POPULARITY
Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 115 Psalm 115 (Listen) To Your Name Give Glory 115 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel,1 trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;13 he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great. 14 May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence.18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 23:1–30 2 Kings 23:1–30 (Listen) Josiah's Reforms 23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.1 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.2 And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down and broke in pieces3 and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,4 reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted5 these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the LORD to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah Restores the Passover 21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. 26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Josiah's Death in Battle 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place. Footnotes [1] 23:10 Hebrew might cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire for Molech [2] 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 23:12 Hebrew pieces from there [4] 23:15 Septuagint broke in pieces its stones [5] 23:17 Hebrew called (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:18–16:15 John 15:18–16:15 (Listen) The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,1 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. The Work of the Holy Spirit “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Footnotes [1] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)
Audio Bible Old Testament Ecclesiastes to Malachi, King James Version
église AB Lausanne ; KJV Isaiah 15 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, weeping abundantly. And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will bring more upon Dimon, lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. ...
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 9:11–10:18 Hebrews 9:11–10:18 (Listen) Redemption Through the Blood of Christ 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,1 then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify2 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our3 conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.4 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. &
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 87 Psalm 87 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah 4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1— “This one was born there,” they say.5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
Morning: Isaiah 13–15 Isaiah 13–15 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty [2] 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9 [3] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike [4] 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces [5] 13:21 Or owls [6] 13:22 Or foxes [7] 14:2 Or servants [8] 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain [9] 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon [10] 14:18 Hebrew house [11] 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl [12] 15:2 Hebrew the house [13] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [14] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) Evening: Galatians 6 Galatians 6 (Listen) Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes
Isaiah 13–17 Isaiah 13–17 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them15 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
Isaiah 13–17 Isaiah 13–17 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them15 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
With family: Numbers 25; Psalm 68 Numbers 25 (Listen) Baal Worship at Peor 25 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang1 them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. The Zeal of Phinehas 10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'” 14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian. 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.” Footnotes [1] 25:4 Or impale (ESV) Psalm 68 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! 4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God,1 the God of Israel.9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;10 your flock2 found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. 15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” 24 Your procession is4 seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—25 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you5 who are of Israel's fountain!”27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28 Summon your power, O God,6 the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.731 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.35 Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 [4] 68:24 Or has been [5] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here [6] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power [7] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [8] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your (ESV) In private: Isaiah 15; 1 Peter 3 Isaiah 15 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)
Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 107 Psalm 107 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble13 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! 23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.228 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.30 Then they were glad that the waters3 were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe [2] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [3] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Leviticus 14:1–32 Leviticus 14:1–32 (Listen) Laws for Cleansing Lepers 14 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live1 clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh2 water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. 8 And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. 9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. 10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah3 of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log4 of oil. 11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 13 And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. 19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; 22 also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whichever he can afford. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30 And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons, whichever he can afford, 31 one5 for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who is being cleansed. 32 This is the law for him in whom is a case of leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.” Footnotes [1] 14:4 Or wild [2] 14:5 Or running; Hebrew living; also verses 6, 50, 51, 52 [3] 14:10 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [4] 14:10 A log was about 1/3 quart or 0.3 liter [5] 14:31 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew afford, 31such as he can afford, one (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 2 Corinthians 10:13–12:13 2 Corinthians 10:13–12:13 (Listen) 13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. 17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. Paul and the False Apostles 11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am uns
Preacher: Kathy Maskell Scripture: Isaiah 13-23 A Prophecy Against Babylon 13 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: 2 Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded those I prepared for battle; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath— those who rejoice in my triumph. 4 Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war. 5 They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens— the Lord and the weapons of his wrath— to destroy the whole country. 6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[a] 7 Because of this, all hands will go limp, every heart will melt with fear. 8 Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. 9 See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. 10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. 12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. 14 Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land. 15 Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. 16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. 17 See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. 18 Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. 19 Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians,[b] will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; there no nomads will pitch their tents, there no shepherds will rest their flocks. 21 But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about. 22 Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged. 14 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob. 2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. 3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury[c] has ended! 5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, 6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. 7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. 8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.” 9 The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations. 10 They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” 11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. 12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[d] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. 16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, 17 the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” 18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. 19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, 20 you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again. 21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities. 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord. 23 “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty. 24 The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. 25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” 26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? A Prophecy Against the Philistines 28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died: 29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent. 30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors. 31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks. 32 What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? “The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.” A Prophecy Against Moab 15 A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! 2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off. 3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint. 5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction. 6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left. 7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars. 8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim. 9 The waters of Dimon[e] are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon[f]— a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land. 16 Send lambs as tribute to the ruler of the land, from Sela, across the desert, to the mount of Daughter Zion. 2 Like fluttering birds pushed from the nest, so are the women of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Make up your mind,” Moab says. “Render a decision. Make your shadow like night— at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. 4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer.” The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. 5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house[g] of David— one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. 6 We have heard of Moab's pride— how great is her arrogance!— of her conceit, her pride and her insolence; but her boasts are empty. 7 Therefore the Moabites wail, they wail together for Moab. Lament and grieve for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. 8 The fields of Heshbon wither, the vines of Sibmah also. The rulers of the nations have trampled down the choicest vines, which once reached Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots spread out and went as far as the sea.[h] 9 So I weep, as Jazer weeps, for the vines of Sibmah. Heshbon and Elealeh, I drench you with tears! The shouts of joy over your ripened fruit and over your harvests have been stilled. 10 Joy and gladness are taken away from the orchards; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards; no one treads out wine at the presses, for I have put an end to the shouting. 11 My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth. 12 When Moab appears at her high place, she only wears herself out; when she goes to her shrine to pray, it is to no avail. 13 This is the word the Lord has already spoken concerning Moab. 14 But now the Lord says: “Within three years, as a servant bound by contract would count them, Moab's splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.” A Prophecy Against Damascus 17 A prophecy against Damascus: “See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. 2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid. 3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus; the remnant of Aram will be like the glory of the Israelites,” declares the Lord Almighty. 4 “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away. 5 It will be as when reapers harvest the standing grain, gathering the grain in their arms— as when someone gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs,” declares the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. 8 They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles[i] and the incense altars their fingers have made. 9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation. 10 You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, 11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain. 12 Woe to the many nations that rage— they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar— they roar like the roaring of great waters! 13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale. 14 In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us. A Prophecy Against Cush 18 Woe to the land of whirring wings[j] along the rivers of Cush,[k] 2 which sends envoys by sea in papyrus boats over the water. Go, swift messengers, to a people tall and smooth-skinned, to a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers. 3 All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it. 4 This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” 5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives, and cut down and take away the spreading branches. 6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild animals; the birds will feed on them all summer, the wild animals all winter. 7 At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers— the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the Lord Almighty. A Prophecy Against Egypt 19 A prophecy against Egypt: See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear. 2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. 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, the Lord Almighty. 5 The waters of the river will dry up, and the riverbed will be parched and dry. 6 The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up. The reeds and rushes will wither, 7 also the plants along the Nile, at the mouth of the river. Every sown field along the Nile will become parched, will blow away and be no more. 8 The fishermen will groan and lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile; those who throw nets on the water will pine away. 9 Those who work with combed flax will despair, the weavers of fine linen will lose hope. 10 The workers in cloth will be dejected, and all the wage earners will be sick at heart. 11 The officials of Zoan are nothing but fools; the wise counselors of Pharaoh give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise men, a disciple of the ancient kings”? 12 Where are your wise men now? Let them show you and make known what the Lord Almighty has planned against Egypt. 13 The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray. 14 The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit. 15 There is nothing Egypt can do— head or tail, palm branch or reed. 16 In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LordAlmighty raises against them. 17 And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the Lord Almighty is planning against them. 18 In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty. One of them will be called the City of the Sun.[l] 19 In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20 It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing[m] on the earth. 25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” A Prophecy Against Egypt and Cush 20 In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it— 2 at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot. 3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portentagainst Egypt and Cush,[n] 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?'” A Prophecy Against Babylon 21 A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. 2 A dire vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam, attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused. 3 At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. 4 My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me. 5 They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields! 6 This is what the Lord says to me: “Go, post a lookout and have him report what he sees. 7 When he sees chariots with teams of horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully alert.” 8 And the lookout[o] shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. 9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'” 10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel. A Prophecy Against Edom 11 A prophecy against Dumah[p]: Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” 12 The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.” A Prophecy Against Arabia 13 A prophecy against Arabia: You caravans of Dedanites, who camp in the thickets of Arabia, 14 bring water for the thirsty; you who live in Tema, bring food for the fugitives. 15 They flee from the sword, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow and from the heat of battle. 16 This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end. 17 The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken. A Prophecy About Jerusalem 22 A prophecy against the Valley of Vision: What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, 2 you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together; they have been captured without using the bow. All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away. 4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.” 5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains. 6 Elam takes up the quiver, with her charioteers and horses; Kir uncovers the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates. 8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah, and you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest. 9 You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 11 You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. 12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” 14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty. 15 This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna the palace administrator: 16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock? 17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man. 18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there the chariots you were so proud of will become a disgrace to your master's house. 19 I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position. 20 “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sasharound him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat[q] of honor for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars. 25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken. A Prophecy Against Tyre 23 A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them. 2 Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched. 3 On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile[r] was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations. 4 Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.” 5 When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre. 6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island. 7 Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands? 8 Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? 9 The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth. 10 Till[s] your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor. 11 The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed. 12 He said, “No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed! “Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.” 13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[t] this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin. 14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed! 15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king's life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.” 17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord;they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 115 Psalm 115 (Listen) To Your Name Give Glory 115 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel,1 trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;13 he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great. 14 May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence.18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 23:1–30 2 Kings 23:1–30 (Listen) Josiah's Reforms 23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.1 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.2 And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down and broke in pieces3 and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,4 reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted5 these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the LORD to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah Restores the Passover 21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. 26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Josiah's Death in Battle 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place. Footnotes [1] 23:10 Hebrew might cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire for Molech [2] 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 23:12 Hebrew pieces from there [4] 23:15 Septuagint broke in pieces its stones [5] 23:17 Hebrew called (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:18–16:15 John 15:18–16:15 (Listen) The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,1 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. The Work of the Holy Spirit “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Footnotes [1] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 9:11–10:18 Hebrews 9:11–10:18 (Listen) Redemption Through the Blood of Christ 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,1 then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify2 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our3 conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.4 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. &
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 87 Psalm 87 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah 4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1— “This one was born there,” they say.5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
Morning: Isaiah 13–15 Isaiah 13–15 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty [2] 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9 [3] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike [4] 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces [5] 13:21 Or owls [6] 13:22 Or foxes [7] 14:2 Or servants [8] 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain [9] 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon [10] 14:18 Hebrew house [11] 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl [12] 15:2 Hebrew the house [13] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [14] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) Evening: Galatians 6 Galatians 6 (Listen) Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes
Isaiah 13–17 Isaiah 13–17 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them15 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
Isaiah 13–17 Isaiah 13–17 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them15 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
With family: Numbers 25; Psalm 68 Numbers 25 (Listen) Baal Worship at Peor 25 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang1 them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. The Zeal of Phinehas 10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'” 14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian. 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.” Footnotes [1] 25:4 Or impale (ESV) Psalm 68 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! 4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God,1 the God of Israel.9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;10 your flock2 found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. 15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” 24 Your procession is4 seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—25 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you5 who are of Israel's fountain!”27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28 Summon your power, O God,6 the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.731 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.35 Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 [4] 68:24 Or has been [5] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here [6] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power [7] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [8] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your (ESV) In private: Isaiah 15; 1 Peter 3 Isaiah 15 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)
Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 107 Psalm 107 (Listen) Book Five Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So 107 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble13 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in;5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in.8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help.13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart.15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! 23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters;24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep.25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end.228 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.30 Then they were glad that the waters3 were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground,34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in;37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield.38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes;41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks.42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. Footnotes [1] 107:2 Or from the hand of the foe [2] 107:27 Hebrew and all their wisdom was swallowed up [3] 107:30 Hebrew they (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Leviticus 14:1–32 Leviticus 14:1–32 (Listen) Laws for Cleansing Lepers 14 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, 3 and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, 4 the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live1 clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. 5 And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh2 water. 6 He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. 7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. 8 And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. 9 And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. 10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah3 of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log4 of oil. 11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 13 And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. 14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand 16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. 17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. 18 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD. 19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, and a log of oil; 22 also two turtledoves or two pigeons, whichever he can afford. The one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering. 23 And on the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, before the LORD. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. 26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand, 27 and shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD. 28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, in the place where the blood of the guilt offering was put. 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the LORD. 30 And he shall offer, of the turtledoves or pigeons, whichever he can afford, 31 one5 for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, along with a grain offering. And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who is being cleansed. 32 This is the law for him in whom is a case of leprous disease, who cannot afford the offerings for his cleansing.” Footnotes [1] 14:4 Or wild [2] 14:5 Or running; Hebrew living; also verses 6, 50, 51, 52 [3] 14:10 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters [4] 14:10 A log was about 1/3 quart or 0.3 liter [5] 14:31 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew afford, 31such as he can afford, one (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 2 Corinthians 10:13–12:13 2 Corinthians 10:13–12:13 (Listen) 13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. 17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. Paul and the False Apostles 11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am uns
Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 115 Psalm 115 (Listen) To Your Name Give Glory 115 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel,1 trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;13 he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great. 14 May the LORD give you increase, you and your children!15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.17 The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence.18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 23:1–30 2 Kings 23:1–30 (Listen) Josiah's Reforms 23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.1 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.2 And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down and broke in pieces3 and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,4 reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted5 these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the LORD to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah Restores the Passover 21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. 26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Josiah's Death in Battle 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place. Footnotes [1] 23:10 Hebrew might cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire for Molech [2] 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 23:12 Hebrew pieces from there [4] 23:15 Septuagint broke in pieces its stones [5] 23:17 Hebrew called (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:18–16:15 John 15:18–16:15 (Listen) The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,1 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. The Work of the Holy Spirit “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Footnotes [1] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 87 Psalm 87 (Listen) Glorious Things of You Are Spoken A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song. 87 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.3 Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah 4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush1— “This one was born there,” they say.5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.
Old Testament: Isaiah 15–19 Isaiah 15–19 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them4 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.11 Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab, and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.2 The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts. 4 And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5 And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.6 Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11 though you make them grow5 on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away6 in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13 The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.14 At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18 Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush,72 which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters! Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide. 3 All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!4 For thus the LORD said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5 For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6 They shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the birds of prey will summer on them, and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and smooth, from a people feared near and far, a nation mighty and conquering, whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2 And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3 and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound8 their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;4 and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5 And the waters of the sea will be dried up, and the river will be dry and parched,6 and its canals will become foul, and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up, reeds and rushes will rot away.7 There will be bare places by the Nile, on the brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched, will be driven away, and will be no more.8 The fishermen will mourn and lament, all who cast a hook in the Nile; and they will languish who spread nets on the water.9 The workers in combed flax will be in despair, and the weavers of white cotton.10 Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed, and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11 The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish; the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?12 Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13 The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger.14 The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.9 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them [5] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [6] 17:11 Or will be a heap [7] 18:1 Probably Nubia [8] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [9] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun (ESV) New Testament: Hebrews 9:11–10:18 Hebrews 9:11–10:18 (Listen) Redemption Through the Blood of Christ 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,1 then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify2 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our3 conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.4 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. &
Morning: Isaiah 13–15 Isaiah 13–15 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty [2] 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9 [3] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike [4] 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces [5] 13:21 Or owls [6] 13:22 Or foxes [7] 14:2 Or servants [8] 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain [9] 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon [10] 14:18 Hebrew house [11] 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl [12] 15:2 Hebrew the house [13] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [14] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) Evening: Galatians 6 Galatians 6 (Listen) Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which2 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes [1]
Isaiah 15 NLT read aloud by Simon MacFarlane. 1 This message came to me concerning Moab: In one night the town of Ar will be leveled, and the city of Kir will be destroyed. 2 Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards. 3 They will wear burlap as they wander the streets. From every home and public square will come the sound of wailing. 4 The people of Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out; their voices will be heard as far away as Jahaz! The bravest warriors of Moab will cry out in utter terror. They will be helpless with fear. 5 My heart weeps for Moab. Its people flee to Zoar and Eglath-shelishiyah. Weeping, they climb the road to Luhith. Their cries of distress can be heard all along the road to Horonaim. 6 Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up! The grassy banks are scorched. The tender plants are gone; nothing green remains. 7 The people grab their possessions and carry them across the Ravine of Willows. 8 A cry of distress echoes through the land of Moab from one end to the other— from Eglaim to Beer-elim. 9 The stream near Dibon runs red with blood, but I am still not finished with Dibon! Lions will hunt down the survivors— both those who try to escape and those who remain behind.
Isaiah 13–17 Isaiah 13–17 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2 On a bare hill raise a signal; cry aloud to them; wave the hand for them to enter the gates of the nobles.3 I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.1 4 The sound of a tumult is on the mountains as of a great multitude! The sound of an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The LORD of hosts is mustering a host for battle.5 They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.2 6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16 Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold.18 Their bows will slaughter4 the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity children.19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches5 will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.22 Hyenas6 will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury8 ceased!5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers,6 that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.8 The cypresses rejoice at you, the cedars of Lebanon, saying, ‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.'9 Sheol beneath is stirred up to meet you when you come; it rouses the shades to greet you, all who were leaders of the earth; it raises from their thrones all who were kings of the nations.10 All of them will answer and say to you: ‘You too have become as weak as we! You have become like us!'11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, the sound of your harps; maggots are laid as a bed beneath you, and worms are your covers. 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;914 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?'18 All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb;1019 but you are cast out, away from your grave, like a loathed branch, clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a dead body trampled underfoot.20 You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, you have slain your people. “May the offspring of evildoers nevermore be named!21 Prepare slaughter for his sons because of the guilt of their fathers, lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24 The LORD of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and on my mountains trample him underfoot; and his yoke shall depart from them, and his burden from their shoulder.” 26 This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.27 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30 And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay.31 Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32 What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The LORD has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,12 and to Dibon, to the high places13 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon14 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land.16 Send the lamb to the ruler of the land, from Sela, by way of the desert, to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2 Like fleeing birds, like a scattered nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. 3 “Give counsel; grant justice; make your shade like night at the height of noon; shelter the outcasts; do not reveal the fugitive;4 let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them15 from the destroyer. When the oppressor is no more, and destruction has ceased, and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5 then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.” 6 We have heard of the pride of Moab— how proud he is!— of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; in his idle boasting he is not right.7 Therefore let Moab wail for Moab, let everyone wail. Mourn, utterly stricken, for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea.9 Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
With family: Numbers 25; Psalm 68 Numbers 25 (Listen) Baal Worship at Peor 25 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang1 them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. The Zeal of Phinehas 10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’” 14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian. 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.” Footnotes [1] 25:4 Or impale (ESV) Psalm 68 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God!3 But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! 4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God,1 the God of Israel.9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;10 your flock2 found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. 15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that God desired for his abode, yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22 The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23 that you may strike your feet in their blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” 24 Your procession is4 seen, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—25 the singers in front, the musicians last, between them virgins playing tambourines:26 “Bless God in the great congregation, the LORD, O you5 who are of Israel’s fountain!”27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in their throng, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28 Summon your power, O God,6 the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings shall bear gifts to you.30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute; scatter the peoples who delight in war.731 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.35 Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary; the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God! Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 [4] 68:24 Or has been [5] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here [6] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power [7] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [8] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your (ESV) In private: Isaiah 15; 1 Peter 3 Isaiah 15 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone; because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night, Moab is undone.2 He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon, to the high places2 to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;3 in the streets they wear sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares everyone wails and melts in tears.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.5 My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee to Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horonaim they raise a cry of destruction;6 the waters of Nimrim are a desolation; the grass is withered, the vegetation fails, the greenery is no more.7 Therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the Brook of the Willows.8 For a cry has gone around the land of Moab; her wailing reaches to Eglaim; her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9 For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood; for I will bring upon Dibon even more, a lion for those of Moab who escape, for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)
today's video is an extension of Sea of Galilee part 8: In this video, we dig deeper into the number 153 from John 21:11 and how this is connected to two words in Ezekiel 47:10 - Gedi and Eglaim. Finally, we explore another example of 153 and the Hebrew phrase 'Sons of God' and how scholars connect this to the overall message of John's Gospel. Support our work: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries Class Handout: https://www.figtreeteaching.com/faith-lessons/153-fish YouTube: https://youtu.be/rNkc1AZgEV4 Resource: Richard Bauckham - The 153 Fish and the Unity of the Fourth Gospel Neotestamentica, 2002, Vol. 36, No. 1/2, Word, Sacrament, and Community (2002), pp 77-88. 2:40 En Gedi (the spring of Gedi) 7:32 Review John 21:11 9:32 Triangular Numbers 12:52 Ezekiel 47:10 - River of Life 13:43 En Gedi and En Eglaim 18:23 John and Ezekiel 19:32 John 7:37-38 24:29 Hebrew Alphabet 29:10 Gedi = 17 30:00 Eglaim = 153 33:53 Sons of God = 153 35:31 John 1:12 'Children of God' 37:16 Richard Bauckham 38:21 Meaning of 153
Isaiah 14 (NIV) 1 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land. Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob. 2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place. And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land. They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors. 3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury[a] has ended! 5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, 6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. 7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. 8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.” 9 The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations. 10 They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” 11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. 12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b] 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. 16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, 17 the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?” 18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. 19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, 20 you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again. 21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities. 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,” declares the Lord. 23 “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty. 24 The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. 25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” 26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? A Prophecy Against the Philistines 28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died: 29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken; from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent. 30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety. But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors. 31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks. 32 What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? “The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.” Footnotes: [a] Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain. [b] Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites. Isaiah 15 (NIV) A Prophecy Against Moab 1 A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! 2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off. 3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint. 5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction. 6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left. 7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars. 8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim. 9 The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]— a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land. Footnotes: [a] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood. [b] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
Isaiah 14 (NIV)1 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place.And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land.They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury[a] has ended!5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows,and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say,“Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”9 The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming;it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world;it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations.10 They will all respond, they will say to you,“You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps;maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens;I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate:“Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,17 the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch;you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit.Like a corpse trampled underfoot,20 you will not join them in burial,for you have destroyed your land and killed your people.Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again.21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors;they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty.“I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,”declares the Lord.23 “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland;I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty.24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down.His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?A Prophecy Against the Philistines28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken;from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety.But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors.31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines!A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks.32 What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation?“The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.[b] Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.Isaiah 15 (NIV)A Prophecy Against Moab1 A prophecy against Moab:Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba.Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squaresthey all wail, prostrate with weeping.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go;on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered;the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.9 The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]—a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.[b] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.
Isaiah 14 (NIV)1 The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and will settle them in their own land.Foreigners will join them and unite with the descendants of Jacob.2 Nations will take them and bring them to their own place.And Israel will take possession of the nations and make them male and female servants in the Lord's land.They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors.3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury[a] has ended!5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers,6 which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows,and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression.7 All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing.8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say,“Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.”9 The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming;it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you— all those who were leaders in the world;it makes them rise from their thrones— all those who were kings over the nations.10 They will all respond, they will say to you,“You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.”11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps;maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you.12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens;I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate:“Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble,17 the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?”18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb.19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch;you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit.Like a corpse trampled underfoot,20 you will not join them in burial,for you have destroyed your land and killed your people.Let the offspring of the wicked never be mentioned again.21 Prepare a place to slaughter his children for the sins of their ancestors;they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities.22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the Lord Almighty.“I will wipe out Babylon's name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,”declares the Lord.23 “I will turn her into a place for owls and into swampland;I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord Almighty.24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.25 I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down.His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”26 This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?A Prophecy Against the Philistines28 This prophecy came in the year King Ahaz died:29 Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken;from the root of that snake will spring up a viper, its fruit will be a darting, venomous serpent.30 The poorest of the poor will find pasture, and the needy will lie down in safety.But your root I will destroy by famine; it will slay your survivors.31 Wail, you gate! Howl, you city! Melt away, all you Philistines!A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks.32 What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation?“The Lord has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge.”Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 14:4 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.[b] Isaiah 14:13 Or of the north; Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.Isaiah 15 (NIV)A Prophecy Against Moab1 A prophecy against Moab:Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba.Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squaresthey all wail, prostrate with weeping.4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz.Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah.They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go;on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered;the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.9 The waters of Dimon[a] are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon[b]—a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.Footnotes:[a] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.[b] Isaiah 15:9 Dimon, a wordplay on Dibon (see verse 2), sounds like the Hebrew for blood.