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| 1 Wo [to] those secure in Zion, And those confident in the mount of Samaria, The marked of the chief of the nations, And come to them have the house of Israel. |
At ease in Zion – There is a nominal spiritual Zion and a nominal fleshly Zion. D23; R2357:3
Settled down to ease, luxury, self-gratification. R5243:1, R2357:1,3
Boasting of their prosperity. "I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing." (Rev. 3:17) R2357:1,3
Wealth brings increased opportunity for sin in its various forms, including debauchery. R5243:2
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| 2 Pass ye over [to] Calneh and see, And go thence [to] Hamath the great, And go down [to] Gath of the Philistines, Are [they] better than these kingdoms Greater [is] their border than your border |
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| 3 Who are putting away the day of evil, And ye bring nigh the seat of violence, |
The evil day – The Day of Vengeance. R2357:3
Violence to come near – The poor, surrounded by the blessings of our day, are often miserable because their minds are discontented. The result is that their hearts are filled with anger, malice and jealousy of the rich. R5243:2
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| 4 Who are lying down on beds of ivory, And are spread out on their couches, And are eating lambs from the flock, And calves from the midst of the stall, |
That lie upon beds – Creeds. D608
Trusting that the church is being carried forward to the conquest of the world by an easy path. R2357:3
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| 5 Who are taking part according to the psaltery, Like David they invented for themselves instruments of music; |
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| 6 Who are drinking with bowls of wine, And [with] chief perfumes anoint [themselves], And have not been pained for the breach of Joseph. |
That drink wine – Doctrine. R5633:2; C160; D265, D266
Not solely literal drunkenness, but more specially the drunkenness of greed, swallowing up the poor and needy. R2357:2
In bowls – Drinking the wine of earthly pleasure and extravagance inordinately. R2357:1
The Christian is to be temperate in all the affairs of life--in language, in business, in food and drink, in joys and in sorrows. R2355:2-5
Are not grieved – Not solicitous for the poor. R2357:1
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| 7 Therefore now they remove at the head of the captives, And turned aside is the mourning-feast of stretched-out ones. |
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| 8 Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah by Himself, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts: I am abominating the excellency of Jacob, And his high places I have hated, And I have delivered up the city and its fulness. |
The city – Babylon, Christendom. D527
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| 9 And if there are left ten persons in one house, It hath come to pass that they have died. |
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| 10 And lifted him up hath his loved one, even his burner, To bring forth the bones from the house, And he said to him who [is] in the sides of the house, 'Is there yet with thee ' And he said, 'None,' then he said, 'Hush! Save to make mention of the name of Jehovah.' |
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| 11 For lo, Jehovah is commanding, And He hath smitten the great house [with] breaches, And the little house [with] clefts. |
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| 12 Do horses run on a rock Doth one plough [it] with oxen For ye have turned to gall judgment, And the fruit of righteousness to wormwood. |
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| 13 O ye who are rejoicing at nothing, Who are saying, 'Have we not by our strength taken to ourselves horns ' |
Taken to us horns – Power. T42
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| 14 Surely, lo, I am raising against you a nation, O house of Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, God of Hosts, And they have oppressed you from the coming in to Hamath, Unto the stream of the desert. |
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