm.”

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He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.

Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:

12 When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.

13 When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people;

14 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;

15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.

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14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you scoffers(B)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(C)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(D)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(E) our refuge
    and falsehood[a] our hiding place.(F)

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(G) a tested stone,(H)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(I)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.(J)
17 I will make justice(K) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;(L)
hail(M) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow(N) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(O)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(P)
    you will be beaten down(Q) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(R)
    morning after morning,(S) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.(T)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(U)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(V)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(W)
to do his work,(X) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(Y)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed(Z) against the whole land.(AA)

23 Listen(AB) and hear my voice;
    pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(AC) does he plow continually?
    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(AD)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[b]
    barley(AE) in its plot,[c]
    and spelt(AF) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
    and teaches(AG) him the right way.

27 Caraway is not threshed(AH) with a sledge,(AI)
    nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(AJ)
    and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(AK) may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
    whose plan is wonderful,(AL)
    whose wisdom is magnificent.(AM)

Woe to David’s City

29 Woe(AN) to you, Ariel, Ariel,(AO)
    the city(AP) where David settled!
Add year to year
    and let your cycle of festivals(AQ) go on.
Yet I will besiege Ariel;(AR)
    she will mourn and lament,(AS)
    she will be to me like an altar hearth.[d](AT)
I will encamp against you on all sides;
    I will encircle(AU) you with towers
    and set up my siege works(AV) against you.
Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
    your speech will mumble(AW) out of the dust.(AX)
Your voice will come ghostlike(AY) from the earth;
    out of the dust your speech will whisper.(AZ)

But your many enemies will become like fine dust,(BA)
    the ruthless(BB) hordes like blown chaff.(BC)
Suddenly,(BD) in an instant,
    the Lord Almighty will come(BE)
with thunder(BF) and earthquake(BG) and great noise,
    with windstorm and tempest(BH) and flames of a devouring fire.(BI)
Then the hordes of all the nations(BJ) that fight against Ariel,(BK)
    that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,(BL)
    with a vision in the night—
as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
    but awakens(BM) hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
    but awakens faint and thirsty still.(BN)
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
    that fight against Mount Zion.(BO)

Be stunned and amazed,(BP)
    blind yourselves and be sightless;(BQ)
be drunk,(BR) but not from wine,(BS)
    stagger,(BT) but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:(BU)
    He has sealed your eyes(BV) (the prophets);(BW)
    he has covered your heads (the seers).(BX)

11 For you this whole vision(BY) is nothing but words sealed(BZ) in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”

13 The Lord says:

“These people(CA) come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,(CB)
    but their hearts are far from me.(CC)
Their worship of me
    is based on merely human rules they have been taught.[e](CD)
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
    with wonder upon wonder;(CE)
the wisdom of the wise(CF) will perish,
    the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.(CG)
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
    to hide(CH) their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
    “Who sees us?(CI) Who will know?”(CJ)
16 You turn things upside down,
    as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!(CK)
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed(CL) it,
    “You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,(CM)
    “You know nothing”?(CN)

17 In a very short time,(CO) will not Lebanon(CP) be turned into a fertile field(CQ)
    and the fertile field seem like a forest?(CR)
18 In that day(CS) the deaf(CT) will hear the words of the scroll,
    and out of gloom and darkness(CU)
    the eyes of the blind will see.(CV)
19 Once more the humble(CW) will rejoice in the Lord;
    the needy(CX) will rejoice in the Holy One(CY) of Israel.
20 The ruthless(CZ) will vanish,(DA)
    the mockers(DB) will disappear,
    and all who have an eye for evil(DC) will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
    who ensnare the defender in court(DD)
    and with false testimony(DE) deprive the innocent of justice.(DF)

22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed(DG) Abraham,(DH) says to the descendants of Jacob:

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;(DI)
    no longer will their faces grow pale.(DJ)
23 When they see among them their children,(DK)
    the work of my hands,(DL)
they will keep my name holy;(DM)
    they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One(DN) of Jacob,
    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are wayward(DO) in spirit will gain understanding;(DP)
    those who complain will accept instruction.”(DQ)

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30 “Woe(DR) to the obstinate children,”(DS)
    declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
    forming an alliance,(DT) but not by my Spirit,
    heaping sin upon sin;
who go down to Egypt(DU)
    without consulting(DV) me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,(DW)
    to Egypt’s shade for refuge.(DX)
But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
    Egypt’s shade(DY) will bring you disgrace.(DZ)
Though they have officials in Zoan(EA)
    and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
everyone will be put to shame
    because of a people(EB) useless(EC) to them,
who bring neither help(ED) nor advantage,
    but only shame and disgrace.(EE)

A prophecy(EF) concerning the animals of the Negev:(EG)

Through a land of hardship and distress,(EH)
    of lions(EI) and lionesses,
    of adders and darting snakes,(EJ)
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’(EK) backs,
    their treasures(EL) on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
    to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.(EM)
Therefore I call her
    Rahab(EN) the Do-Nothing.

Go now, write it on a tablet(EO) for them,
    inscribe it on a scroll,(EP)
that for the days to come
    it may be an everlasting witness.(EQ)
For these are rebellious(ER) people, deceitful(ES) children,
    children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(ET)
10 They say to the seers,(EU)
    “See no more visions(EV)!”
and to the prophets,
    “Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,(EW)
    prophesy illusions.(EX)
11 Leave this way,(EY)
    get off this path,
and stop confronting(EZ) us
    with the Holy One(FA) of Israel!”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
  2. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 29:2 The Hebrew for altar hearth sounds like the Hebrew for Ariel.
  5. Isaiah 29:13 Hebrew; Septuagint They worship me in vain; / their teachings are merely human rules

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.

21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?

25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?

26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.

27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

29 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.

And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

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.

Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.

Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

10 For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:

12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

17 Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest?

18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off:

21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

22 Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.

23 But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

24 They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

30 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.

They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.

For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

Children of God

23 Before the coming of this faith,[a] we were held in custody(A) under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed.(B) 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came(C) that we might be justified by faith.(D) 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.(E)

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God(F) through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ(G) have clothed yourselves with Christ.(H) 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free,(I) nor is there male and female,(J) for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(K) 29 If you belong to Christ,(L) then you are Abraham’s seed,(M) and heirs(N) according to the promise.(O)

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery(P) under the elemental spiritual forces[b] of the world.(Q) But when the set time had fully come,(R) God sent his Son,(S) born of a woman,(T) born under the law,(U) to redeem(V) those under the law, that we might receive adoption(W) to sonship.[c](X) Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son(Y) into our hearts,(Z) the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[d] Father.”(AA) So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.(AB)

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

Formerly, when you did not know God,(AC) you were slaves(AD) to those who by nature are not gods.(AE) But now that you know God—or rather are known by God(AF)—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces[e]? Do you wish to be enslaved(AG) by them all over again?(AH) 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!(AI) 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.(AJ)

12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters,(AK) become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness(AL) that I first preached the gospel to you, 14 and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.(AM) 15 Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?(AN)

17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.(AO) 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.(AP) 19 My dear children,(AQ) for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,(AR) 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Hagar and Sarah

21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law,(AS) are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman(AT) and the other by the free woman.(AU) 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,(AV) but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.(AW)

24 These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above(AX) is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband.”[f](AY)

28 Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.(AZ) 29 At that time the son born according to the flesh(BA) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.(BB) It is the same now. 30 But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”[g](BC) 31 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,(BD) but of the free woman.(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 3:23 Or through the faithfulness of Jesus … 23 Before faith came
  2. Galatians 4:3 Or under the basic principles
  3. Galatians 4:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.
  4. Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father
  5. Galatians 4:9 Or principles
  6. Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
  7. Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.

12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I am as ye are: ye have not injured me at all.

13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.

14 And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.

15 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.

16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.

18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

20 I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you.

21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Saying 16

19 Listen, my son,(A) and be wise,
    and set your heart on the right path:
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine(B)
    or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,(C)
    and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

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19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:

21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

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