JEREMIAH 47-48

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Judgment on the Philistines  47:1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
2

“Thus says the Lord:

Behold, waters are rising out of the north,

and shall become an overflowing torrent;

they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,

the city and those who dwell in it.

Men shall cry out,

and every inhabitant of the land shall wail. 3

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,

at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,

the fathers look not back to their children,

so feeble are their hands, 4

because of the day that is coming to destroy

all the Philistines,

to cut off from Tyre and Sidon

every helper that remains.

For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,

the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor. 5

Baldness has come upon Gaza;

Ashkelon has perished.

O remnant of their valley,

how long will you gash yourselves? 6

Ah, sword of the Lord!

How long till you are quiet?

Put yourself into your scabbard;

rest and be still! 7

How can it be quiet

when the Lord has given it a charge?

Against Ashkelon and against the seashore

he has appointed it.” Judgment on Moab
  48:1 Concerning Moab.
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

“Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste!

Kiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;

the fortress is put to shame and broken down; 2

the renown of Moab is no more.

In Heshbon they planned disaster against her:

‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’

You also, O Madmen, shall be brought to silence;

the sword shall pursue you.
3

“A voice! A cry from Horonaim,

‘Desolation and great destruction!’ 4

Moab is destroyed;

her little ones have made a cry. 5

For at the ascent of Luhith

they go up weeping;

for at the descent of Horonaim

they have heard the distressed cry of destruction. 6

Flee! Save yourselves!

You will be like a juniper in the desert! 7

For, because you trusted in your works and your treasures,

you also shall be taken;

and Chemosh shall go into exile

with his priests and his officials. 8

The destroyer shall come upon every city,

and no city shall escape;

the valley shall perish,

and the plain shall be destroyed,

as the Lord has spoken.
9

“Give wings to Moab,

for she would fly away;

her cities shall become a desolation,

with no inhabitant in them.
    10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
11

“Moab has been at ease from his youth

and has settled on his dregs;

he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

nor has he gone into exile;

so his taste remains in him,

and his scent is not changed.
    12 “Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his jars in pieces. 13 Then Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.
14

“How do you say, ‘We are heroes

and mighty men of war’? 15

The destroyer of Moab and his cities has come up,

and the choicest of his young men have gone down to slaughter,

declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. 16

The calamity of Moab is near at hand,

and his affliction hastens swiftly. 17

Grieve for him, all you who are around him,

and all who know his name;

say, ‘How the mighty scepter is broken,

the glorious staff.’
18

“Come down from your glory,

and sit on the parched ground,

O inhabitant of Dibon!

For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;

he has destroyed your strongholds. 19

Stand by the way and watch,

O inhabitant of Aroer!

Ask him who flees and her who escapes;

say, ‘What has happened?’ 20

Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;

wail and cry!

Tell it beside the Arnon,

that Moab is laid waste.
    21 “Judgment has come upon the tableland, upon Holon, and Jahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and Dibon, and Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and Kiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon, 24 and Kerioth, and Bozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, declares the Lord.
    26 “Make him drunk, because he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he too shall be held in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him you wagged your head?
28

“Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock,

O inhabitants of Moab!

Be like the dove that nests

in the sides of the mouth of a gorge. 29

We have heard of the pride of Moab—

he is very proud—

of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,

and the haughtiness of his heart. 30

I know his insolence, declares the Lord;

his boasts are false,

his deeds are false. 31

Therefore I wail for Moab;

I cry out for all Moab;

for the men of Kir-hareseth I mourn. 32

More than for Jazer I weep for you,

O vine of Sibmah!

Your branches passed over the sea,

reached to the Sea of Jazer;

on your summer fruits and your grapes

the destroyer has fallen. 33

Gladness and joy have been taken away

from the fruitful land of Moab;

I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;

no one treads them with shouts of joy;

the shouting is not the shout of joy.
    34 “From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in the high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of Kir-hareseth. Therefore the riches they gained have perished.
    37 “For every head is shaved and every beard cut off. On all the hands are gashes, and around the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like a vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab has become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.”
40

For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle

and spread his wings against Moab; 41

the cities shall be taken

and the strongholds seized.

The heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day

like the heart of a woman in her birth pains; 42

Moab shall be destroyed and be no longer a people,

because he magnified himself against the Lord. 43

Terror, pit, and snare

are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!declares the Lord. 44

He who flees from the terror

shall fall into the pit,

and he who climbs out of the pit

shall be caught in the snare.

For I will bring these things upon Moab,

the year of their punishment,declares the Lord.
45

“In the shadow of Heshbon

fugitives stop without strength,

for fire came out from Heshbon,

flame from the house of Sihon;

it has destroyed the forehead of Moab,

the crown of the sons of tumult. 46

Woe to you, O Moab!

The people of Chemosh are undone,

for your sons have been taken captive,

and your daughters into captivity. 47

Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab

in the latter days, declares the Lord.”

Thus far is the judgment on Moab.

PROVERBS 25

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More Proverbs of Solomon  25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2

It is the glory of God to conceal things,

but the glory of kings is to search things out. 3

As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,

so the heart of kings is unsearchable. 4

Take away the dross from the silver,

and the smith has material for a vessel; 5

take away the wicked from the presence of the king,

and his throne will be established in righteousness. 6

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence

or stand in the place of the great,
7

for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”

than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen 8

do not hastily bring into court,

for what will you do in the end,

when your neighbor puts you to shame? 9

Argue your case with your neighbor himself,

and do not reveal another’s secret, 10

lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,

and your ill repute have no end.
11

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. 12

Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold

is a wise reprover to a listening ear. 13

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

is a faithful messenger to those who send him;

he refreshes the soul of his masters. 14

Like clouds and wind without rain

is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
15

With patience a ruler may be persuaded,

and a soft tongue will break a bone. 16

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,

lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. 17

Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,

lest he have his fill of you and hate you. 18

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor

is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. 19

Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble

is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. 20

Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart

is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

and like vinegar on soda. 21

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22

for you will heap burning coals on his head,

and the Lord will reward you. 23

The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. 24

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop

than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 25

Like cold water to a thirsty soul,

so is good news from a far country. 26

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain

is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. 27

It is not good to eat much honey,

nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. 28

A man without self-control

is like a city broken into and left without walls.

PSALM 126

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Restore Our Fortunes, O LordA Song of Ascents.
126:1

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who dream. 2

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.” 3

The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.
4

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb! 5

Those who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy! 6

He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.

PSALM 127

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Unless the Lord Builds the HouseA Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
127:1

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain. 2

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.
3

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward. 4

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one’s youth. 5

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.