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When I speak, the words burst out.
    “Violence and destruction!” I shout.
So these messages from the Lord
    have made me a household joke.
But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
    or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
    It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
    I can’t do it!
10 I have heard the many rumors about me.
    They call me “The Man Who Lives in Terror.”
They threaten, “If you say anything, we will report it.”
    Even my old friends are watching me,
    waiting for a fatal slip.
“He will trap himself,” they say,
    “and then we will get our revenge on him.”

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Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.(A)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach(B) all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”(C)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(D)
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(E)
    indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
    “Terror(F) on every side!
    Denounce(G) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(H)
    are waiting for me to slip,(I) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we will prevail(J) over him
    and take our revenge(K) on him.”

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