The Daily Audio Bible
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(A) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(B) though they offer burnt offerings(C) and grain offerings,(D) I will not accept(E) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(F) famine(G) and plague.”(H)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(I) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(J) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(K) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(L) in my name. I have not sent(M) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(N) divinations,(O) idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(P) by sword and famine.(Q) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(R) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(S) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(T)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(U)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(V) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(W)
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.(X)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(Y)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(Z)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(AA)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(AB)
20 We acknowledge(AC) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(AD)
we have indeed sinned(AE) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(AF) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(AG)
Remember your covenant(AH) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(AI) of the nations bring rain?(AJ)
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.(AK)
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(AL) and Samuel(AM) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(AN) Send them away from my presence!(AO) Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;(AP)
those for starvation, to starvation;(AQ)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(AR)
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers(AS) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(AT) to kill and the dogs(AU) to drag away and the birds(AV) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(AW) 4 I will make them abhorrent(AX) to all the kingdoms of the earth(AY) because of what Manasseh(AZ) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity(BA) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected(BB) me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(BC) and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.(BD)
7 I will winnow(BE) them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(BF) and destruction on my people,(BG)
for they have not changed their ways.(BH)
8 I will make their widows(BI) more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(BJ)
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.(BK)
9 The mother of seven will grow faint(BL)
and breathe her last.(BM)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced(BN) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(BO)
before their enemies,”(BP)
declares the Lord.
10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(BQ)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(BR)
I have neither lent(BS) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses(BT) me.
11 The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you(BU) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead(BV) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 “Can a man break iron—
iron from the north(BW)—or bronze?
13 “Your wealth(BX) and your treasures
I will give as plunder,(BY) without charge,(BZ)
because of all your sins
throughout your country.(CA)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
in[b] a land you do not know,(CB)
for my anger will kindle a fire(CC)
that will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.(CD)
You are long-suffering(CE)—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(CF)
16 When your words came, I ate(CG) them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(CH)
for I bear your name,(CI)
Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(CJ) in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(CK) was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?(CL)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.(CM)
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve(CN) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.(CO)
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(CP) to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome(CQ) you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”(CR)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(CS) you from the hands of the wicked(CT)
and deliver(CU) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(CV)
Day of Disaster
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry(CW) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(CX) 4 “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(CY) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(CZ) They will perish by sword and famine,(DA) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(DB)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(DC) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “Both high and low will die in this land.(DD) They will not be buried or mourned,(DE) and no one will cut(DF) themselves or shave(DG) their head for the dead. 7 No one will offer food(DH) to comfort those who mourn(DI) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(DJ) them.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(DK) 9 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(DL) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(DM) and bridegroom in this place.(DN)
10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(DO) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(DP) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(DQ) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(DR) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(DS) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(DT) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(DU) and there you will serve other gods(DV) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(DW)
14 “However, the days are coming,”(DX) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(DY) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(DZ) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(EA) For I will restore(EB) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(EC)
9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked(A) night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone(B) while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses,(C) and so is God,(D) of how holy,(E) righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children,(F) 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy(G) of God, who calls(H) you into his kingdom and glory.
13 And we also thank God continually(I) because, when you received the word of God,(J) which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators(K) of God’s churches in Judea,(L) which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people(M) the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus(N) and the prophets(O) and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone 16 in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles(P) so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit.(Q) The wrath of God has come upon them at last.[a]
Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians
17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought),(R) out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.(S) 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan(T) blocked our way.(U) 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown(V) in which we will glory(W) in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?(X) Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory(Y) and joy.
3 So when we could stand it no longer,(Z) we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens.(AA) 2 We sent Timothy,(AB) who is our brother and co-worker(AC) in God’s service in spreading the gospel of Christ,(AD) to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one would be unsettled by these trials.(AE) For you know quite well that we are destined for them.(AF) 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.(AG) 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer,(AH) I sent to find out about your faith.(AI) I was afraid that in some way the tempter(AJ) had tempted you and that our labors might have been in vain.(AK)
Timothy’s Encouraging Report
6 But Timothy(AL) has just now come to us from you(AM) and has brought good news about your faith and love.(AN) He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.(AO) 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm(AP) in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you(AQ) in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?(AR) 10 Night and day we pray(AS) most earnestly that we may see you again(AT) and supply what is lacking in your faith.
11 Now may our God and Father(AU) himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other(AV) and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless(AW) and holy in the presence of our God and Father(AX) when our Lord Jesus comes(AY) with all his holy ones.(AZ)
Psalm 80[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.(A)
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,(B)
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.(C)
Awaken(D) your might;
come and save us.(E)
4 How long,(I) Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smolder(J)
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;(K)
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.(L)
6 You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.(M)
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.(N)
8 You transplanted a vine(O) from Egypt;
you drove out(P) the nations and planted(Q) it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[c]
its shoots as far as the River.[d](R)
12 Why have you broken down its walls(S)
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage(T) it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!(U)
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son[e] you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;(V)
at your rebuke(W) your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man(X) you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive(Y) us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
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