The Daily Audio Bible
19 I said,[a]
“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach![b]
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart![c]
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet;[d]
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul![e]
20 I see[f] one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our[g] tents suddenly destroyed,
their[h] curtains torn down in a mere instant.[i]
21 How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?”[j]
22 The Lord answered,[k]
“This will happen[l] because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense.[m]
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
23 I looked at the land and saw[n] that it was an empty wasteland.[o]
I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!
25 I looked and saw that there were no more people[p]
and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert
and that all the cities had been laid in ruins.
The Lord had brought this all about
because of his blazing anger.[q]
27 All this will happen because the Lord said,[r]
“The whole land will be desolate;
however, I will not completely destroy it.
28 Because of this the land will mourn
and the sky above will grow black.[s]
For I have made my purpose known,[t]
and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”[u]
29 At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers
the people of every town will flee.
Some of them will hide in the thickets.
Others will climb up among the rocks.
All the cities will be deserted.
No one will remain in them.
30 And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction,[v]
you accomplish nothing[w] by wearing a beautiful dress,[x]
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow![y]
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you.[z]
31 In fact,[aa] I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion[ab] gasping for breath,
reaching out for help,[ac] saying, “I am done in![ad]
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment
5 The Lord said,[ae]
“Go up and down[af] through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.[ag]
If you can,[ah] then I will not punish this city.[ai]
2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord.[aj]
But the fact is,[ak] what they swear to is really a lie.”[al]
3 Lord, I know you look for faithfulness.[am]
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse.[an]
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock.[ao]
They refuse to change their ways.[ap]
4 I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way.[aq]
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands.[ar]
They do not know what their God requires of them.[as]
5 I will go to the leaders[at]
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands.[au]
Surely they know what their God requires of them.”[av]
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him.[aw]
6 So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the rift valley they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.[ax]
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things.[ay]
7 The Lord asked,[az]
“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem?[ba]
Your people[bb] have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all.[bc]
Even though I supplied all their needs,[bd] they were like an unfaithful wife to me.[be]
They went flocking[bf] to the houses of prostitutes.[bg]
8 They are like lusty, well-fed[bh] stallions.
Each of them lusts after[bi] his neighbor’s wife.
9 I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”[bj]
10 The Lord commanded the enemy,[bk]
“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them.[bl]
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches
for these people do not belong to the Lord.[bm]
11 For the nations of Israel and Judah[bn]
have been very unfaithful to me,”
says the Lord.
12 “These people have denied what the Lord says.[bo]
They have said, ‘That is not so![bp]
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine.[bq]
13 The prophets will prove to be full of wind.[br]
The Lord has not spoken through them.[bs]
So, let what they say happen to them.’”
14 Because of that,[bt] the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies[bu] said to me:[bv]
“Because these people have spoken[bw] like this,[bx]
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood,
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”[by]
15 The Lord says,[bz] “Listen,[ca] nation of Israel![cb]
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
16 All its soldiers are strong and mighty.[cc]
Their arrows will send you to your grave.[cd]
17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off[ce] your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.[cf]
Their weapons will batter down[cg]
the fortified cities you trust in.
18 “Yet even then[ch] I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord. 19 “So then, Jeremiah,[ci] when your people[cj] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So[ck] you must serve foreigners[cl] in a land that does not belong to you.’
20 “Proclaim[cm] this message among the descendants of Jacob.[cn]
Make it known throughout Judah.
21 Tell them: ‘Hear this,
you foolish people who have no understanding,
who have eyes but do not discern,
who have ears but do not perceive:[co]
22 ‘You should fear me!’ says the Lord.
‘You should tremble in awe before me![cp]
I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,
a permanent barrier that it can never cross.
Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.
They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.’[cq]
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and gone their own way.[cr]
24 They do not say to themselves,[cs]
‘Let us revere the Lord our God.
It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.
It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”[ct]
25 Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming.[cu]
Your sins have deprived you of my bounty.’[cv]
26 Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.
They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush.[cw]
They set deadly traps[cx] to catch people.
27 Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught,[cy]
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit.[cz]
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.[da]
28 That is how[db] they have grown fat and sleek.[dc]
There is no limit to the evil things they do.[dd]
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.
29 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this![de]
30 Something horrible and shocking
is going on in the land of Judah:
31 The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests exercise power by their own authority.[df]
And my people love to have it this way.
But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes![dg]
The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted
6 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem![dh]
Sound the trumpet[di] in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks[dj] out of the north;
it will bring great destruction.[dk]
2 I will destroy[dl] Daughter Zion,[dm]
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.[dn]
3 Kings will attack her with their armies.[do]
They will encamp in siege all around her.[dp]
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.[dq]
4 They will say,[dr] ‘Prepare to do battle[ds] against it!
Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’
But later they will say,[dt] ‘Woe to us![du]
For the day is almost over,
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
5 So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.’
6 All this is because[dv] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[dw] has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls.[dx]
This is the city that is to be punished.[dy]
Nothing but oppression happens in it.[dz]
7 As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds.[ea]
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it.[eb]
All I see are sick and wounded people.’[ec]
8 So[ed] take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust[ee]
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”
9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[ef] said to me:[eg]
“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned[eh] from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.”[ei]
10 I answered,[ej]
“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them?[ek]
Their ears are so closed[el]
that they cannot hear!
Indeed,[em] the Lord’s message is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all.[en]
11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord,[eo]
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”
The Lord answered,[ep]
“Vent it, then,[eq] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included,[er]
as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power[es]
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all of them practice deceit.
14 They offer only superficial help
for the harm my people have suffered.[et]
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right![eu]
15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?
No, they are not at all ashamed.
They do not even know how to blush!
So they will die, just like others have died.[ev]
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn[a] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.[b]
19 For God[c] was pleased to have all his[d] fullness dwell[e] in the Son[f]
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him,[g] whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Paul’s Goal in Ministry
21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your[h] minds[i] as expressed through[j] your evil deeds, 22 but now he has reconciled you[k] by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm,[l] without shifting[m] from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. 25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship[n] from God—given to me for you—in order to complete[o] the word of God, 26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious[p] riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him by instructing[q] and teaching[r] all people[s] with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature[t] in Christ. 29 Toward this goal[u] I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully[v] works in me.
2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you,[w] and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face.[x] 2 My goal is that[y] their hearts, having been knit together[z] in love, may be encouraged, and that[aa] they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,[ab] 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments[ac] that sound reasonable.[ad] 5 For though[ae] I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see[af] your morale[ag] and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies
6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,[ah] continue to live your lives[ai] in him, 7 rooted[aj] and built up in him and firm[ak] in your[al] faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These sayings also are from the wise:
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