People’s Plans and God’s Plans
2 How terrible it will be for those
who plan to harm others!
How terrible for those who make evil plans
before they even get out of bed!
As soon as daylight comes,
they carry them out.
That’s because they have the power to do it.
2 If they want fields or houses,
they take them.
They cheat men out of
their homes and property.
“I am planning to send trouble on you.
You will not be able to save yourselves from it.
You will not live so proudly anymore.
It will be a time of trouble.
4 At that time people will make fun of you.
They will tease you by singing a song of sadness.
They will pretend to be you and say,
‘We are totally destroyed.
Our enemies have divided up our land.
The Lord has taken it away from us!
He has given our fields to those
who turned against us.’ ”
5 So you won’t even have anyone left
in the Lord’s community
who can divide up the land for you.
Some Prophets Aren’t Really Prophets at All
6 “Don’t prophesy,” the people’s prophets say.
“Don’t prophesy about bad things.
Nothing shameful is going to happen to us.”
7 People of Jacob, should others say,
“The Lord isn’t angry with us.
He doesn’t do things like that”?
The Lord replies, “What I promise brings good things
to those who lead honest lives.
8 But lately my people have attacked one another
as if they were enemies.
You strip the rich robes off
those who happen to pass by.
They thought they were as safe as men
returning from a battle they had won.
9 You drive the women among my people
out of their pleasant homes.
You take my blessing away
from their children forever.
It is no longer your resting place.
You have made it ‘unclean.’
You have completely destroyed it.
11 Suppose a prophet goes around telling lies.
And he prophesies that you will have
plenty of wine and beer.
Then that kind of prophet would be
just right for this nation!
The Lord Promises He Will Save His People
12 “People of Jacob, I will gather all of you.
I will bring together
you who are still left alive in Israel.
I will gather you together like sheep in a pen.
You will be like a flock in its grasslands.
Your country will be filled with people.
13 I will open the way for you to return.
I will march in front of you.
You will break through the city gates and go free.
I am your King. I will pass through the gates
in front of you.
I will lead the way.”
About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
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