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God’s Message to Egypt
19 A message[a] about Egypt: Look, the Lord is coming on a fast cloud. He will enter Egypt, and all the false gods of Egypt will shake with fear. Egypt’s courage will melt away like hot wax.
2 The Lord says, “I will cause the Egyptians to fight against themselves. Men will fight their brothers. Neighbors will be against neighbors. Cities will be against cities. Kingdoms will be against kingdoms.[b] 3 The Egyptians will be afraid and confused. They will ask their false gods and wise men what they should do. They will ask their wizards and magicians, but I will ruin their plans.” 4 The Lord God All-Powerful says, “I will give Egypt to a hard master. A powerful king will rule over the people.”
5 The water in the Nile River will dry up and disappear. 6 All the rivers will smell very bad.[c] The canals in Egypt will be dry, and the water will be gone. All the water plants will rot. 7 All the plants along the riverbanks will die and blow away. Even the plants at the widest part of the river will dry up, blow away, and disappear.
8 The fishermen, all those who catch fish from the Nile River, will become sad and they will cry. They depend on the Nile River for their food, but it will be dry. 9 Those who make cloth from flax, who weave it into linen, will all be sad. 10 Those who weave cloth will be broken, and those who work for money will be depressed.
11 The leaders of the city of Zoan[d] are fools. Pharaoh’s “wise advisors” give bad advice. They say they are wise. They say they are from the old family of the kings, but they are not as smart as they think. 12 Egypt, where are your wise men? They should learn what the Lord All-Powerful has planned for Egypt. They should be the ones to tell you what will happen.
13 The leaders of Zoan have been fooled. The leaders of Noph[e] have believed lies, so they lead Egypt the wrong way. 14 The Lord confused them, so they wander around and lead Egypt the wrong way. Everything they do is wrong. They are like drunks rolling in their vomit. 15 There is nothing the leaders can do. (They are “the heads and the tails.” They are “the tops and the stalks of plants.”[f])
16 At that time the Egyptians will be like frightened women. They will be afraid of the Lord All-Powerful, because he will raise his arm to punish the people. 17 The land of Judah brings fear to everyone in Egypt. Anyone in Egypt who hears the name Judah will be afraid. This will happen because the Lord All-Powerful has planned terrible things to happen to Egypt. 18 At that time there will be five cities in Egypt where people speak Hebrew.[g] One of these cities will be named “Destruction City.”[h] The people in these cities will promise to follow the Lord All-Powerful.
19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of Egypt. At the border of Egypt there will be a monument to show honor to the Lord. 20 This will be a sign to show that the Lord All-Powerful does amazing things. Any time the people cry for help from the Lord, he will send help. He will send someone to save and defend the people—to rescue the people from those who hurt them.
21 At that time the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and they really will know the Lord. They will serve him and give him many sacrifices. They will make promises[i] to the Lord, and they will do what they promise. 22 The Lord will punish the Egyptians, but then he will heal them, and they will come back to him. The Lord will listen to their prayers and heal them.
23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Then the Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians will go to Assyria. Egypt will work with Assyria.[j] 24 Then Israel, Assyria, and Egypt will join together and control the land. This will be a blessing for the land. 25 The Lord All-Powerful will bless these countries. He will say, “Egypt, you are my people. Assyria, I made you. Israel, I own you. You are all blessed!”
Assyria Will Defeat Egypt and Ethiopia
20 Sargon[k] was the king of Assyria. He sent his military commander to fight against Ashdod. The commander went there and captured the city. 2 At that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said, “Go, take the sackcloth off your waist and the sandals off your feet.” So Isaiah obeyed the Lord and went without clothes or sandals.
3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has gone without clothes or sandals for three years. This is a sign for Egypt and Ethiopia. 4 The king of Assyria will defeat Egypt and Ethiopia. Assyria will take prisoners and lead them away from their countries. The people, young and old, will be led away without clothes or sandals. They will be completely naked. 5 Those who looked to Ethiopia for help will be shattered. Those who were amazed by Egypt’s glory will be ashamed.”
6 People living along the coast will say, “We trusted those countries to help us. We ran to them so that they would rescue us from the king of Assyria. But look at them. They have been captured, so how can we escape?”
God’s Message About Babylon
21 This is a message[l] about the “desert by the sea”[m]:
It is coming like a storm blowing through the Negev.
It is coming in from the desert, from a frightening nation.
2 I was given a vision of the hard times to come.
I see traitors turning against you.
I see people taking your wealth.
Elam, go against them!
Media, surround the city!
I will put an end to all their moaning.
3 I saw those terrible things, and now I am afraid.
My fear makes my stomach hurt like the pain of giving birth.
What I hear frightens me.
What I see makes me shake with fear.
4 I am worried and shaking with fear.
My pleasant evening has become a nightmare.
5 People are rushing around shouting their orders:
“Set the table!
Post the guard!
Get something to eat and drink!
Officers, get up!
Polish your shields!”
6 The Lord said to me, “Go find someone to guard this city. He must report whatever he sees. 7 Whether he sees a chariot and a team of horses or men riding donkeys or camels, he must listen carefully.”[n]
8 Then one day the watchman[o] called out,
“My master, every day I have been in the watchtower[p] watching.
Every night I have been standing on duty.
9 Look! I see a man in a chariot
with a team of horses.[q]”
The messenger said,
“Babylon has been defeated!
It has fallen to the ground!
All the statues of her false gods
were thrown to the ground and broken to pieces.”
10 My people, you will be like the grain crushed on my threshing floor. I have told you everything I heard from the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel.
God’s Message About Dumah
11 This is a message about Dumah[r]:
There is someone calling to me from Seir,[s]
“Guard, how much of the night is left?
How much longer will it be night?”
12 The guard answered,
“Morning is coming, but then night will come again.
If you have something else to ask,
then come back[t] later and ask.”
God’s Message About Arabia
13 This is a message about Arabia:
A caravan from Dedan spent the night
near some trees in the Arabian Desert.
14 They gave water to some thirsty travelers.
The people of Tema gave them food.
15 They were running from swords
that were ready to kill.
They were running from bows
that were ready to shoot.
They were running from a hard battle.
16 The Lord told me this would happen. He said, “In one year, the way a hired helper counts time, all Kedar’s glory will be gone. 17 Only a few of the archers, the great soldiers of Kedar, will be left alive.” The Lord, the God of Israel, told me this.
The Other Apostles Accepted Paul
2 After 14 years I went back to Jerusalem with Barnabas and took Titus with me. 2 I went there because God showed me that I should go. I explained to them the message that I tell the non-Jewish people. I also met alone with those who were considered to be the leaders. I wanted to be sure we were in agreement so that my past work and the work I do now would not be wasted.
3 Titus, who was with me, is a Greek. But these leaders still did not force him to be circumcised. 4 We needed to talk about these problems, because some who pretended to be our brothers had come into our group secretly. They came in like spies to find out about the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves, 5 but we did not agree with anything those false brothers wanted. We wanted the truth of the Good News to continue for you.
6 Those men who were considered to be important did not change the Good News message I tell people. (It doesn’t matter to me if they were “important” or not. To God everyone is the same.) 7 But these leaders saw that God had given me a special work, the same as Peter. God gave Peter the work of telling the Good News to the Jews. But God gave me the work of telling the Good News to the non-Jewish people. 8 God gave Peter the power to work as an apostle for the Jewish people. God gave me the power to work as an apostle too, but for those who are not Jews. 9 James, Peter, and John seemed to be the leaders. And they saw that God had given me this special gift of ministry, so they accepted Barnabas and me. They said to us, “We agree that you should go to those who are not Jews, and we will go to the Jews.” 10 They asked us to do only one thing—to remember to help those who are poor. And this was something that I really wanted to do.
Paul Shows That Peter Was Wrong
11 When Peter came to Antioch, he did something that was not right. I stood against him, because he was wrong. 12 This is what happened: When Peter first came to Antioch, he ate and associated with the non-Jewish people. But when some Jewish men came from James, Peter separated himself from the non-Jews. He stopped eating with them, because he was afraid of the Jews who believe that all non-Jewish people must be circumcised. 13 So Peter was a hypocrite. The other Jewish believers joined with him, so they were hypocrites too. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did. 14 They were not following the truth of the Good News. When I saw this, I spoke to Peter in front of everyone. I said, “Peter, you are a Jew, but you don’t live like one. You live like someone who is not a Jew. So why are you trying to force those who are not Jewish to live like Jews?”
15 We are Jews by birth. We were not born “sinners,” as we call those who are not Jews. 16 But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in[a] Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in[b] Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
To the director: To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A miktam of David written when Saul sent people to watch David’s house to try to kill him.
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Protect me from those who stand against me.
2 Save me from those who do wrong.
Save me from those murderers.
3 Look, powerful men are waiting for me.
Lord, they are waiting to kill me,
even though I did not sin or commit a crime.
4 I have done nothing wrong, but they are rushing to attack me.
Come and see for yourself!
5 You are the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel!
Get up and punish them.
Don’t show any mercy to those traitors. Selah
6 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening,
growling and roaming the streets.
7 Listen to their threats and insults.
They say such cruel things,
and they don’t care who hears them.
8 Lord, laugh at them.
Make fun of them all.
9 God, my strength, I look to you for help.[a]
You are my place of safety, high in the mountains.
10 God loves me, and he will help me win.
He will help me defeat my enemies.
11 Don’t just kill them, or my people might forget.
My Lord and Protector, scatter and defeat them with your strength.
12 Those evil people curse and tell lies.
Punish them for what they said.
Let their pride trap them.
13 Destroy them in your anger.
Destroy them completely!
Then people all over the world will know
that God rules over the people of Jacob. Selah
14 Those evil men are like dogs
that come into town in the evening, growling and roaming the streets.
15 They roam around looking for food,
but even if they eat their fill, they still growl and complain.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
I will rejoice in your love every morning.
You have been my place of safety,
the place I can run to when troubles come.
17 I will sing praises to you, my source of strength.
You, God, are my place of safety.
You are the God who loves me!
— 12 —
13 Always correct children when they need it. If you spank them, it will not kill them. 14 In fact, you might save their lives.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International