Old/New Testament
Judgment Comes to Judah’s Leaders
3 “Note this! The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything that your society needs—[a]
all food supplies
and all water supplies,
2 the mighty man
and the warrior,
the judge
and the prophet,
the fortune-teller
and the elder,
3 the commander of fifty
and the man of rank,
and the counselor, the expert magician,
and the medium.
4 “I will make youths their princes,
and infants will rule over them.
5 People will oppress one another—
It will be man against man
and neighbor against neighbor.
The young will be disrespectful to the old,
and the worthless to the honorable.
6 “For a man will grab his brother
in his own father’s house,
and say, ‘You have a cloak,
so you be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
will be under your rule!’
7 “But[b] at that time,[c] he’ll protest![d]
He’ll say, ‘I won’t be your healer.
I have neither food nor clothing in my house!
You’re not going to make me a leader of the people!’
8 “For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and do opposes[e] the Lord;
they keep defying him.[f]
9 “The expressions on their faces give them away.[g]
They parade their sin around like Sodom;
they don’t even try to[h] hide it.
How horrible it will be for them,
because they have brought disaster on themselves!”
Encouragement to the Righteous
10 “Tell[i] the righteous that things will go well,
because they will enjoy[j] the fruit of their actions.”
Warning to the Wicked
11 “How terrible it will be for the wicked!
Disaster is headed their way,
because what they did with their hand[k] will be repaid[l] to them.
12 “As for my people, children[m] are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you—
they’re giving you confusing directions.”[n]
When God Goes to Court
13 The Lord is taking his place to argue his case;
he’s standing up to judge the people.
14 The Lord will go to court[o]
to oppose[p] the elders and princes of his people:
“You’re the ones who have been devouring the vineyard,
the plunder of the poor is in your own houses!
15 How dare you crush[q] my people
as you grind down the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.[r]
Judgment of Jerusalem’s Women
16 The Lord also says:
“Because Zion’s women are so haughty,
and walk with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
prancing[s] along as they walk,
and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets,[t]
17 therefore the Lord[u] will afflict sores
on the heads of Zion’s women,
and the Lord[v] will expose their private parts.
18 “At that time,[w] the Lord[x] will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, capes,[y] purses, 23 mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils.
24 “And it will come about that instead of fragrance
there will be[z] a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, baldness;
instead of a fine robe, sackcloth;
and instead of beauty, shame.[aa]
25 Your men will die violently,[ab]
while your forces[ac] fall[ad] in battle
26 and her gates lament and mourn.
Ravaged, she will sit on the ground.”
4 “At that time,[ae] seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer:[af] ‘We’ll provide[ag] our own bread. We’ll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you[ah] so we won’t be stigmatized anymore.’”[ai]
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 “At that time,[aj] the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.[ak] 3 Whoever[al] survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem— 4 when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the women[am] of Zion, cleaning up Jerusalem’s guilt[an] by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of tempest.[ao] 5 Then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion—including over those who assemble there—a cloud by day[ap] 6 and also to serve as a refuge and shelter from storms and rain.”
Help Each Other
6 Brothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well. 2 Practice carrying each other’s burdens. In this way you will fulfill the law of the Messiah.[a] 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is only fooling himself. 4 Each person must examine his own actions, and then he can boast about his own accomplishments and not about someone else. 5 For everyone must carry his own load.
6 The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher. 7 Stop being[b] deceived; God is not to be ridiculed. A person harvests whatever he plants: 8 The person who sows through human means will harvest decay from human means, but the person who sows in the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let’s practice doing good to everyone, especially to the family of faith.
A Final Warning against Circumcision
11 Look at how large these letters are because I am writing with my own hand! 12 These people who want to impress others by their external appearance[c] are trying to force you to be circumcised, simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of the Messiah.[d] 13 Why, not even those who are circumcised obey the Law! They simply want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about your external appearance.[e] 14 But may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[f] by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world! 15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters. Rather, what matters is being[g] a new creation. 16 Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God. 17 Let no one make any more trouble for me, because I carry the scars of Jesus on my own body.
Final Greeting
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[h] be with your spirit, brothers! Amen.
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