Jeremiah 21:2
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2 “Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf, for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will perform a wonderful deed for us, as he has often done, and Nebuchadrezzar[a] will withdraw.”(A)
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- 21.2 Heb he
Jeremiah 37:3
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3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”(A)
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Ezekiel 20:1-3
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Israel’s Continuing Rebellion
20 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain elders of Israel came to consult the Lord and sat down before me.(A) 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 Mortal, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Why are you coming? To consult me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.
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Jeremiah 37:7
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7 Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.(A)
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Jeremiah 42:4-6
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4 The prophet Jeremiah said to them, “Very well: I am going to pray to the Lord your God as you request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you; I will keep nothing back from you.”(A) 5 They in their turn said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to everything that the Lord your God sends us through you. 6 Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, in order that it may go well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”(B)
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Psalm 44:1-4
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Psalm 44
National Lament and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.
1 We have heard with our ears, O God;
our ancestors have told us
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:(A)
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;(B)
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm give them victory,
but your right hand, and your arm,
and the light of your countenance,
for you delighted in them.(C)
4 You are my King and my God;
you command[a] victories for Jacob.
Footnotes
- 44.4 Gk Syr: Heb You are my King, O God; command
1 Kings 14:2-3
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2 Jeroboam said to his wife, “Go, disguise yourself so that it will not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh, for the prophet Ahijah is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people.(A) 3 Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him; he will tell you what shall happen to the child.”(B)
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1 Samuel 28:15
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15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams, so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do.”(A)
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1 Samuel 28:6
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6 When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams or by Urim or by prophets.(A)
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Judges 20:27
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27 And the Israelites inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,(A)
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Ezekiel 14:3-7
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3 Mortal, these men have taken their idols into their hearts and placed their iniquity as a stumbling block before them; shall I let myself be consulted by them?(A) 4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Any of those of the house of Israel who take their idols into their hearts and place their iniquity as a stumbling block before them and yet come to the prophet, I the Lord will answer those who come with the multitude of their idols, 5 in order that I may take hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom are estranged from me through their idols.(B)
6 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.(C) 7 For any of those of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside in Israel who separate themselves from me, taking their idols into their hearts and placing their iniquity as a stumbling block before them and yet come to a prophet to inquire of me by him, I the Lord will answer them myself.(D)
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Jeremiah 52:3-6
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3 Indeed, Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord that he expelled them from his presence.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.(A) 4 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and they laid siege to it; they built siegeworks against it all around.(B) 5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.(C)
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Jeremiah 39:1-2
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The Fall of Jerusalem
39 This is how Jerusalem was captured:[a] in the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it;(A) 2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.(B)
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Jeremiah 38:14-27
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Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.”(A) 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”(B) 16 So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life.”(C)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.(D) 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.”(E) 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them, and they would abuse me.”(F) 20 Jeremiah said, “That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.(G) 21 But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me: 22 a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying,
‘Your trusted friends have seduced you
and have overcome you.
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
they desert you.’(H)
23 “All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”(I)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die. 25 If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you and come and say to you, ‘Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?’(J) 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”(K) 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.(L)
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Jeremiah 32:24
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24 See, the siege ramps have been cast up against the city to take it, and the city, faced with sword, famine, and pestilence, has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has happened, as you yourself can see.(A)
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Jeremiah 32:17
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17 “Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.(A)
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Isaiah 59:1-2
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Injustice and Oppression to Be Punished
59 See, the Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(A)
2 Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.(B)
Psalm 136
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 136
God’s Work in Creation and in History
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(B)
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(C)
5 who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(D)
6 who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(E)
7 who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(F)
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(G)
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(H)
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(I)
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(J)
13 who divided the Red Sea[a] in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(K)
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(L)
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,[b]
for his steadfast love endures forever;(M)
16 who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(N)
who made water flow from the rock,
for his steadfast love endures forever;[c]
17 who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(O)
18 and killed famous kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(P)
22 a heritage to his servant Israel,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(Q)
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(R)
25 who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(S)
26 O give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 105:5-45
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,(A)
6 O offspring of his servant Abraham,[a]
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.(B)
8 He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,(C)
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,(D)
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”(E)
12 When they were few in number,
of little account and strangers in it,(F)
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,(G)
15 saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.”
16 When he summoned famine against the land
and cut off every supply of bread,[b](H)
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.(I)
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;(J)
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord kept testing him.(K)
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.(L)
21 He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,(M)
22 to instruct[c] his officials at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.(N)
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes,(O)
25 whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.(P)
26 He sent his servant Moses
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.(Q)
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.(R)
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark;
they rebelled[d] against his words.(S)
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.(T)
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.(U)
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
and gnats throughout their country.(V)
32 He gave them hail for rain
and lightning that flashed through their land.(W)
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;(X)
35 they devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.(Y)
37 Then he brought Israel[e] out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.(Z)
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.(AA)
39 He spread a cloud for a covering
and fire to give light by night.(AB)
40 They asked, and he brought quails
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.(AC)
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.(AD)
42 For he remembered his holy promise
and Abraham, his servant.(AE)
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,(AF)
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!(AG)
Psalm 48:4-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 Then the kings assembled;
they came on together.(A)
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight;(B)
6 trembling took hold of them there,
pains as of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind shatters
the ships of Tarshish.(C)
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God establishes forever. Selah
Psalm 46:8-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.(A)
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.(B)
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth.”(C)
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.[a] Selah
Footnotes
- 46.11 Or fortress
2 Chronicles 32:21
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21 And the Lord sent an angel who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in disgrace to his own land. When he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword.(A)
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2 Chronicles 20:1-30
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Invasion from the East
20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Messengers[b] came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,[c] from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).(A) 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.(B) 4 Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.(C) 7 Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?(D) 8 They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[d] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.’(E) 10 See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy,(F) 11 they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.(G) 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”(H)
13 Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.(I) 15 He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.(J) 16 Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”(K)
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.(L) 19 And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”(M) 21 When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”(N)
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.(O) 23 For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.(P)
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found livestock[e] in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the spoil because of its abundance. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah[f] to this day. 27 Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.(Q) 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. 29 The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.(R) 30 And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.(S)
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2 Chronicles 14:9-13
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Ethiopian Invasion Repulsed
9 Zerah the Cushite came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and came as far as Mareshah.(A) 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is no difference for you between helping the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let no mortal prevail against you.”(B) 12 So the Lord defeated the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.(C) 13 Asa and the army with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Cushites fell until no one remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The people of Judah[a] carried away a great quantity of spoil.(D)
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- 14.13 Heb They
2 Kings 25:1-2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
25 1
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