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Isaiah 23:1-18
A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken:“ I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island.Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth?The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.Till your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor.The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed.He said,“ No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!“ Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin.Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:“ Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.”At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
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Joel 3:4-8
“ Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.“ See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done.I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.
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Ezekiel 26:1-28:26
In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem,‘ Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations,and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.“ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you:“‘ How you are destroyed, city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there.Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.”The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre.Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘ You say, Tyre,“ I am perfect in beauty.”Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection.They made all your timbers of juniper from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, adorned with ivory.Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; your awnings were of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares.“‘ Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor.Men of Arvad and Helek guarded your walls on every side; men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they brought your beauty to perfection.“‘ Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.“‘ Greece, Tubal and Meshek did business with you; they traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.“‘ Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses and mules for your merchandise.“‘ The men of Rhodes traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.“‘ Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.“‘ Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, olive oil and balm for your wares.“‘ Damascus did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods. They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zaharand casks of wine from Izal in exchange for your wares: wrought iron, cassia and calamus.“‘ Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.“‘ Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.“‘ The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.“‘ Harran, Kanneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Kilmad traded with you.In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.“‘ The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo as you sail the sea.Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces far out at sea.Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, sailors and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck.The shorelands will quake when your sailors cry out.All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the sailors will stand on the shore.They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes.They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you:“ Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?”When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear.The merchants among the nations scoff at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘ In the pride of your heart you say,“ I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.“‘ Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘ Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god,I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.Will you then say,“ I am a god,” in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a mortal, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you.You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him:‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘ You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’”The word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, set your face against Sidon; prophesy against herand say:‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says:“‘ I am against you, Sidon, and among you I will display my glory. You will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishment on you and within you am proved to be holy.I will send a plague upon you and make blood flow in your streets. The slain will fall within you, with the sword against you on every side. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“‘ No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.“‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live in their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob.They will live there in safety and will build houses and plant vineyards; they will live in safety when I inflict punishment on all their neighbors who maligned them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.’”
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Romans 11:8-11
as it is written:“ God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”And David says:“ May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them.May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
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Isaiah 61:3
and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
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Ezekiel 3:6-7
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.But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.
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Job 42:6
Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
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Matthew 11:20-23
Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.“ Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.
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Mark 8:22-26
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked,“ Do you see anything?”He looked up and said,“ I see people; they look like trees walking around.”Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.Jesus sent him home, saying,“ Don’t even go into the village.”
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John 3:5-6
Jesus answered,“ Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
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Acts 28:25-28
They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement:“ The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet:“‘ Go to this people and say,“ You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’“ Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
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Luke 9:10-17
When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida,but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said,“ Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”He replied,“ You give them something to eat.” They answered,“ We have only five loaves of bread and two fish— unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”( About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples,“ Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”The disciples did so, and everyone sat down.Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
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Romans 9:29-33
It is just as Isaiah said previously:“ Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.”What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal.Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.As it is written:“ See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
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1 Timothy 4 2
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
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Daniel 9:3
So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
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Revelation 11:3
And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
