Old/New Testament
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
which is at the head of the fertile valley
of those who are overcome with wine!
2 See, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
as a flood of mighty overflowing waters,
He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
is trodden under foot;
4 and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is at the head of the fertile valley,
shall be like a first-ripe fig before the summer,
which when one sees, while it is yet in his hand,
he eats it up.
5 In that day the Lord of Hosts
shall become a crown of glory
and a diadem of beauty
to the remnant of His people,
6 a spirit of justice
for him who sits in judgment,
and strength
to those who turn away the battle at the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine
and stagger from strong drink;
the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,
they are confused by wine,
they stagger from strong drink;
they err while having visions,
they stumble when rendering judgment.
8 For all the tables are full of vomit
and filthiness so that there is no clean place.
9 “To whom shall He teach knowledge,
and to whom shall He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from the milk
and drawn from the breasts?
10 For He says,
‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.’ ”
11 For with stammering lips and foreign tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 He who said to them,
“This is the rest. Give rest to the weary,”
and, “This is repose,”
yet they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord will be to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,”
that they might go and fall backward,
be broken, snared, and taken captive.
14 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers,
who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with hell we are in agreement.
The overflowing scourge shall not come to us
when it passes through,
for we have made lies our refuge
and under falsehood we have hid ourselves.”
A Cornerstone in Zion
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I lay in Zion a stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, firmly placed;
he who believes shall not act hastily.
17 I shall make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plummet;
then the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies
and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death shall be annulled,
and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
when the overflowing scourge passes through,
then you shall be trodden down by it.
19 As often as it passes through, it shall seize you;
for morning by morning it shall pass through,
anytime by day or night.
It shall be terror only
to understand the report.
20 The bed is too short to stretch out,
and the covering is too small to wrap oneself in it.
21 For the Lord shall rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He shall be wrathful as in the Valley of Gibeon
to do His work, His unusual work,
and bring to pass His task, His exceptional task.
22 Now therefore, do not continue as mockers,
lest your bonds be made stronger;
for I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts
of determined destruction upon the whole earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice;
listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman plow all day to sow?
Does he continually turn and break the clods of his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
and sow dill and scatter the cumin
and plant wheat in rows,
barley in its place
and the rye within its area?
26 For his God instructs
and teaches him appropriately.
27 For the dill is not threshed with a threshing instrument,
nor is a cartwheel driven over the cumin;
but the dill is beaten out with a staff,
and the cumin with a rod.
28 Grain for bread is crushed;
so he does not continue to thresh it forever,
nor break it with the wheel of his cart,
nor crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of Hosts,
who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
Woe to the City of David
29 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel,
the city where David lived!
Add year to year,
observe your feasts on schedule.
2 Yet I will distress Ariel,
and she shall be a city of lamenting and sorrow,
and she shall be as an Ariel to me.
3 I will encamp against you all around,
and will lay siege against you with a mound,
and I will raise forts against you.
4 You shall be brought down, and shall speak from the ground,
and from the dust where you are prostrate your speech shall come;
your voice shall also be as that of a ghost from the ground;
and your speech shall whisper from the dust.
5 Moreover the multitude of your enemies shall become like fine dust,
and the multitude of the ruthless ones as chaff which blows away;
and it shall happen in an instant, suddenly.
6 You shall be punished from the Lord of Hosts
with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
with storm and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
7 The multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel,
even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
shall be as a dream
of a night vision.
8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreams, and he eats;
but when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied;
or as when a thirsty man dreams, and he is drinking;
but when he awakens, he is faint, and his thirst is not quenched;
so shall the multitude of all the nations be
who fight against Mount Zion.
9 Be delayed and wait,
blind yourselves and be blind.
They are drunk, but not with wine.
They stagger, but not with strong drink.
10 For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep
and has closed your eyes, the prophets;
and He has covered your heads, the seers.
11 The whole vision will be to you as the words of a book that is sealed, which when they deliver it to one who is learned, saying, “Read this, please,” he shall say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book shall be delivered to him who is not learned, saying, “Read this, please.” And he shall say, “I cannot read.”
13 Therefore, the Lord said:
Because this people draw near with their mouths
and honor Me with their lips,
but have removed their hearts far from Me,
and their fear toward Me
is tradition by the precept of men,
14 therefore I will once again do a marvelous work among this people,
even a marvelous work and a wonder;
for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.
15 Woe to those who deeply
hide their counsel from the Lord
and whose works are done in the dark, and they say,
“Who sees us?” and “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the potter’s clay?
Shall what is made say to its maker,
“He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say to him who formed it,
“He has no understanding”?
17 Is it not yet a very little while before Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,
and the fruitful field shall be counted as a forest?
18 And on that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book,
and the eyes of the blind shall see
out of obscurity and darkness.
19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless shall come to nothing,
and the scorner will be consumed,
and all who are intent on doing iniquity shall be cut off—
21 those who cause a man to be indicted by a word,
and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,
and turn aside the righteous with meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:
Jacob shall not now be ashamed,
nor shall his face now turn pale;
23 but when he sees his children,
the work of My hands, in his midst,
they shall sanctify My name
and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
and fear the God of Israel.
24 Those also who err in spirit shall know the truth,
and those who murmured shall accept instruction.
The True Righteousness
3 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me, and it is reassuring for you. 2 Watch out for dogs, watch out for evil workers, watch out for those who practice mutilation. 3 For we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, and boast in Christ Jesus, and place no trust in the flesh, 4 though I also have confidence in the flesh.
If any other man thinks that he has reason to trust in the flesh, I have more: 5 I was circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and a Hebrew of Hebrews; as concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; and concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
7 But what things were gain to me, I have counted these things to be loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Yes, certainly, I count everything as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have forfeited the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ, 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,[a] the righteousness which is of God on the basis of faith, 10 to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if somehow I might make it to the resurrection of the dead.
Pressing Toward the Mark
12 Not that I have already attained or have already been perfected, but I follow after it so that I may lay hold of that for which I was seized by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not count myself to have attained, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let those of us who are mature be thus minded. And if you think differently in any way, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, according to what we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
17 Brothers, become fellow imitators with me and observe those who walk according to our example. 18 For many are walking in such a way that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping. 19 Their destination is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame, their minds are set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we await for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our body of humiliation, so that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working of His power even to subdue all things to Himself.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.