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Help him to defend the poor,
    to rescue the children of the needy,
    and to crush their oppressors.

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He will give justice to the poor
    and make fair decisions for the exploited.
The earth will shake at the force of his word,
    and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked.

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15 I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!

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I will guard my Temple
    and protect it from invading armies.
I am watching closely to ensure
    that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.

Zion’s Coming King

Rejoice, O people of Zion![a]
    Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
    He is righteous and victorious,[b]
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
    riding on a donkey’s colt.
10 I will remove the battle chariots from Israel[c]
    and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
    and your king will bring peace to the nations.
His realm will stretch from sea to sea
    and from the Euphrates River[d] to the ends of the earth.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. 9:9a Hebrew O daughter of Zion!
  2. 9:9b Hebrew and is being vindicated.
  3. 9:10a Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; also in 9:13.
  4. 9:10b Hebrew the river.
  5. 9:10c Or the end of the land.

His judgments are true and just.
    He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
    He has avenged the murder of his servants.”

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24 In your[a] streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
    and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”

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Footnotes

  1. 18:24 Greek her.

20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
    and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
    for your sakes.

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Do to her as she has done to others.
    Double her penalty[a] for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
    so brew twice as much[b] for her.
She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
    ‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
    and I have no reason to mourn.’
Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
    death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
    for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

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Footnotes

  1. 18:6a Or Give her an equal penalty.
  2. 18:6b Or brew just as much.

the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”

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11 That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions.

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So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor and the other Union.

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34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain,[a] but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:34 As in Greek version (see also 2:45); Hebrew lacks from a mountain.

Babylon’s Great Punishment

20 “You[a] are my battle-ax and sword,”
    says the Lord.
“With you I will shatter nations
    and destroy many kingdoms.
21 With you I will shatter armies—
    destroying the horse and rider,
    the chariot and charioteer.
22 With you I will shatter men and women,
    old people and children,
    young men and young women.
23 With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks,
    farmers and oxen,
    captains and officers.

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Footnotes

  1. 51:20 Possibly Cyrus, whom God used to conquer Babylon. Compare Isa 44:28; 45:1.

12 “I, yes I, am the one who comforts you.
    So why are you afraid of mere humans,
    who wither like the grass and disappear?
13 Yet you have forgotten the Lord, your Creator,
    the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy
    and laid the foundations of the earth.
Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors?
    Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies?
Where is their fury and anger now?
    It is gone!

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For you will break the yoke of their slavery
    and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
    just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

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26 A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat,
    then runs his threshing wheel over them.

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31 For he stands beside the needy,
    ready to save them from those who condemn them.

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They crush your people, Lord,
    hurting those you claim as your own.

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12 He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
    he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.
13 He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
    and he will rescue them.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
    for their lives are precious to him.

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You will break[a] them with an iron rod
    and smash them like clay pots.’”

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Footnotes

  1. 2:9 Greek version reads rule. Compare Rev 2:27.

24 He brings the mighty to ruin without asking anyone,
    and he sets up others in their place.

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“How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?

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