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The Restoration of Judah and Israel
10 Ask for rain from the Lord
during the season of the latter spring rains.
And the Lord will make the storm winds;
and He will give them showers of rain;
all will have vegetation in the field.
2 For the household Teraphim idols speak wickedness,
and the diviners envision lies.
They utter false dreams,
and provide comfort that does not last.
So the people wander about like sheep;
they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
3 My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will visit judgment on the male goats.
For the Lord of Hosts will visit His flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
4 From him comes the cornerstone,
and from him the tent peg.
From him comes the bow for battle,
and from him every ruler goes out, all these together.
5 And they will be as mighty men,
who trample down in the muddy streets in battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and He will put to shame those riding on horses.
6 I will make strong the house of Judah,
and will deliver the house of Joseph.
I will restore them
because I have compassion on them.
They will be like
I had never rejected them;
for I am the Lord their God,
and I will respond to them.
7 Then Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
and their hearts shall rejoice as with wine.
Their children shall see this and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will whistle to them
and gather them in,
for I have ransomed them;
they will be numerous as they were numerous before.
9 When I scatter them among the nations,
they will remember Me in the distant lands;
they will live with their children
and then return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
until there is no room for them.
11 He will pass through the sea of distress,
and will put down the waves in the sea:
All the depths of the Nile will be dried up;
and the arrogance of Assyria will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will turn away.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
and they will go to and fro in His name,
says the Lord.
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
so the fire can consume your cedar.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen;
the majestic trees are destroyed.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
because the unassailable forest has been brought down.
3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds,
because their glory is ruined.
There is the sound of roaring lions,
because the pride of Jordan is ruined.
Two Kinds of Shepherds
4 Thus says the Lord my God: Shepherd the flock of slaughter. 5 The ones who buy them then slaughter them and have no guilt, and those who sell them say, “Blessed is the Lord because I am rich.” Their own shepherds do not take pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on those who dwell in the land, says the Lord. But I will cause each of them to fall into the hands of his neighbor, even into the hands of his king. They will crush the land, and I will not deliver any from their hands.
7 So I shepherded the flock that was for slaughter, even the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs. One I called Favor and the other I gave the name Union. So I pastured the flock. 8 I destroyed the three shepherds in the span of one month.
For my soul was impatient with them, and their souls detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will not shepherd you. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. Let those who are left devour each other’s flesh.”
10 I took the staff named Favor and cut it into pieces, to break the covenant that I made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken that day, and the afflicted of the flock were watching me and knew that this was the word of the Lord.
12 Then I said to them, “If this is good in your eyes, then give my wages to me, but if not, then keep it.” They weighed my wages at thirty pieces of silver.
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, the splendid price by which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty silver pieces and threw them to the house of the Lord to the potter.
14 Then I cut up the second staff, Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 Then the Lord said to me: Take for yourself again the vessels carried by a foolish shepherd. 16 I am raising up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor feed those who are standing still. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hoofs in pieces.
17 Woe to this worthless shepherd
who abandons his flock.
May the sword take his arm and right eye;
may his arm surely wither up,
and his right eye become blind.
The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 He cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying:
“ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’[a]
She has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
and a haunt for every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all the nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality,
the kings of the earth have committed adultery with her,
and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the
abundance of her luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:
“ ‘Come out of her, my people,’[b]
lest you partake in her sins,
and lest you receive her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached up to heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 Render to her as she has rendered to you,
and repay her double for her deeds;
in the cup which she has mixed, mix a double portion for her.
7 To the extent that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
so give her torment and sorrow;
for in her heart she says,
‘I sit as a queen, and am no widow,
and will see no sorrow.’[c]
8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—
death and mourning and famine.
And she will be utterly burned with fire,
for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
9 “The kings of the earth, who have committed adultery and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 Standing far off for the fear of her torment, they will say:
‘Alas, alas for that great city,
that mighty city, Babylon!
In one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more: 12 the merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all artifacts of ivory, all merchandise of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, myrrh and frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves and souls of men.
14 ‘The fruit that your soul lusted after
has departed from you,
and all the things which graceful and exquisite
have departed from you,
and you shall never find them.’
15 “The merchants of these things, who gained wealth by her, will stand far off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and saying:
‘Alas, alas, that great city,
that was arrayed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet,
and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls!
17 In one hour such great riches came to nothing!’
“All sea captains and seafaring men, sailors and all who trade by sea, stood far off, 18 and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like this great city?’ 19 They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying:
‘Alas, alas, that great city,
in which all who had ships in the sea
grew rich from her wealth!
In one hour she has been laid waste!’
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven
and saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has avenged you against her.”
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
“With such violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down,
and shall be found no more.
22 The sound of harpists and musicians, flute players and trumpeters,
shall not be heard in you any more.
No craftsman of any craft
shall be found in you any more,
and the sound of a millstone
shall not be heard in you any more.
23 The light of a lamp
shall shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and of bride
shall be heard in you no more.
For your merchants were the great men of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who were slain on the earth.”
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises unto my God while I have my life.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath leaves him, and he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven, and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faithfulness forever,
7 who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord raises those who are brought down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord preserves the sojourners;
He lifts up the fatherless and widow,
but on the way of the wicked He brings disaster.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, unto all generations.
Praise you the Lord!
33 Surely the churning of milk brings forth butter,
and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood,
so the forcing of wrath brings forth strife.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.