Jeremiah 6 Cross References - ISV

¹ The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north. ² I’ll destroy the lovely and delicate Daughter of Zion. ³ Shepherds and their flocks will come against her. They’ll pitch their tents all around her, and every one will tend his flock in his own place. ⁴ Prepare for war against her. Get ready, let’s attack at noon! How terrible for us that the day is coming to an end, and that the evening shadows are lengthening. ⁵ Get ready, let’s attack at night, and destroy her fortresses.”
⁶ Instructions for the AttackersFor this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Cut down trees and set up siege works against Jerusalem. It is the city to be judged, and there is oppression throughout the entire city. ⁷ As a well keeps its waters fresh, so the city keeps her wickedness fresh. Violence and destruction are heard in her, sickness and wounds are always before me. ⁸ Be warned, Jerusalem, or I’ll be alienated from you. I’ll make you desolate, a land not inhabited.”
⁹ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as they would the vine. Pass your hand over them like grape gatherers over the branches. ¹⁰ To whom will I speak and give a warning so they’ll listen? Look, their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. Look, this message from the LORD is contemptible to them; they don’t delight in it. ¹¹ I’m full of the wrath of the LORD, and I’m tired of holding it back. Pour it out on the children in the street and on the groups of young men gathered together. Indeed, both husband and wife will be caught in it, the old and the very old. ¹² Their houses will be turned over to others— their fields and wives together— when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD. ¹³ “Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they’re all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully. ¹⁴ They treated my people’s wound superficially, telling them, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace. ¹⁵ Were they ashamed because they did what was repugnant to God? They were not ashamed at all— they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore they’ll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they’ll be brought down,” says the LORD.
¹⁶ Israel Refuses to RepentThis is what the LORD says: “Stand beside the roads and watch. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is. Walk in it and find rest for yourselves. But they said, ‘We won’t walk in it!’ ¹⁷ I appointed watchmen over you. Listen for the sound of the trumpet. But they said, ‘We won’t listen!’ ¹⁸ Therefore, hear, nations, and know, congregation, what will happen to them. ¹⁹ Listen, earth! I’m about to bring calamity on this people, on the fruit of their plans, because they didn’t listen to my words and they rejected my instruction. ²⁰ What good is frankincense that comes from Sheba to me, or sweet cane from a distant country? Your burnt offerings aren’t acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me.” ²¹ Therefore, this is what the LORD says: “I’m about to put stumbling blocks in front of this people, and fathers and sons will stumble over them together. The neighbor and his friends will perish.”
²² The Invaders from the NorthThis is what the LORD says: “Look, people are coming from a northern country. A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth. ²³ They grab bow and spear; they’re cruel and show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea as they ride on horses, deployed like men ready for battle against you, daughter of Zion.” ²⁴ We have heard the news about it, and our hands are limp. Distress has seized us like a woman in labor. ²⁵ Don’t go out into the field, and don’t travel on the road, because the enemy has a sword, and terror is on every side. ²⁶ Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as one mourns at the death of an only son. For the destroyer will come on us suddenly.
²⁷ People Rejected by the LORD“I’ve made you an assayer of my people, as well as a fortress. You know how to test their way.” ²⁸ All of them are very rebellious, going around as slanderers. They’re bronze and iron, and all of them are corrupt. ²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely to consume the lead with the fire. The assayer keeps on refining, but the impurities aren’t separated out. ³⁰ They’re called reject silver, because the LORD has rejected them.

⁶³ Now as for the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, the descendants of Judah could not expel them, so Jebusites live with the descendants of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

²¹ The towns belonging to the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, for a total of twelve towns and villages. ²⁵ Also included were Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (also known as Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim, for a total of fourteen towns and villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.

²¹ However, the descendants of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

² so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who’s been in mourning for the dead for many days.

⁶ including Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa,

¹⁴ Rechab’s descendant Malchijah, ruling official of the Beth-haccherem district, repaired the Dung Gate, reconstructing it, installing its doors, its locks, and its security bars.

¹⁴ Then the LORD told me, “From the north disaster will pour out on all who live in the land, ¹⁵ because I’m about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north,” declares the LORD. “They’ll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

⁵ Warning of the Coming DisasterDeclare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, “Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, ‘Gather together and let’s go to the fortified cities!’ ⁶ Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don’t stand around! For I’m bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction.

¹⁹ Jeremiah’s Lament for His People“My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the aching of my heart! My heart pounds within me; I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm for war. ²⁰ Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains.

²⁹ A Lament for ZionAt the sound of the horseman and the archer the entire city flees. Its residents go into the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned, and no one lives in them.

²² The Invaders from the NorthThis is what the LORD says: “Look, people are coming from a northern country. A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth.

¹⁷ The Coming Captivity of JudahYou who live under siege, Gather up your bundle from the ground. ¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says: “I’m going to throw out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I’ll bring distress on them so they’ll experience it.”

²² The sound of a report, it’s coming now! There is a great commotion from a land in the north to make the towns of Judah desolate, a refuge for jackals.”

⁹ I’m now sending for all the tribes from the north, declares the LORD, and for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. I’ll bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I’ll utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting desolation.

⁷ Nebuchadnezzar’s Invasion“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Watch out! I’m about to bring from the north King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, that king of kings. He’ll come with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast army. ⁸ He’ll execute your citizens who live on the mainland with swords. He’ll build siege engines to attack you. Then he’ll construct siege ramps against you and build huge shields to protect themselves against you.
⁹ “‘He’ll direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and will breach your fortified towers with axes. ¹⁰ There will be so many horses that the dust raised by them will cover you completely. The walls of your city will tremble from the noise of Nebuchadnezzar’s cavalry, wagons, and chariots when they enter through the gates of your city, as men enter a city that has been breached.
¹¹ “‘Their horses will trample all the public places as he executes your inhabitants with swords. The most fortified of your pillars will be torn to the ground. ¹² They will plunder your riches and loot your businesses. They’ll tear down your walls and demolish your luxurious homes. They’ll grab the stones, wood, and rubble from the destruction and dump it all into the Mediterranean Sea.
¹³ “‘I’ll silence the noise of your songs and the music of your harps won’t be heard anymore. ¹⁴ I’ll turn you into bare rock, and your city will become a place to spread nets. You will never be built again, because I the LORD have decreed this,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
¹⁵ Terror at Tyre’s Destruction“This is what the Lord GOD says to Tyre: ‘When your wounded citizens groan while the slaughter takes place among you, the people who live in the coastlands will tremble in terror as they hear about your fall, will they not? ¹⁶ That’s when all the kings of the seafaring nations will abandon their thrones, strip off their fancy clothes, and collapse trembling on the ground. They’ll be so frightened as they observe what has happened to you that they’ll be unable to stop trembling. They will be utterly appalled at you! ¹⁷ They’ll sing this mourning song for you: “How lost you are, you inhabited city, that was built in the middle of the sea! How famous you were! How strong on the sea! She and her inhabitants inflicted terror to everyone who lived within her.” ¹⁸ ‘Now the coastland inhabitants will tremble on the day that you fall. The coastland inhabitants, who make their living from the sea, will be terrified when you pass away!’
¹⁹ “This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘When I turn your city into a ghost town, when I flood you with deep water that covers you completely, ²⁰ I’ll make sure that you go straight to the Pit, into the lowest part of the earth, where you’ll be with people who lived in ancient times. You’ll keep company there with the dead, who have gone into the Pit. As a result, your city won’t be inhabited. Meanwhile, I will display my glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I’m going to send terrifying calamity in your direction, and you won’t exist any longer. You might be sought after, but you’ll never be found again,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

¹ Amos is Called to ProphesyThe words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he spoke concerning Israel during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah and during the reign of Joash’s son Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

⁸ “The daughter of Zion is left abandoned, like a booth in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, or like a city under siege.

¹⁶ Judgment of Jerusalem’s WomenThe LORD also says: “Because Zion’s women are so haughty, and walk with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, prancing along as they walk, and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets, ¹⁷ therefore the LORD will afflict sores on the heads of Zion’s women, and the LORD will expose their private parts.

³¹ I heard a cry like that of a woman in labor, anguish like one giving birth to her firstborn, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for air, stretching out her hand: “Woe is me! I’m about to faint in front of killers!”

¹ The Condition of Israel How the Lord in his wrath shamed cherished Zion! He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel, He did not remember his footstool in the time of his anger.

¹³ What can be said about you? To what should you be compared, fair Jerusalem? To what may I liken you, so I may comfort you, fair one of Zion? Indeed, your wound is as deep as the sea— who can heal you?

² The LORD sent raiding parties from the Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites against Jehoiakim. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, in keeping with the message from the LORD that he had spoken through his servants, the prophets.

¹⁰ At that time, the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and the city was placed under siege. ¹¹ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up against the city, along with his servants, who besieged it. ¹² King Jehoiachin of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon (as did his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers) during the eighth year of his reign.

¹ so on the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army approached Jerusalem, attacked it, encamped against it, and built a siege wall that surrounded the city. ² The city remained under siege until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah. ³ By the ninth day of the fourth month, the resulting famine had become so severe in the city that no food remained for the people who lived in the land. ⁴ The city was breached, and the entire army left during the night through the gate that stood between the two walls beside the royal garden, even though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city. They escaped through the Arabah,

¹⁶ The LORD Speaks“Tell the nations, ‘Here they come!’ Proclaim to Jerusalem, ‘The besieging forces are coming from a distant land. They cry out against the cities of Judah. ¹⁷ They have surrounded her like those guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,’” declares the LORD.

¹⁰ Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They’ll trample down my portion. They’ll turn my pleasant portion into a desolate desert.

¹ The Fall of Jerusalem and the Capture of ZedekiahThis is how Jerusalem was captured: In the tenth month of the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ² On the ninth day of the fourth month, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, the wall of the city was breached. ³ All the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate, including Nergal-sarri-usur, governor of Sinmagir, Nabu-sarrussu-ukin the high official, Nergal-sarri-user, the chief official, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

¹⁸ Hey king of Assyria! Your shepherds are asleep and your nobles are lying down! Your people lie scattered on the mountains, and there is no one to gather them together.

⁴³ because the days will come when your enemies will build walls around you, surround you, and close you in on every side.

¹⁷ Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn around, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the rugged mountains.

²⁶ The LORD will signal for nations far away, whistling for them to come from the ends of the earth. Look how quickly and how swiftly they come! ²⁷ No one is weary, no one stumbles, and no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt around their waists will come undone, nor will their sandal straps be broken. ²⁸ Their arrows are sharp, all their bows ready for action. Their horses’ hooves seem like flint, and their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind. ²⁹ With a roar like a lion, they snarl, and like young lions, they growl; they seize their prey and then carry it off, with no one to rescue. ³⁰ They will roar over it at that time, like the sea waves roar. If one surveys the land, watch out! There’s darkness and distress; even the daylight is darkened by its clouds.

² “Raise a banner on a bare hilltop! Cry out loud to them! Give a wave of the hand, signaling for them to enter the gates of the nobles. ³ I myself have commanded my consecrated ones; I have also summoned my warriors, those who rejoice in my triumph, to carry out my angry judgments. ⁴ “Listen! There’s a noise on the mountains like that of a great multitude! Listen! There’s an uproar among the kingdoms, like that of nations massing together! The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is mustering an army for battle. ⁵ They’re coming from a faraway land, from the distant horizon— the LORD and the weapons of his anger— to destroy the entire land.”

¹⁰ The People Reject God’s Warning“Go through her rows of vines and destroy them, but don’t completely destroy them. Strip away her branches, because they aren’t the LORD’s.

²⁰ The People SpeakThe harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we haven’t been delivered.

⁸ I’ll make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. At noontime I’ll send a destroyer against the mother of a young man. I’ll cause terror and anguish to come to her unexpectedly.

²⁷ Lift up a battle standard in the land. Blow a trumpet among the nations. Consecrate the nations against her. Summon the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz against her. Appoint a commander against her, bring up horses like bristling locusts. ²⁸ Consecrate the nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors, their prefects, and every land under their domination.

⁹ The LORD’s Call to Judgment“Declare this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up your elite forces! Let all the soldiers draw near! Call them up!

⁴ “For Gaza will be forsaken, and Ashkelon deserted— Ashdod will be emptied at high noon; even Ekron will be uprooted.

¹⁹ After this, they set fire to God’s Temple, demolished the wall around Jerusalem, burned all of its fortified buildings, and destroyed everything of value.

³ Within her citadels God is known as a place of refuge.

¹⁴ “For the palace will be abandoned, the noisy city deserted; the citadel and watchtower will become barren wastes forever, the delight of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks,

²¹ For death comes up through our windows; it has come into our palaces to eliminate children from the streets and young men from the town squares.

²⁷ But if you don’t listen to me, to consecrate the Sabbath day and not carry any load as you enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I’ll start a fire in its gates. It will consume the palaces of Jerusalem and won’t be extinguished.”’”

¹³ He burned the LORD’s Temple, the king’s house, and all the houses in Jerusalem. He also burned every public building with fire.

¹⁴ “Israel has neglected its maker in building palaces. Judah has multiplied its fortified cities, but I will send fire to their cities, and it will consume their fortresses.”

⁵ So I will send down fire upon Judah, and it will devour the fortified citadels of Jerusalem.”

¹⁰ Because they do not know how to act right,” declares the LORD, “they are filling their strongholds with treasures that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels.” ¹¹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land. He will pull down your defenses, and plunder your fortified citadels.”

¹ Destruction of Lebanon and Bashan Open your doors, Lebanon, and fire will consume your cedars.

¹⁹ Preservation of Fruit Trees“When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? ²⁰ However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”

²⁴ Look, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it. Because of the sword, famine, and plague, the city has been given over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you said has happened, and you are watching it occur!

⁹ Confound them, Lord, and confuse their speech, because I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they prowl around its walls; evil and iniquity are within it. ¹¹ Wickedness is at the center of it; fraud and lies never leave its streets.

²³ Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life.

²⁰ But the wicked are tossed like the sea; for it is not able to keep still, and its waters toss up mire and mud.

⁸ Indeed, as often as I speak, I cry out, and shout, “Violence and destruction!” For this message from the LORD has caused me constant reproach and derision.

¹¹ “Violence has matured into a branch that is wicked. No one will survive from that vast crowd, from their wealthy people, or from the famous among them.

²³ “Forge a chain, because the land is full of bloody judgment and the city is filled with violence.

³ “You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “The city keeps on shedding blood within her, hastening her time to be judged. She crafts idols that defile her.
⁴ “‘“You’re guilty because of the blood that you’ve shed. You were defiled by the idols that you’ve made. You’ve caused your judgment day to draw near and have even come to the end of your life. Therefore, I’ve made you an object of derision among the nations and to other lands. ⁵ Those who are both near and far away from you will scoff at you, because your reputation will be infamous and full of turmoil.
⁶ “‘“Watch out! Each of the princes of Israel has misused his authority to shed blood. ⁷ They’ve treated mothers and fathers among you with contempt. They’ve oppressed the foreigner among you. They’ve maltreated the orphan and the widow among you.
⁸ “‘“You have despised my sacred things and profaned my Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men live among you, intent on shedding blood. They’ve eaten at the top of mountain shrines. They’ve crafted plans to do evil things among you. ¹⁰ They’ve revealed the nakedness of their father in your midst. They’ve humiliated those among you who were unclean due to their impurity. ¹¹ One of you commits detestable practices with his neighbor’s wife. Another sexually defiles his daughter-in-law. Another humiliates his sister, his own father’s daughter. ¹² They take bribes among you to shed blood. You’ve taken usury and exacted interest. You’ve gained control over your neighbor through extortion. And you’ve forgotten me,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁷ Her blood was in it. She poured it out onto bare rock. She didn’t pour it out on the ground, intending to cover it with dirt.

¹ God’s Warning to His People “Woe to those who are crafting iniquity, planning evil well into the night! When morning’s light comes, they carry out their plans because they have the power to do so. ² They covet fields and seize them; they covet houses, and grab them, too. They harass the valiant man, along with his household, an individual and his estate.

⁸ Lately my people have acted like an enemy— you strip travelers who thought they were as secure as those who return from war. ⁹ You have evicted the wives of my people from their dream homes; you have removed my majesty from their children permanently. ¹⁰ “Get up and go, because there’s no rest for you here! Since everything is polluted, it can only cause destruction, even heavy destruction.

¹ “He will say, ‘Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel! You should know justice, should you not?— ² you who despise good and love evil, who tear off the skin of my people, along with the flesh from their bones. ³ You eat the flesh of my people, flaying their skin from them. You break their bones, chopping them in pieces like meat for a pot, like meat destined for a soup kettle.’

⁹ Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you officials of the house of Israel, you who hate administering justice, who pervert the very meaning of equity, ¹⁰ who are building up Zion by means of bloodshed, and Jerusalem by means of iniquity. ¹¹ Her leaders judge for the money, her priests teach only when they’re paid, and her prophets prophesy for cash. Even so, don’t they all rely on the LORD as they ask, ‘The LORD is among us, is he not? Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!’ ¹² “Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the Temple Mount like a forest high place.”

² The faithful have died off, and there is not one upright human being in the land. They all stalk one another with lethal intent, a man will even hunt his own brother with a net. ³ And speaking of evil, they practice it eagerly—with both hands! Both leader and judge demand a bribe, the famous confess their perverted desires, and they scheme together.

¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. It should not be like this, my brothers! ¹¹ A spring cannot pour both fresh and brackish water from the same opening, can it? ¹² My brothers, a fig tree cannot produce olives, nor a grapevine figs, can it? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

³⁴ Then the land will finally be pleased with its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies. At that time, the land will rest and take its Sabbaths.

²⁹ O, that they were wise to understand this and consider their future!

¹⁰ Therefore, kings, act wisely! Earthly rulers, be warned!

¹⁷ You hate instruction and toss my words behind you.

¹² How blessed is the man whom you instruct, LORD, whom you teach from your Law,

¹³ Hold on to instruction, do not let it go! Guard wisdom, because she is your life!

¹⁵ Young lions roar at him, they cry out loudly. They have made his land into a wasteland, and his cities are destroyed so they are without inhabitants.

¹⁴ Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart so that you may be delivered. How long will you harbor evil schemes within you?

³ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Change your ways and your deeds, and I’ll let you live in this place. ⁴ Don’t trust deceptive words like these, and say, ‘The Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD,’ ⁵ but rather, truly change your ways and your deeds. If you truly practice justice between each person and his neighbor, ⁶ and if you don’t oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and don’t shed an innocent person’s blood in this place, and if you don’t follow other gods to your own harm, ⁷ then I’ll let you dwell in this land, the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: “I’m about to pour out my anger and my wrath on this place, on people and animals, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn, and it won’t be put out.”

³⁴ In the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I’ll bring an end to the sound of gladness and rejoicing, to the sounds of the bridegroom and bride, for the land will become a wasteland.”

¹¹ “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants.”

²³ But they didn’t listen, nor did they pay attention. They were determined not to listen and not to accept instruction.

¹⁹ Indeed, after I turned away, then I repented. And after I came to understand, I slapped my forehead. I was both ashamed and humiliated because I bear the disgrace of my youth.’”

³³ They have turned their backs to me rather than their faces. Even though I taught them, teaching them again and again, they didn’t listen to accept correction.

¹³ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not accept correction by listening to what I say?” declares the LORD. ¹⁴ “But what Rechab’s son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven’t drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I’ve spoken to you again and again, and you haven’t obeyed me. ¹⁵ I’ve sent you all my servants, the prophets, sending them again and again. I’ve said, ‘Each of you turn from his evil behavior and make your deeds right. Don’t follow other gods to serve them. Then you will remain in the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’ But you haven’t paid attention and you haven’t obeyed me.

¹⁸ She displayed her immorality publicly and stripped herself naked, so I turned away in disgust from her, just as I had turned away in disgust from her sister.

¹² Even if they rear their children, I will, in turn, make them childless— in fact, woe to them when I turn away from them!

⁷ I have said, ‘If only you would fear me, if only you would take my instructions to heart.’ Then their houses would not have been torn down. I have chastened them, but they were eager to corrupt everything they were doing.”
The Future Deliverance of Israel

⁸ In a single month I got rid of three shepherds because I grew tired of them, and they despised me. ⁹ So I said, “I will no longer be your shepherd. Let those who are about to die perish, and let what is about to be destroyed be destroyed. As for the survivors, let them devour each other.”

¹⁶ “I’m about to send many fishermen,” declares the LORD, “and they’ll catch them. Afterwards, I’ll send for many hunters and they’ll hunt for them on every mountain and hill and in the crevices of the rocks.

⁹ If the grape harvesters came to you, would they not leave gleanings? If thieves came at night, they would destroy only until they had enough.

²⁸ These are the people Nebuchadnezzar took into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans; ²⁹ in Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took 745 people from Judah into exile. All the people taken into exile numbered 4,600.

⁵ “If thieves came against you, if marauding gangs by night —Oh, how you will be destroyed!— Would they not steal only until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave some grapes to be gleaned? ⁶ “Oh, how Esau is ransacked, how his hidden treasures are thoroughly searched out!

¹⁸ From the altar came another angel who had authority over fire. He called out in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle, and gather the bunches of grapes from the vine of the earth, because those grapes are ripe.”

¹² Then Moses said right in front of the LORD, “Look, the Israelis didn’t listen to me, so how will Pharaoh? I’m not a persuasive speaker”

⁴ Yet to this day, the LORD hasn’t given you a heart that understands, eyes that perceive, and ears that discern.

¹⁵ The LORD God of their ancestors pleaded with them time and again through his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on the place of his residence, ¹⁶ but they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until there was no remedy for the wrath of the LORD that arose to punish his people.

² But he delights in the LORD’s instruction, and meditates in his instruction day and night.

⁸ I delight to do your will, my God. Your Law is part of my inner being.”

¹⁶ I am delighted with your statutes; I will not forget your word.

²⁴ I take joy in your decrees, for they are my counselors.

³⁵ Help me live my life by your commands, because my joy is in them.

⁷⁰ Their minds are clogged as with greasy fat, but I find joy in your instruction.

⁷⁷ May your mercies come to me that I may live, for your instruction is my delight.

¹⁷⁴ I am longing for your deliverance, LORD, and your instruction is my joy.

⁹ “Go!” he responded. “Tell this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ¹⁰ Dull the mind of this people, deafen their ears, and blind their eyes. By doing so, they won’t see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed.”

⁹ Misuse of God’s WordTo whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? To children just weaned from milk? To those just taken from the breast? ¹⁰ For it is: “Do this and do that, do this and do that, Line upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there.” ¹¹ Very well, then, through the mouths of foreigners and foreign languages the LORD will speak to this people ¹² to whom he said, “This is the resting place, so give rest to the weary”’ and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen. ¹³ So, then, the message from the LORD to them will become: “Do this and do that, do this and do that, line upon line, line upon line, a little here, a little there,” so that they will go, but fall backward, and be injured, snared, and captured.

²³ “Who among you will listen, and pay attention, and listen for the time to come?”
²⁴ God Punishes Israel“Who handed Jacob over to looters, and Israel to robbers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? After all, they weren’t willing to walk in his ways, and they wouldn’t obey his instruction, ²⁵ so he drenched him with the heat that is his anger, the violence of war. It enveloped him in flames, but still he had no insight. It burned him up, but he didn’t take it to heart.”

¹ “Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds.”

⁴ Then I said, “These are only the poor, they’re foolish, for they don’t know the LORD’s way, the requirement of their God. ⁵ Let me go to the leaders and speak to them. For they know the LORD’s way, the requirement of their God.”
The LORD Answers “But they, all together, have broken the yoke and torn off the restraints.

²⁶ But they didn’t listen to me, and they didn’t pay attention. They stiffened their necks, and they did more evil than their ancestors.

⁸ Indeed, as often as I speak, I cry out, and shout, “Violence and destruction!” For this message from the LORD has caused me constant reproach and derision. ⁹ When I say, “I won’t remember the LORD, nor will I speak in his name anymore, then there is this burning fire in my heart. It is bound up in my bones, I grow weary of trying to hold it in, and I cannot do it!

¹⁸ “So when I say to a wicked person, ‘You’re about to die,’ if you don’t warn or instruct that wicked person that his behavior is wicked so he can live, that wicked person will die in his sin, but I’ll hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹ If you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t repent of his wickedness or of his wicked behavior, he’ll die in his sin, but you will have saved your own life.
²⁰ “When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I’ll set a stumbling block before him. He’ll die. If you don’t warn him, he’ll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won’t be remembered, but you’ll be held responsible for his death. ²¹ If you warn the righteous person, so that he doesn’t commit sin, then he’ll live, since he had been warned. And you will have saved your life.”

³ and if he notices that violence is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people,

⁹ However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself.”

¹⁰ A Rebuke for AmaziahSo Amaziah priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel. It said, “Amos has been conspiring against you in the very heart of the house of Israel! The land cannot bear everything he has to say,

⁷ But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he told them, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

⁴⁵ Then one of the experts in the Law told him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.”

¹⁹ When the scribes and the high priests realized that Jesus had told this parable about them, they wanted to arrest him right then, but they were afraid of the crowd.

⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil.

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were near him overheard this and asked him, “We aren’t blind, too, are we?”

⁵¹ “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” After he had said this, he died.

²² For I delight in the Law of God in my inner being,

²⁸ It is he whom we proclaim as we admonish and wisely teach everyone, so that we may present everyone mature in the Messiah.

³ For the time will come when people will not tolerate healthy doctrine, but with itching ears will surround themselves with teachers who cater to their people’s own desires.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.

¹⁸ because I’m filled with things to say, and my spirit within me compels me to speak. ¹⁹ My insides feel like unvented wine, like it’s about to burst like a new wineskin.

²¹ Therefore, make their children undergo famine, and deliver them over to death in time of war. May their women be childless widows! May their men be slaughtered! May their young men be slain by the sword in battle!

⁹ When I say, “I won’t remember the LORD, nor will I speak in his name anymore, then there is this burning fire in my heart. It is bound up in my bones, I grow weary of trying to hold it in, and I cannot do it!

¹⁴ Ezekiel Addresses the IsraelisThen the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away. I went bitterly with an angry attitude as the hand of the LORD rested on me.

⁶ You are to execute old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But don’t touch anyone who has been marked. Begin at my Holy Place!” And so they started with the elders who were in standing in front of the Temple.

⁸ The Message of God’s Prophet“As for me, I am truly filled with power by the Spirit of the LORD, filled with judgment and power to announce to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

³⁴ I tell you, two will be seated on the same couch that night. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind.

²⁰ for we cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply disturbed to see the city full of idols.

⁵ But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

¹ The Vision of the Seven Angels Pouring Out Their BowlsThen I heard a loud voice from the Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”

³⁰ You’ll be engaged to a woman, but another man will rape her. You’ll build a house but you won’t live in it. You’ll plant a vineyard but you won’t harvest it. ³¹ Your ox will be slaughtered in front of you, and you won’t be able to eat it. Your donkey will be stolen from you while you watch and won’t be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be handed to your enemies and there will be no deliverer. ³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you watch, and you won’t be able to approach them at all, and you’ll be powerless to help.
³³ “A people whom you don’t know will devour what your land and labor produces. You’ll be only oppressed and discouraged continuously

³⁹ You’ll plant a vineyard, but you won’t drink wine or harvest any grapes, because worms will consume it. ⁴⁰ You’ll have olive trees throughout your territory, but you won’t be able to anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off the trees. ⁴¹ You’ll bear sons and daughters, but they won’t belong to you, because they’ll go into captivity. ⁴² Whirling locusts will consume every tree and the produce of your land. ⁴³ The foreigner in your midst will be elevated higher and higher over you, while you are brought low little by little.

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.

²⁵ Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against his people, so he stretched out his hands against them and afflicted them. The mountains quaked, and their corpses were like refuse in the middle of the streets. Throughout all of this, his anger has not turned away, and his hands are still stretched out to attack.

¹² Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west— and they devour Israel with open mouths! “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord does not have pity on their young men, and has no compassion on their orphans and widows, because each of them was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth spoke folly. “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.

²¹ Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”

⁴ so you won’t have to crouch among those in chains or fall among the slain? “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.”

²¹ People will build houses and live in them; They’ll plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ²² They won’t build for others to inhabit; they won’t plant for others to eat— for like the lifetime of a tree, so will the lifetime of my people be, and my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.

¹⁰ Therefore, I’ll give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they’re all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully.

²² Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, ‘These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.’

⁴ He bent his bow against us as would an enemy, his right hand cocked as would an adversary. He has killed everyone in whom we took pride; in the tent of cherished Zion he poured out his anger like fire. ⁵ The Lord has become like an enemy— he has devoured Israel. He has devoured all of her palaces, destroying her fortresses. He filled cherished Judah with mourning and lament.

⁸ The LORD planned to destroy the walls of cherished Zion. He measured them with his line. He did not withhold his hand from destruction. He made both ramparts and defensive walls mourn; they languish together.

³ He truly turned his hand against me, again and again, all day long.

³ We are now orphans—without fathers— and our mothers are like widows.

¹¹ They have raped women in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah.

¹³ Therefore their possessions will be seized as plunder and their homes left in ruins. They may build houses, but they won’t live in them. They may plant vineyards, but they won’t drink their wine.”
Zephaniah’s Description of the Day of the LORD

⁷ These people also stagger from wine and reel from strong drink. Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink; they’re drunk from wine; they reel from strong drink, waver when seeing visions, and stumble when rendering decisions.

⁹ “All you wild animals, come and devour— even all of you wild animals. ¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep! ¹¹ Meanwhile, the dogs have a mighty appetite— they can never get enough. And as for them, they are the shepherds who lack understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, each and every one. ¹² “‘Come!’ they say, ‘let’s have some wine, and let’s fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!’”

¹⁷ Because of his wicked greed I was angry, so I punished him; and I hid my face, and was angry— but he kept turning back to his stubborn will.

⁸ “The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ and those handling the Law didn’t know me. The rulers transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they followed that which does not profit.

²⁶ “As a thief is disgraced when he’s caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced— they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,

³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?”

¹⁸ If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword! If I go into the city, I see the ravages of the famine! Indeed, both prophet and priest ply their trade in the land, but they don’t know anything.’”

¹⁷ But your eyes and heart are on nothing but your dishonest gain, shedding the blood of innocent people, and practicing oppression and extortion.”

¹¹ Indeed, both priest and prophet are ungodly. Even in my house I find evil,” declares the LORD.

¹⁴ Among the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a horrible thing, for they commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil, so that no one repents of his evil. All of them are like Sodom to me, and her residents like Gomorrah.”
¹⁵ Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says about the prophets, “I’m about to make them eat wormwood and drink poisoned water, because godlessness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.”

⁷ Jeremiah Threatened with DeathThe priests, the prophets, and all the people listened as Jeremiah spoke these words at the LORD’s Temple. ⁸ As soon as Jeremiah finished saying everything that the LORD had commanded him to say to all the people, the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him, telling him as they did: “You must certainly die!

³² because of all the evil that the Israelis and Judeans have done to provoke me. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and those living in Jerusalem have done these things.

¹³ Due to the sins committed by her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests who shed in her midst, the blood of the righteous,

¹² They take bribes among you to shed blood. You’ve taken usury and exacted interest. You’ve gained control over your neighbor through extortion. And you’ve forgotten me,” declares the Lord GOD.

²⁵ There’s a conspiracy of prophets within her, and like a roaring lion tearing its prey, they’ve devoured people, and confiscated treasures, and taken precious things. They’ve added to the population of widows within her. ²⁶ Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn’t differentiate between what’s sacred and what’s common. They didn’t instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep my Sabbaths.
“‘I’m constantly being profaned among them. ²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain.
²⁸ “‘Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, “This is what the Lord GOD says…”, when the LORD has not spoken.

³¹ Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say— because they’re seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

⁵ God’s Judgment against False Prophets“This is what the LORD says about the prophets who are causing my people to go astray, who are calling out ‘Peace’ when they’re being fed, but who declare war against those who won’t feed them:

¹¹ Her leaders judge for the money, her priests teach only when they’re paid, and her prophets prophesy for cash. Even so, don’t they all rely on the LORD as they ask, ‘The LORD is among us, is he not? Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!’

³ Its national officials are roaring lions; its judges are like wolves of the night that don’t leave the bones for the morning. ⁴ Its prophets are arrogant and treacherous. Its priests have contaminated the sanctuary. They give perverse interpretations of the Law.

¹⁴ The Law and the Kingdom of God
Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus.

³ He must not drink excessively or be a violent person, but instead be gentle. He must not be argumentative or love money.

³ In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.

¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse. ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong.

⁶ From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there’s no soundness evident— only bruises, sores, and festering wounds that haven’t been cleaned out, bandaged, or treated with oil.”

²⁶ Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the sun’s light will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.

¹⁰ Then I replied, “Ah, Lord GOD, you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem when you said, ‘You will have peace,’ while the sword is at their throat!”

¹² “They have lied about the LORD by saying, ‘He wouldn’t do that! Disaster won’t come on us. We won’t see sword and famine.

¹¹ They have treated my people’s wound superficially, telling them, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. ¹² Are they ashamed because they have done what is repugnant to God? They weren’t ashamed at all; they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore they’ll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they’ll be brought down,” says the LORD.

¹³ Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, look! The prophets are saying to them, ‘You won’t see the sword and you won’t experience famine. Rather, I’ll give you lasting peace in this place.’”

¹⁷ “And deliver this message to them: ‘Let tears run down my face, night and day, and don’t let them stop, because my virgin daughter—my people— will be broken with a powerful blow, with a severe wound.

¹⁷ They keep on saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace.”’ To all who stubbornly follow their own desires they say, ‘Disaster won’t come upon you.’

³ and within two years I’ll bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’s Temple that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and carried to Babylon.

¹⁴ Your prophets look on your behalf; they see false and deceptive visions. They did not expose your sins in order to restore what had been captured. Instead, they crafted oracles for you that are false and misleading.

¹⁰ because they’ve truly caused my people to stray saying, “Peace,” but there’s no peace.’”
Metaphor of the Whitewashed Wall“When someone builds a wall, they coat it with whitewash.

²² “‘“Because you’ve dismayed the heart of the righteous—whom I never intended to dismay—with lies, and because you’ve encouraged the wicked so that he wouldn’t abandon his evil behavior and by doing so live,

¹¹ Suppose a man who keeps company with a deceiving spirit prophesies like this: ‘Drink wine and strong drink!’ Won’t the people accept him as a prophet?”

¹ Warning against False TeachersNow there were false prophets among the people, just as there also will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves.

¹⁸ By talking high-sounding nonsense and using sinful cravings of the flesh, they entice people who have just escaped from those who live in error. ¹⁹ Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.

³⁴ Now, go, and lead the people where I told you, and now my angel will go before you, but on the day when I do punish, I’ll punish them for their sin.”

¹ Advice on Life and Justice After many rebukes, the stiff-necked man will be broken incurably, without any warning.

⁹ “The expressions on their faces give them away. They parade their sin around like Sodom; they don’t even try to hide it. How horrible it will be for them, because they have brought disaster on themselves!”

³ This is why the rain has been withheld and there are no spring showers. Yet you have a harlot’s look and you refuse to be ashamed.

⁹ “Should I not punish them for these things?” asks the LORD, “And on a nation like this, should I not seek retribution?”

²⁹ ‘Should I not punish them for this?’ asks the LORD. ‘Should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?’

¹² Are they ashamed because they have done what is repugnant to God? They weren’t ashamed at all; they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore they’ll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they’ll be brought down,” says the LORD.

¹² Therefore their way will be slippery. They’ll be driven out into the darkness, where they’ll fall. For I’ll bring disaster on them, the year of their judgment,” declares the LORD.

⁴ They’re stubborn and strong willed. I’m sending you to them to tell them what the LORD says.

⁶ “‘The end is coming!
“‘The end is here!
“‘And it’s looking in your direction!
“‘Look out! It’s arrived!
⁷ “‘Your doom has come to you, you who live in the land. The time has arrived, and the day of confusion is near. There will be no shouts of joy on the mountains. ⁸ Very soon now, I’ll pour out my burning anger on you. I’ll complete expressing my anger at you, judge you according to your behavior, and repay you for all your detestable practices. ⁹ I won’t be showing pity or compassion. I’ll repay you according to your behavior while your detestable practices remain among you. And you’ll know that I, the LORD, have been attacking you.’”

⁹ On False Prophets“Now as to the prophet, if through deceit he delivers a message, I the LORD have deceived that prophet! I’ll reach out in opposition to him and exterminate him from among my people Israel. ¹⁰ They’ll bear the consequences of their guilt, and the prophet will be just as guilty as the one who seeks that prophet’s guidance.

²⁴ “You built raised mounds and high places for yourself on every plaza. ²⁵ At every street corner you made your beauty abhorrent when you made yourself available for sex to anyone who was passing by. By doing this, you kept on committing more and more immorality.

⁷ The time for your judgment has now come; payday is here— and Israel knows it. The prophet is a fool, and the spiritual man is insane. Because of your great sin, the hatred against you is great.

⁶ ‘You will have nights without visions, and darkness without prophecy. The sun will set on the prophets, and the day will darken for them.

⁴ The best of them is like a thorn, and their most upright like a hedge of thorns. The day announced by your watchmen— and by your own calculations—approaches. Now it’s your time to be confused!

⁵ The righteous LORD who lives within her will do no wrong; he will bring justice to light morning by morning. He never fails, but the unjust are shameless.
The Integrity of God’s Justice

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”

¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on worldly things.

⁷ An Exhortation to Remember God’s WorkRemember the days of old, reflect on the years of previous generations. Ask your father, and he’ll tell you; your elders will inform you.

⁷ Tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where do you make your flock lie down at noon? Why should I be considered a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
⁸ The LoverIf you don’t know, most beautiful of women, go out after the flock and graze your young goats beside the shepherd’s tents.

⁵ “You house of Jacob!
Come! Let’s live in the LORD’s light.

²⁰ for instruction and for testimony? Surely they are speaking like this because the truth hasn’t dawned on them.

¹² to whom he said, “This is the resting place, so give rest to the weary”’ and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen.

²¹ And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.”

²⁵ “Don’t run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you say, ‘It’s hopeless! Because I love foreign gods, I’ll go after them!’”

²³ but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’

¹² But they’ll say, ‘It’s useless! We will follow our plans and each of us will pursue his own evil desires.’

¹⁵ Yet my people have forgotten me, and they burn incense to worthless idols that make them stumble in their journey on the ancient paths. They walk on trails, on a way that is not built up.

²¹ I spoke to you when you were secure, but you said, “I won’t listen!” This has been your way since your youth, for you haven’t obeyed me.

¹⁶ “As for the message that you reported to us in the name of the LORD, we won’t listen to you!

⁴ The Coming of Elijah the Prophet“Remember the Law of Moses my servant that I gave him at Horeb for all Israel—both the decrees and laws.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Place my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest for your souls,

²⁸ The Parable about Two Sons“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ His son replied, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ Then the father went to the other son and told him the same thing. He replied, ‘I will, sir,’ but he didn’t go. ³¹ Which of the two did the father’s will?”
They answered, “The first one.”
Jesus told them, “I tell all of you with certainty, tax collectors and prostitutes will get into God’s kingdom ahead of you! ³² John came to you living a righteous life, and you didn’t believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. But even when you saw that, you didn’t change your minds at last and believe him.”

²⁹ “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!’

³⁹ You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me.

⁴⁶ because if you believed Moses, you would believe me, since he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?”

³⁵ Jesus replied to the crowd, “The light is among you only for a short time. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. The person who walks in the darkness is in the darkness and does not know where he is going.

¹⁷ If you understand these things, how blessed you are if you put them into practice!

¹¹ These people were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They were very willing to receive the message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures to see if those things were so.

¹ The Example of AbrahamWhat, then, are we to say about Abraham, our human ancestor? ² For if Abraham was justified by actions, he would have had something to boast about—though not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
⁴ Now to someone who works, wages are not considered a gift but an obligation. ⁵ However, to someone who does not work, but simply believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶ Likewise, David also speaks of the blessedness of the person whom God regards as righteous apart from actions:

¹² He is also the ancestor of the circumcised—those who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

⁶ Fullness of LifeSo then, just as you have received the Messiah Jesus the Lord, continue to live dependent on him.

¹² Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.

² By faith our ancestors won approval.

¹¹ A Message about DumahA message concerning Dumah. “Someone is calling to me from Seir: ‘Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?’

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep!

¹ False and True Worship “Shout aloud! Don’t hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their rebellions, and to the house of Jacob their sins.

⁴ Again and again, the LORD sent all his servants, the prophets, to you, but you wouldn’t listen or even turn your ears in my direction to hear.

¹⁷ “Son of Man,” he said, “I’ve appointed you to be a watchman over the house of Israel. Therefore when you hear a message that comes from me, you are to warn them for me.

² “Son of Man, speak to your nation’s children and tell them: ‘If I bring war to a land, and the people of that land appoint one of their conscripted men to serve as a sentinel, ³ and if he notices that violence is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people, ⁴ then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility. ⁵ After all, he heard the alarm sounding, but did not heed the warning, so his shed blood will remain his own responsibility. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved himself. ⁶ If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I’ll seek retribution for their shed blood from the one who was acting as sentinel.’”
⁷ Warning for Ezekiel“Now as for you, Son of Man, I’ve established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me, you are to warn the people from me. ⁸ If I should say to a certain wicked person, ‘You wicked man, you’re certainly about to die,’ but you don’t warn him to turn from his wicked behavior, he’ll die in his guilt, but I’ll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you. ⁹ However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself.”

¹ Reaping the Wind Storm “Sound the ram’s horn! Like a vulture the enemy will come against the Temple of the LORD, because Israel violated my covenant, transgressing my Law.

⁶ And when an alarm sounds in the city, the people will tremble, won’t they? If there is trouble in a city, the LORD has brought it about, has he not?”
⁷ The LORD’s Purposes“Truly the Lord GOD will do nothing he has mentioned without revealing his purposes to his servants the prophets. ⁸ A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who will not prophesy?

¹ Habakkuk Waits for God’s Answer “I will stand at my guard post and station myself on a tower. I will wait and see what the LORD will say about me and what I will answer when he reprimands me.”

¹¹ But they refused to pay attention, turned their backs, and stopped listening.

²⁷ because I never shrank from telling you the whole plan of God. ²⁸ Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God’s church, which he acquired with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that when I’m gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. ³⁰ Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them. ³¹ So be alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped tearfully warning each of you.

¹⁷ Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

²⁴ All the nations will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to this land? What is the meaning of this fierce and great anger?’ ²⁵ Then they will answer themselves, ‘Because they’ve abandoned the covenant of their LORD, the God of their ancestors that he had made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. ²⁶ They followed and worshipped other gods whom they had not known and whom he did not assign to them. ²⁷ For this reason, the anger of the LORD raged against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that were written in this book. ²⁸ The LORD uprooted them from the land in his anger, wrath, and great fury, deporting them to another land, and that’s the way things are today.’

⁴ He summoned the heavens above and the earth below, to sit in judgment on his people. ⁵ “Assemble before me, my saints, who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.” ⁶ The heavens revealed his justice, for God is himself the judge. Interlude

³ “So now, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, won’t you please, between me and my vineyard.

¹⁰ Nations, listen to this message from the LORD, and declare it in the distant coastlands. Say, “The one who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

⁵ “My people, recall how king Balak of Moab deliberated, and how Beor’s son Balaam counseled him from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

²⁶ Heaven and earth will testify against what has occurred today: you’ll surely and swiftly be destroyed from the land that you are about to possess by crossing the Jordan River. You won’t live long in it, because you’ll certainly be exterminated.

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to testify against you today! I’ve set life and death before you today: both blessings and curses. Choose life, that it may be well with you—you and your children.

¹ The Song of Moses Hear, heavens, and I will speak! Listen, earth, to the words of my mouth!

²³ Indeed, rebellion is the sin of divination, and arrogance is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected this message from the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”

²⁶ Samuel told Saul, “I won’t return with you because you have rejected the message from the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

²⁴ The Consequences of Refusing Wisdom“Because I called out to you and you refused to respond— I appealed, but no one paid attention— ²⁵ because you neglected all my advice and did not want my correction, ²⁶ I will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when what you fear comes, ²⁷ when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ “Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. ²⁹ “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD; ³⁰ they did not want my advice, and they rejected all my correction. ³¹ They will eat the fruit of their way, and they will be filled with their own devices.

²⁶ To the LORD evil plans are detestable, but pleasant words are pure.

⁹ If someone quits listening to the Law even his prayer is detestable.

² Rebellious JudahListen, you heavens, and let the earth pay attention, because the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them to adulthood, but then they rebelled against me.

⁷ Their feet rush to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; ruin, destruction, and violence are in their paths.

¹⁸ “But as for me, I know their actions and their thoughts. Come and gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

¹⁰ To whom will I speak and give a warning so they’ll listen? Look, their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. Look, this message from the LORD is contemptible to them; they don’t delight in it.

⁹ The wise men will be put to shame. They’ll be dismayed and taken captive. Look, they have rejected the message from the LORD! So what kind of wisdom do they have?

¹⁰ I am the LORD who searches the heart, who tests the inner depths to give to each person according to what he deserves, according to the fruit of his deeds.

¹⁵ “This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I’m about to bring on this city and all its towns all the disaster that I declared against it because they were determined not to obey my message.’”

²⁹ Land, land, land, listen to this message from the LORD!

⁶ My people are destroyed because they lack knowledge of me. Because you rejected that knowledge, I will reject you as a priest for me. Since you forget the Law of your God, I will also forget your children.

¹³ You have plowed evil; you have reaped unrighteousness; you have eaten the fruit of hypocrisy; because you trusted in your own direction, and in the number of your mighty forces.

² Listen, you mountains, to the LORD’s argument! Listen, you strong foundations of the earth, because the LORD has a dispute with his people, and he will set out his case before Israel.

¹⁹ And this is the basis for judgment: The light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light because their actions were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who practices wickedness hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his actions may not be exposed. ²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may become evident that his actions have God’s approval.”

⁴⁸ The one who rejects me and doesn’t receive my words has something to judge him: The word that I’ve spoken will judge him on the last day,

²² So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your heart’s intent may be forgiven you.

²³ “You are to take for yourself the finest spices: 500 shekels by weight of liquid myrrh, half as much fragrant cinnamon (250 shekels), 250 shekels of fragrant reeds,

¹ The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s reputation with the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions. ² She brought along a large retinue, camels laden with spices, and lots of gold and precious stones. Upon her arrival, she spoke with Solomon about everything that was on her mind.

¹⁰ Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a vast quantity of spices, and precious stones. No spices ever came again that were comparable to those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

⁶ You take no delight in sacrifices and offerings— you have prepared my ears to listen— you require no burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.

⁷ “Listen, my people, for I am making a pronouncement: Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you. ⁸ I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices; indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me. ⁹ I will no longer accept a sacrificial bull from your household; nor goats from your pens. ¹⁰ Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine, even the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know all the birds in the mountains; indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine. ¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine along with everything in it. ¹³ Why should I eat the flesh of oxen or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁶ As for the wicked, God says, “How dare you recite my statutes or speak about my covenant with your lips! ¹⁷ You hate instruction and toss my words behind you.

³ Say to God: “How awesome are your works! Because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.”

¹¹ “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?” the LORD is asking. “I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

²³ You haven’t brought me your sheep for a burnt-offering, nor have you honored me with your sacrifices, nor have you made meal offerings for me— yet I have not tired you about incense! ²⁴ You haven’t bought me sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. You have only burdened me with your sins and made me tired with your iniquities.

⁶ Throngs of camels will blanket you: the young camels of Midian and Ephu; all those from Shebu will come. They’ll carry gold and frankincense, and proclaim the praise of the LORD.

³ “Whoever slaughters an ox is just like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb is just like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is just like one who offers pig’s blood; and whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense is just like one who blesses an idol. Yes, these have chosen their own ways, and they take delight in their contaminated actions.

²¹ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. ²² Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice, ²³ but I did give them this command: ‘Obey me and I’ll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.’

³⁹ The Coming Regathering of IsraelAnd now, you house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says, “Go ahead and serve your idols, both now and later, but later you’ll listen to me, and you won’t profane my sacred name again by your offerings and idols.

²² Traders from Sheba and Raamah paid for the best of what you had to offer with all types of spices, precious stones, and gold.

²¹ Let Justice Roll On“I hate—I despise—your festival days, and your solemn convocations stink. ²² And if you send up burnt offerings to me as well as your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle.

⁶ The Nature of True RighteousnessHow am I to present myself in the LORD’s presence and bow in the presence of the High God? Should I present myself with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with endless rivers of oil? Am I to give my firstborn to pay for my rebellion, the fruit of my body in exchange for my soul? ⁸ He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you— to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.

¹⁷ Therefore he brought up the king of the Chaldeans against them, who executed their young men in the holy Temple, showing no compassion on young man or young virgin, adult men or the aged. God gave them all into the king’s control,

¹⁴ Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem.

¹⁴ So the LORD has cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day— ¹⁵ the elder and the dignitary is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail. ¹⁶ For those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up. ¹⁷ Therefore the Lord does not have pity on their young men, and has no compassion on their orphans and widows, because each of them was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth spoke folly. “Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike.

² It will be the same for the lay people as for priests, the same for servants as for their masters, for female servants as for their mistresses, for buyers as for sellers, for lenders as for borrowers, and for creditors as for debtors. ³ The earth will be utterly depopulated and completely laid waste — for the LORD has spoken this message.

²¹ For death comes up through our windows; it has come into our palaces to eliminate children from the streets and young men from the town squares. ²² Speak! ‘This is what the LORD says: “The corpses of people will fall like dung on the surface of the field, and like a row of cut grain behind the harvester when there is no one to gather it.”’”

¹⁶ Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. You hope for light, but he turns it into deep darkness. He changes it into heavy gloom.

² “When they say to you, ‘Where can we go?’, say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Those destined for death, to death will go; those destined for the sword, to the sword will go; and those destined for captivity, to captivity will go.
³ “I’ll appoint four kinds of judgment for them,” declares the LORD: “the sword to kill, the dogs to drag off, the birds of the sky to devour, and the animals of the land to destroy. ⁴ I’ll make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem. ⁵ “Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem, and who will grieve for you? Who will go out of his way to ask about your welfare? ⁶ You have deserted me,” declares the LORD. “You keep going backward. I’ll reach out my hand and destroy you. I’m tired of showing compassion. ⁷ I’ll winnow them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land. I’ll make them childless. I’ll destroy my people, for they didn’t change their ways. ⁸ I’ll make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. At noontime I’ll send a destroyer against the mother of a young man. I’ll cause terror and anguish to come to her unexpectedly. ⁹ “The woman who gave birth to seven will grow faint, her life will expire. Her sun will set while it’s still day. She will be disgraced and humiliated. I’ll kill the rest of them with swords in the presence of their enemies,” declares the LORD.

³ For this is what the LORD says about the sons and daughters who are born in this place, about their mothers who give birth to them, and about their fathers who father them in this land: ⁴ “They’ll die of deadly diseases. People won’t mourn for them, nor will they be buried. They’ll be dung on the surface of the ground, and they’ll come to an end with the sword and with famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land.”
⁵ For this is what the LORD says: “Don’t go to a house where there is mourning, don’t go to lament, nor to express sorrow to them. For I’ve taken my peace away from this people,” declares the LORD, “as well as gracious love and compassion. ⁶ Both the most and the least important people will die in this land, and they won’t be buried. People won’t mourn for them. They won’t cut themselves, nor will they shave their heads for them. ⁷ They won’t break bread for the mourner to be consoled for the dead. They won’t give anyone the cup of consolation to drink for his father or mother. ⁸ Don’t go to a banquet to sit with people to eat and drink.” ⁹ For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “In this place I’m about to bring an end to the sounds of happiness and rejoicing, the sounds of the bridegroom and the bride. I’ll do it in front of your eyes and in your time.

⁷ I’ll shatter the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I’ll make them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hands of those seeking their lives. I’ll give their dead bodies as food to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the land. ⁸ I’ll make this city into a desolate place and an object of scorn. All who pass by it will be astonished and will scoff because of all its wounds. ⁹ I’ll cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and people will eat the flesh of their neighbors in the siege and in the distress to which their enemies and those seeking their lives will subject them.”’”

⁷ Afterwards,” declares the LORD, “I’ll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people—those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine—into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He’ll execute them with swords and won’t pity them. He won’t spare them, nor will he have compassion on them.”’

²⁰ Look, LORD, and take note: To whom have you done this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cuddled? Should priests and prophets be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? ²¹ Young men and the aged lie on the ground in the streets; my young women and young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without pity. ²² You have invited those who terrorize me to come around, as if today were a festival. No one has escaped or survived the time of the LORD’s anger. My enemy has finished off those whom I cuddled and raised.

²⁰ “When a righteous man abandons his righteousness to practice unrighteousness, I’ll set a stumbling block before him. He’ll die. If you don’t warn him, he’ll die in his sin and the righteous deeds that he had practiced won’t be remembered, but you’ll be held responsible for his death.

¹⁰ Fathers will eat their children in your midst. After this, your sons will eat their fathers as I carry out my sentence against you and scatter your survivors to the winds!’

⁵ As I continued to listen, he also told the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing. Don’t spare anyone you see, and don’t show pity of any kind. ⁶ You are to execute old men, young men, young women, little children, and women. But don’t touch anyone who has been marked. Begin at my Holy Place!” And so they started with the elders who were in standing in front of the Temple.
⁷ “Desecrate my Temple,” he told them, “and fill its courtyard with the dead!” So they went out and began striking down people throughout the city.

³³ As it is written, “Look! I am placing a stone in Zion over which people will stumble— a large rock that will make them fall— and the one who believes in him will never be ashamed.”

⁹ And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a punishment for them.

⁸ a stone they stumble over and a rock they trip on.”They keep on stumbling because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

¹⁵ People of Israel, I’m now bringing a nation from far away to attack you,” declares the LORD. “It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don’t know. And you won’t understand what they say.

¹ The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north.

⁴¹ “Look, people are coming from the north. A great nation and many kings will be stirred up from the ends of the earth. ⁴² They grab bow and spear. They’re cruel and show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea, as they ride on horses deployed like men ready for battle against you, daughter of Babylon. ⁴³ The king of Babylon has heard the news about them, and his hands hang limp. Distress has seized him, like a woman in labor.

¹⁸ Their bows will dash the young men to pieces; they’ll show no pity on those not yet born, and their eyes will not spare children.

⁴ I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.

¹³ The People’s Response to JudgmentLook, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses are as swift as eagles. Woe to us—we’re destroyed!

¹⁶ Their quiver is like an open grave, and all of them are powerful warriors.

¹⁴ All your lovers have forgotten you; they don’t seek you. Indeed, I’ve struck you down with the blow of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel foe because your wickedness is great, and your sins are numerous.

⁴² They grab bow and spear. They’re cruel and show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea, as they ride on horses deployed like men ready for battle against you, daughter of Babylon.

²² God’s Rebuke to Jerusalem“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Look! I’m about to stir up your lovers against you, the ones from whom you’ve turned away in disgust. I’m going to bring them against you from every direction— ²³ the Babylonians, all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all of the Assyrians with them. They’re all desirable young men, governors, commanders, chariot officers, and famous men, all of them mounted on horses.
²⁴ “‘They’ll invade you with weapons, chariots, wagons, and a vast army. They’ll set themselves in place to attack you from every direction with large shields, small shields, and helmets. I’ll turn over judgment to them, and they’ll punish you according to their own standards. ²⁵ I’ll expend my jealousy on you so they’ll deal with you in anger. They’ll cut off your noses and your ears. Your survivors will die violently. They’ll take your sons and daughters away from you, but your survivors will be incinerated.

⁶ Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own. ⁷ They are terrible and fearsome; their brand of justice and sense of honor derive only from themselves! ⁸ Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures. ⁹ “They all come to oppress— hordes of them, their faces pressing onward— they take prisoners as numerous as the desert sand! ¹⁰ They make fun of kings, deriding those who rule. They laugh at all of the fortified places, constructing ramps to seize them.

²⁵ The Coming of the Son of Man
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken.

⁶ Trembling seized them there, pains like those of a woman in labor,

²⁷ when what you dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸ “Then they will call out to me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

³ Therefore my body is racked with pain; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am so upset that I cannot hear; I am so frightened that I cannot see while I’m reeling around.

¹⁹ As often as it sweeps through, it will carry you away, for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day; but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night,

⁶ Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don’t stand around! For I’m bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction. ⁷ A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruined, and without inhabitants. ⁸ So, put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, because the burning anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.” ⁹ “On that day,” declares the LORD, “the courage of the king and the leaders will fail. The priests will be appalled and the prophets astounded.”

¹⁹ Jeremiah’s Lament for His People“My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the aching of my heart! My heart pounds within me; I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm for war. ²⁰ Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains. ²¹ How long will I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²¹ What will you say when the LORD appoints over you as your head those whom you taught to be your allies? Pain will seize you like that seizing a woman about to give birth, will it not?

²³ You who live in Lebanon, who build your nest in the cedars, how you will groan when pains come upon you, pain like that of a woman giving birth.

⁶ Ask about this and think about it— Can a man give birth to a child? Why then do I see every strong man with his hands on his thighs like a woman giving birth, and all their faces have turned pale?

²⁴ Damascus will become weak. She will turn to flee, but panic will seize her. Distress and anguish will take hold of her like that of a woman giving birth.

⁴³ The king of Babylon has heard the news about them, and his hands hang limp. Distress has seized him, like a woman in labor.

⁶ “And now, Son of Man, you are to start groaning until you’re sick to your stomach. You are to groan bitterly right in front of them. ⁷ When they’ll ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that just arrived. Every heart will melt with fear, every hand will grow limp, every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will glisten with sweat.’ Look! It has come and it will be fulfilled,” declares the Lord GOD.

⁹ Why are you crying so loud now? There’s no king among you, is there? Perhaps your advisor has died? For pain has overtaken you like a woman in labor. ¹⁰ Be in pain! Be in labor, you daughter of Zion, like a woman about to give birth, because now you will depart from the city, living in the open fields. To Babylon you will go. There you will be delivered, there the LORD will rescue you from the power of your enemies.”

¹⁶ Habakkuk’s ResponseI heard and I trembled within. My lips quivered at the noise. My legs gave way beneath me, and I trembled. Nevertheless, I await the day of distress that will dawn on our invaders.

³ When people say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

⁶ During the lifetime of Anath’s son Shamgar and during the lifetime of Jael highways remained deserted, while travelers kept to back roads. ⁷ Rural populations plummeted in Israel; until I, Deborah, arose; until I—an Israeli mother—arose.

⁵ “During those days, it wasn’t safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories.

¹¹ The Wicked Perish without Descendants“He is petrified by terror that surrounds him on all sides; they chase at his heels.

¹³ I have heard the slander of many; it is like terror all around me, as they conspire together and plot to take my life.

²⁰ but if you refuse and rebel, you’ll be devoured by the sword, because the LORD has spoken.”

⁵ Warning of the Coming DisasterDeclare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, “Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, ‘Gather together and let’s go to the fortified cities!’

¹⁴ The People RespondWhy are we sitting here? Join together! Let’s go to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has condemned us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.

³ The next day, Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, and Jeremiah told him, “The LORD has not named you Pashhur, but rather Magor-missabib. ⁴ For this is what the LORD says: ‘Look, I’m going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your loved ones. They’ll fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes will see it. I’ll give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will take them into exile to Babylon, and he will execute them with swords.

¹⁰ Indeed, I hear many people whispering, “Terror on every side. Denounce him, let’s denounce him!” All my close friends watch my steps and say, “Perhaps he will be deceived, and we can prevail against him and take vengeance on him.”

²⁹ Take their tents and their flocks, their tent curtains and all their goods. Take their camels away from them. Cry out against them, ‘Terror is all around!’

⁴ Therefore I said: “Look away from me; and let me weep bitter tears; don’t try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

¹² On that day the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies called for weeping and mourning, for shaving heads and wearing sackcloth.

¹³ therefore, for you this sin will become like a breach in a high wall that is about to collapse, bulging out, and whose crash comes suddenly—in an instant.

¹¹ So tremble, you ladies of leisure! Shudder, you daughters who feel so complacent! Strip down and make yourselves naked down to the waist! Then wrap yourself in sackcloth and beat your breasts.

⁸ So, put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, because the burning anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”

¹¹ The Scorching Wind of JudgmentAt that time, it will be told this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert is coming toward my people, and it’s not for winnowing or cleansing.

²⁰ Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains.

¹⁴ They treated my people’s wound superficially, telling them, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.

¹⁹ Listen! My people cry from a distant land: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her king no longer there?”
The LORD Speaks “Why did they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign gods?”

²¹ The Prophet MournsBecause my people are crushed, I’m crushed. I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me.

¹⁰ I’ll weep and mourn for the mountains, and lament for the desert pastures, because they are desolate and no one passes through them. They don’t hear the lowing of the cattle. Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled. They’re gone!

¹⁷ A Call to LamentThis is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Think about what I’m saying! Indeed, call out the professional mourners! Send for the best of them to come. ¹⁸ Let them hurry and lament for us. Let tears run down from our eyes, and let our eyelids flow with water. ¹⁹ For a sound of mourning is heard from Zion: ‘How we’re ruined! Our shame is very great, because we have left the land, because our houses are torn down.’” ²⁰ “Now, you women, hear the message from the LORD; listen to what he has to say! Teach your daughters how to mourn, let every woman teach her friend how to lament.

¹² On all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will come. Indeed, a sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other. There will be no peace for any person.

¹⁷ If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

³³ “Those slain by the LORD on that day will extend from one end of the earth to the other. They won’t be mourned for or gathered up or buried. They’ll be like dung on the surface of the ground. ³⁴ “Scream, you shepherds! Cry out! Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock! Indeed, the time for your slaughter and your dispersion has arrived, and you will break like a choice vessel.

² Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

¹⁶ Because of all this, I weep; my eyes stream with tears because far from me is the comforter of my soul. My children are sorrowful, because the enemy has won.

¹¹ My eyes are worn out from crying, my insides are churning, My emotions pour out in grief because my people are destroyed— Children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

⁴⁸ My eyes run with rivers of tears over the destruction of my cherished people.

³ Even wild animals nurse, suckling their young; but the women of my people are cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness.

⁶ The guilt of my cherished people surpasses the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, without a hand to help her.

¹⁰ With their own hands, compassionate women boil their own children— they become their food— when my beloved people were destroyed.

¹⁶ Fugitives will escape to the mountains like doves fleeing through the valleys, all of them moaning because of their own iniquity. ¹⁷ Every hand will be limp. Every knee will glisten with sweat.”
¹⁸ The Coming Terror“They’ll clothe themselves with sackcloth, terror will overcome them, shame will cover their faces, and baldness will spread over their entire heads.

³⁰ and they will cry so loud you won’t be able to make yourself heard! How bitterly they’ll cry! They’ll throw dust on their heads and wallow in ashes. ³¹ They’ll shave their heads bald because of you. They’ll dress themselves in sackcloth and weep for you with deep bitterness of heart, with the most pitiful of mourning.

¹⁰ I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all of your songs to dirges. I will cause all of you to put on sackcloth and to shave all of your heads. I will make that time like mourning for an only son, and its conclusion will be like the end of a bitter day.”

⁸ The Coming Destruction“Therefore I will cry out and grieve loudly; I will walk around stripped and naked. I will cry out like a jackal and mourn like a company of ostriches. ⁹ For Samaria’s injury is fatal, reaching all the way to Judah, extending even to the gate of my people—to Jerusalem.” ¹⁰ “Don’t discuss it in Gath! Don’t cry bitterly in Akim! Roll in the ashes, Beth-leaphrah!

¹⁰ I will pour out on the house of David and on the residents of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they will look to me—the one whom they pierced.’”
Mourning in JerusalemThen they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son.

¹² As he approached the entrance to the city, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.

⁹ Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.

¹ Advice for Rich PeopleNow listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you.

¹⁸ “As for me, today I’m making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

⁷ Therefore, this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Look, I’m about to refine and test them. Because they’re my people, what else can I do?

²⁰ I’ll make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,”

⁸ So pay attention! I’m going to make you just as obstinate and unyielding as they are. ⁹ I’m making you harder than flint—like diamond! So you are not to fear them or be intimidated by how they look at you, since they’re a rebellious group.”
¹⁰ Ezekiel is Commissioned to SpeakNext, he told me, “Son of Man, take to heart every word that I’m telling you. Listen carefully,

⁴ “Will you judge them? Son of Man, will you indeed judge them? Teach them about the detestable things that their ancestors did.

² “Now, Son of Man, will you truly judge that blood-stained city? Then make her aware of all of her detestable practices.

²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

⁴ “Oh, you sinful nation! You people burdened down by iniquity! You offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil! You corrupt children! “They’ve abandoned the LORD; they’ve despised the Holy One of Israel; in their estrangement, they’ve walked away from me. ⁵ “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? Your whole head is sick, and your whole heart is faint.

⁶ Turn back to him, yes to him whom your people have so greatly betrayed, you people of Israel.

²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.

³⁰ They’re called reject silver, because the LORD has rejected them.

⁴ “Beware of your neighbors, and don’t trust any of your relatives. For all of your relatives act deceitfully, and every friend goes around as a slanderer.

¹⁸ Jeremiah Reacts to the Plot against HimThen they said, “Come, let’s make up a plot against Jeremiah. After all, the priest’s instruction, the wise man’s counsel, and the prophet’s message won’t be destroyed. So let’s verbally attack him. Pay no attention to anything he says!”

¹⁸ “Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace—the dross left over from smelting silver. ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I’m going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem, ²⁰ just like a smelter gathers all the silver, bronze, lead, and tin to the center of a furnace and injects fire in order to melt it, I’m going to gather you in my anger and rage, make you settle down—and then I’m going to melt you down. ²¹ Indeed, I’m going to gather you together and exhale the fire of my fury, and then you’ll be melted from the inside out ²² like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you’ve been melted from the center out, then you’ll know that I am the LORD. I’ll pour out my anger on you.’”

¹⁸ The nations were angry, but the time for your wrath has come. It is time for the dead to be judged— to reward your servants, the prophets, the saints, and all who fear your name, both unimportant and important, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

² His judgments are true and just. He has condemned the notorious prostitute who corrupted the world with her immorality. He has taken revenge on her for the blood of his servants.”

³ The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold— but the LORD assays hearts.

⁴ “I said: ‘I’ve labored for nothing. I’ve exhausted my strength on futility and on emptiness.’ Yet surely my recompense is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

¹³ There is wickedness in your obscene conduct. Even though I’ve cleansed you, your uncleanness cannot be washed away. You cannot be cleansed again until my rage against you has subsided.’

⁷ My people are determined to turn away from me; though they call to the Most High, no one is worshiping.

⁹ And I will bring that surviving third through, testing them as if through fire, purifying them like silver, assaying them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

² But who will survive the day when he comes? Or who can stand when he appears? Because he’s like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap, ³ he will sit refining and purifying silver, purifying the descendants of Levi, refining them like gold and silver. Then they’ll bring a righteous offering to the LORD.

⁷ so that your genuine faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus, the Messiah, is revealed.

¹² Suffering as a ChristianDear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

¹¹⁹ You remove all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore I love your decrees.

⁴ Purge the dross from the silver, and material for a vessel comes forth for the silversmith.

²² Your silver has become dross, your best wine is diluted with water.

²⁵ When I turn my attention to you, I’ll refine your dross as in a furnace. I’ll remove all your alloy.

²⁹ “Cut off your hair and throw it away; let your lamentations rise on the barren heights, because the LORD has rejected and abandoned the generation that is subject to his wrath.

¹⁹ The People Plead to the LORDHave you completely rejected Judah? Do you despise Zion? Why have you struck us, so that there is no healing for us? We hoped for peace, but no good came, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

²² unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us without limit.

¹⁸ “Son of Man, Israel has become like dross to me. All of them are like remnants of bronze, tin, iron, and lead in a furnace—the dross left over from smelting silver. ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘Because all of you have become dross, watch out! I’m going to gather all of you at the center of Jerusalem,

¹⁷ “My God will reject them, because they did not obey him, and they will become wanderers among the nations.”

¹³ Salt and Light in the World
“You are the salt of the world. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.

¹ God’s Love for His PeopleSo I ask, “God has not rejected his people, has he?” Of course not! I am an Israeli myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin.