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Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.
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“Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her naked body.
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“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
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There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
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The Charge Against Israel
Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.
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There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
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The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful.
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They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
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“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
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Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun.
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As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.
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I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.
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Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
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“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their sinful deeds, I will drive them out of my house. I will no longer love them; all their leaders are rebellious.
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They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
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“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?
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He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there—
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Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.
