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Anguish over Judah's Desolation
19 (A)My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 (B)Crash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
(C)Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For (D)my people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
(E)They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was (F)without form and void;
(G)and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on (H)the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 (I)I looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the (J)fruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before (K)his fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; (L)yet I will not make a full end.
28 (M)“For this the earth shall mourn,
(N)and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
(O)I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and (P)no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
(Q)that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
(R)that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
(S)Your lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard (T)a cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
(U)stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”
Jerusalem Refused to Repent
5 (V)Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look and take note!
Search her squares to see
(W)if you can find a man,
one who does justice
and seeks truth,
(X)that I may pardon her.
2 (Y)Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
(Z)yet they swear falsely.
3 O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
(AA)You have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
(AB)They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;
they have no sense;
(AC)for they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
5 I will go to the great
and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.”
(AD)But they all alike had broken the yoke;
they had burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (AE)a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
a (AF)wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
(AG)A leopard is watching their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
their (AH)apostasies are great.
7 (AI)“How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
(AJ)and have sworn by those who are no gods.
(AK)When I fed them to the full,
(AL)they committed adultery
(AM)and trooped to the houses of whores.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
(AN)each neighing (AO)for his neighbor's wife.
9 (AP)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 (AQ)“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
(AR)but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord's.
11 (AS)For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly treacherous to me,
declares the Lord.
12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord
and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
(AT)no disaster will come upon us,
(AU)nor shall we see sword or famine.
13 The prophets will become wind;
the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”
The Lord Proclaims Judgment
14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, (AV)I am making my words in your mouth (AW)a fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 (AX)Behold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
(AY)nor can you understand what they say.
16 (AZ)Their quiver is like (BA)an open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 (BB)They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your (BC)fortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the Lord, (BD)I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, (BE)‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, (BF)so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21 “Hear this, (BG)O foolish and senseless people,
(BH)who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 (BI)Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand (BJ)as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though (BK)they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 (BL)But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
(BM)who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
(BN)the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 (BO)Your iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
(BP)they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.[a]
(BQ)They set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 (BR)they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
(BS)they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 (BT)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30 An appalling and (BU)horrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 (BV)the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
(BW)my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
Impending Disaster for Jerusalem
6 Flee for safety, (BX)O people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in (BY)Tekoa,
and raise a signal on (BZ)Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms (CA)out of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
(CB)the daughter of Zion.[b]
3 (CC)Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
(CD)they shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 (CE)“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack (CF)at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
(CG)“Cut down her trees;
(CH)cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be (CI)punished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 (CJ)As a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
(CK)violence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
(CL)lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you (CM)a desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
(CN)“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 (CO)To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
(CP)Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
(CQ)they cannot listen;
behold, (CR)the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
(CS)I am weary of holding it in.
(CT)“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
(CU)both husband and wife (CV)shall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 (CW)Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 (CX)“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone (CY)is greedy for unjust gain;
and from (CZ)prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, (DA)‘Peace, peace,’
(DB)when there is no peace.
15 (DC)Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
(DD)at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
18 And (A)he is the head of the body, the church. He is (B)the beginning, (C)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For (D)in him all the (E)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and (F)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, (G)making peace (H)by the blood of his cross.
21 (I)And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, (J)doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled (K)in his body of flesh by his death, (L)in order to present you holy and blameless and (M)above reproach before him, 23 (N)if indeed you continue in the faith, (O)stable and steadfast, not shifting from (P)the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed (Q)in all creation[a] under heaven, (R)and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul's Ministry to the Church
24 Now (S)I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (T)I am filling up (U)what is lacking in Christ's afflictions (V)for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 (W)of which I became a minister according to (X)the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 (Y)the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 (Z)To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are (AA)the riches of the glory of (AB)this mystery, which is Christ in you, (AC)the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that (AD)we may present everyone (AE)mature in Christ. 29 For this (AF)I toil, (AG)struggling (AH)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
2 For I want you to know (AI)how great a (AJ)struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that (AK)their hearts may be encouraged, being (AL)knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of (AM)God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 (AN)in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order (AO)that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For (AP)though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your (AQ)good order and (AR)the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Alive in Christ
6 (AS)Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 (AT)rooted and (AU)built up in him and (AV)established in the faith, just (AW)as you were taught, abounding (AX)in thanksgiving.
In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of (B)Asaph.
77 I (C)cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 (D)In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in (E)the night my (F)hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul (G)refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I (H)moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so (I)troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider (J)the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said,[a] “Let me remember my (K)song in the night;
let me (L)meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord (M)spurn forever,
and never again (N)be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his (O)promises at an end for all time?
9 (P)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
(Q)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will (S)remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your (T)work,
and meditate on your (U)mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is (V)holy.
(W)What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who (X)works wonders;
you have (Y)made known your might among the peoples.
15 You (Z)with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When (AA)the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies (AB)gave forth thunder;
your (AC)arrows flashed on every side.
18 (AD)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
(AE)your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth (AF)trembled and shook.
19 Your (AG)way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints (AH)were unseen.[c]
20 You (AI)led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
More Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of (A)the wise.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.