| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil. | 1Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. |
| 2Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. | 2For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die. Idolatrous Worship Condemned |
| 3But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! | 3“But you—come here, you witches’ children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! |
| 4At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars, | 4Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! |
| 5you who practice ritual sex under the oaks and every green tree, who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. | 5You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and under every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. |
| 6Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance. | 6Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them with liquid offerings and grain offerings. They, not I, are your inheritance. Do you think all this makes me happy? |
| 7On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices. | 7You have committed adultery on every high mountain. There you have worshiped idols and have been unfaithful to me. |
| 8Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you. You purchase favors from them, you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their genitals. | 8You have put pagan symbols on your doorposts and behind your doors. You have left me and climbed into bed with these detestable gods. You have committed yourselves to them. You love to look at their naked bodies. |
| 9You take olive oil as tribute to your king, along with many perfumes. You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol. | 9You have gone to Molech with olive oil and many perfumes, sending your agents far and wide, even to the world of the dead. |
| 10Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, 'I give up.' You get renewed energy, so you don't collapse. | 10You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. Desire gave you renewed strength, and you did not grow weary. |
| 11Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me. | 11“Are you afraid of these idols? Do they terrify you? Is that why you have lied to me and forgotten me and my words? Is it because of my long silence that you no longer fear me? |
| 12I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds, but they will not help you. | 12Now I will expose your so-called good deeds. None of them will help you. |
| 13When you cry out for help, let your idols help you! The wind blows them all away, a breeze carries them away. But the one who looks to me for help will inherit the land and will have access to my holy mountain." | 13Let’s see if your idols can save you when you cry to them for help. Why, a puff of wind can knock them down! If you just breathe on them, they fall over! But whoever trusts in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.” God Forgives the Repentant |
| 14He says, "Build it! Build it! Clear a way! Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!" | 14God says, “Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity.” |
| 15For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: "I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. | 15The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts. |
| 16For I will not be hostile forever or perpetually angry, for then man's spirit would grow faint before me, the life-giving breath I created. | 16For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always be angry. If I were, all people would pass away— all the souls I have made. |
| 17I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. | 17I was angry, so I punished these greedy people. I withdrew from them, but they kept going on their own stubborn way. |
| 18I have seen their behavior, but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn. | 18I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn, |
| 19I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby," says the LORD, "and I will heal them. | 19bringing words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both near and far,” says the LORD, who heals them. |
| 20But the wicked are like a surging sea that is unable to be quiet; its waves toss up mud and sand. | 20“But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually churns up mud and dirt. |
| 21There will be no prosperity," says my God, "for the wicked." | 21There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God. |
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