The Daily Audio Bible
The Sword of Judgment
21 (21:6)[a] The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, turn toward[b] Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to them,[c] ‘This is what the Lord says: Look,[d] I am against you.[e] I will draw my sword[f] from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.[g] 4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone[h] from the south[i] to the north. 5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again!’
6 “And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart[j] and bitterness; groan before their eyes. 7 When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will reply, ‘Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone[k] will faint, and every knee will be wet with urine.’[l] Pay attention—it is coming and it will happen, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
8 The Lord’s message came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,
and also polished.
10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
it is polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree![m]
11 “‘He gave it to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand—
the sword is sharpened, it is polished—
giving it into the hand of the executioner.
12 Cry out and moan, son of man,
for it is wielded against my people;
against all the princes of Israel.
They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh.[n]
13 “‘For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more?[o] declares the Sovereign Lord.’
14 “And you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice, even three times!
It is a sword for slaughter,
a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.
15 So hearts melt with fear and many stumble.
At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter.
Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter!
16 Cut sharply on the right!
Swing to[p] the left,
wherever your edge[q] is appointed to strike.
17 I too will clap my hands together,
I will exhaust my rage;
I the Lord have spoken.”
18 The Lord’s message came to me: 19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: ‘Rabbah of the Ammonites’ and ‘Judah with Jerusalem in it.’[r] 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork[s] in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens:[t] He shakes arrows, he consults idols,[u] he examines[v] animal livers.[w] 22 Into his right hand[x] comes the portent for Jerusalem—to set up battering rams, to give the signal[y] for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry,[z] to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 23 But those in Jerusalem[aa] will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths,[ab] but the king of Babylon[ac] will accuse them of violations[ad] in order to seize them.[ae]
24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up[af] your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force.[ag]
25 “‘As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel,[ah]
whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
26 this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Tear off the turban;[ai]
take off the crown!
Things must change.[aj]
Exalt the lowly;
bring low the exalted![ak]
27 A total ruin I will make it![al]
Indeed, this[am] will not be
until he comes to whom is the right, and I will give it[an] to him.’[ao]
28 “As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation:[ap]
“‘A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume,[aq] to flash like lightning—
29 while seeing false visions about you
and reading lying omens about you[ar]—
to place you[as] on the necks of the profane wicked,[at]
whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.
30 Return it to its sheath![au]
In the place where you were created,[av]
in your native land, I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my anger on you;
the fire of my fury I will blow on you.
I will hand you over to brutal men,
who are skilled in destruction.[aw]
32 You will become fuel for the fire—
your blood will stain the middle of the land;[ax]
you will no longer be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
The Sins of Jerusalem
22 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment?[ay] Are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city?[az] Then confront her with all her abominable deeds! 3 Then say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom),[ba] and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity), 4 you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom;[bb] the end of your years has come.[bc] Therefore I will make[bd] you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands. 5 Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation,[be] full of turmoil.
6 “‘See how each of the princes of Israel living within you has used his authority to shed blood.[bf] 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt[bg] within you; they have oppressed the resident foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow[bh] within you. 8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths! 9 Slanderous men shed blood within you.[bi] Those who live within you eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains;[bj] they commit obscene acts among you.[bk] 10 They have sexual relations with their father’s wife within you;[bl] they violate women during their menstrual period within you.[bm] 11 One[bn] commits an abominable act with his neighbor’s wife; another obscenely defiles his daughter-in-law; another violates[bo] his sister—his father’s daughter[bp]—within you. 12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest;[bq] you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me,[br] declares the Sovereign Lord.[bs]
13 “‘See, I strike my hands together[bt] at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed[bu] they have done among you. 14 Can your heart endure,[bv] or can your hands be strong when I deal with you?[bw] I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you.[bx] 16 You will be profaned within yourself[by] in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
17 The Lord’s message came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace;[bz] they are the worthless slag of silver. 19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because all of you[ca] have become slag, look out! I am about to gather you in the middle of Jerusalem. 20 As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can blow on them to melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there[cb] and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.’”
23 The Lord’s message came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain[cc] or showers in the day of my anger.’[cd] 25 Her princes[ce] within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows[cf] within it. 26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane,[cg] or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore[ch] my Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst. 27 Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey—shedding blood and destroying lives—so they can get dishonest profit. 28 Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash.[ci] They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the resident foreigner and denied them justice.[cj]
30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.[ck] 31 So I have poured my anger on them and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done,[cl] declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Concluding Exposition: Old and New Sacrifices Contrasted
10 For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship.[a] 2 For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers would have been purified once for all and so have[b] no further consciousness of sin? 3 But in those sacrifices[c] there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 So when he came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.
6 “Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.
7 “Then I said, ‘Here I am:[d] I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’”[e]
8 When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them”[f] (which are offered according to the law), 9 then he says, “Here I am: I have come to do your will.”[g] He does away with[h] the first to establish the second. 10 By his will[i] we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest stands day after day[j] serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again—sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest[k] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand[l] of God, 13 where he is now waiting[m] until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.[n] 14 For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying,[o] 16 “This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put[p] my laws on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds,”[q] 17 then he says,[r] “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer.”[s]
Psalm 108[a]
A song, a psalm of David.
108 I am determined,[b] O God.
I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.[c]
2 Awake, O stringed instrument and harp.
I will wake up at dawn.[d]
3 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[e]
4 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[f]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
5 Rise up[g] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[h]
6 Deliver by your power[i] and answer me,
so that the ones you love may be safe.[j]
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[k]
“I will triumph! I will parcel out Shechem;
the Valley of Sukkoth I will measure off.[l]
8 Gilead belongs to me,
as does Manasseh.[m]
Ephraim is my helmet,[n]
Judah my royal scepter.[o]
9 Moab is my washbasin.[p]
I will make Edom serve me.[q]
I will shout in triumph over Philistia.”
10 Who will lead me into the fortified city?
Who will bring me to Edom?[r]
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
O God, you do not go into battle with our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for any help men might offer is futile.[s]
13 By God’s power we will conquer;[t]
he will trample down[u] our enemies.
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