Old/New Testament
Leaders of Judah and Jerusalem
3 For look, the Lord Yahweh of hosts is removing every source of support[a]
from Jerusalem and from Judah:
all of the supplies of bread
and all of the supplies of water,
2 mighty warrior and man of war,
judge and prophet,
and diviner and elder,
3 captain of fifty and the honorable men of rank,
and counselor and skillful magicians and skillful enchanter.
4 And I will make boys their princes,
and children shall rule over them.
5 And the people will be oppressed by each other[b]
and a man by his neighbor.
The boy will act arrogantly toward the elder,
and the dishonorable toward the honorable.
6 Indeed, a man will seize his brother
in the house of his father:
“You have a cloak;[c]
you shall be a leader for us,
and this heap of ruins shall be under your hand!”
7 He will lift up his voice on that day, saying,
“I will not be a healer;
in my house there is no bread
and there is no cloak.
You shall not make me the leader of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen
because their speech and their deeds are against Yahweh,
defying the eyes of his glory.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them
and they declare their sin like Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have dealt out evil to themselves.
10 Tell the innocent[d] that it is good
for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 Woe to the wicked![e] It is bad!
For what is done by his hands will be done to him.
12 My people—children are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you,
and they confuse the course of your paths.
13 Yahweh takes his stand to conduct a legal case
and takes his stand to judge the peoples.
14 Yahweh enters into judgment with the elders of his people and its princes.
“And you! You have devoured the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses!
15 Why[f] do you crush my people
and grind the face of the poor?”
declares[g] the Lord Yahweh of hosts.
The Pride of Jerusalem’s Women
16 And Yahweh said: “Because[h] the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and they walk with outstretched neck,
and they give flirting glances with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,[i]
and with their feet they rattle their bangles,[j]
17 the Lord will make the heads[k] of the daughters of Zion scabby,
and Yahweh will lay their foreheads bare.”
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets
and the headbands and the crescent necklaces,
19 the pendants and the bracelets and the veils,
20 the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes,
and the perfume boxes[l] and the amulets,
21 the signet rings and the nose rings,
22 the festal robes and the mantles,
and the cloaks and the handbags,
23 and the mirrors and the linen garments,
and the turbans and the wraps.
24 And this shall happen: There will be
a stench instead of perfume,
and a rope instead of a sash,
and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo,
and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe,
branding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword,
and your warriors in battle.
26 And her[m] gates shall lament and mourn,
and she shall be banished;
she shall sit upon the ground.
4 And seven women shall grasp at one man on that day, saying,
“We will eat our own bread,
and we will wear our own clothing;
only let us be called by your name![n]
Take away our disgrace!”
The Glory of the Branch of Yahweh
2 On that day the branch of Yahweh shall become beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land shall become the pride and glory of the survivors[o] of Israel.
3 And this shall happen: He who is left in Zion
and he who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy,
everyone written for life in Jerusalem,
4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion
and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from her midst
by a spirit of judgment
and by a spirit of burning.
5 Then Yahweh will create over all of the site[p] of Mount Zion[q]
and over her assembly a cloud by day
and smoke and the brightness of flaming fire by night.
Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy,
6 and it will be a shelter for shade from the heat by day,
and a refuge and a hiding place from rainstorm and from rain.
Carry One Another’s Burdens
6 Brothers, even if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of humility, looking out for yourself, lest you also be tempted. 2 Carry the burdens of one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something although he[a] is nothing, he is deceiving himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in someone else. 5 For each one will carry his own burden.
Do Good to All People
6 Now the one who is taught the word must share in all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked, for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap, 8 because the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 And let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we[b] do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.
A Final Warning
11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are attempting to compel[c] you to be circumcised, only so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For not even those who are circumcised observe the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised in order that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But as for me, may it never be that I boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And all those who follow this rule, peace and mercy be on them and on the Israel of God.
Conclusion and Benediction
17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I carry on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.
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