JEREMIAH 47-49

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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. Judgment on Ammon
  49:1 Concerning the Ammonites.
    Thus says the Lord:

“Has Israel no sons?

Has he no heir?

Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,

and his people settled in its cities? 2

Therefore, behold, the days are coming,

declares the Lord,

when I will cause the battle cry to be heard

against Rabbah of the Ammonites;

it shall become a desolate mound,

and its villages shall be burned with fire;

then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,

says the Lord.
3

“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!

Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!

Put on sackcloth,

lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!

For Milcom shall go into exile,

with his priests and his officials. 4

Why do you boast of your valleys,

O faithless daughter,

who trusted in her treasures, saying,

‘Who will come against me?’ 5

Behold, I will bring terror upon you,

declares the Lord God of hosts,

from all who are around you,

and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,

with none to gather the fugitives.
    6 “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the Lord.” Judgment on Edom
7 Concerning Edom.
    Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Is wisdom no more in Teman?

Has counsel perished from the prudent?

Has their wisdom vanished? 8

Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Dedan!

For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,

the time when I punish him. 9

If grape gatherers came to you,

would they not leave gleanings?

If thieves came by night,

would they not destroy only enough for themselves? 10

But I have stripped Esau bare;

I have uncovered his hiding places,

and he is not able to conceal himself.

His children are destroyed, and his brothers,

and his neighbors; and he is no more. 11

Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;

and let your widows trust in me.”
    12 For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”
14

I have heard a message from the Lord,

and an envoy has been sent among the nations:

“Gather yourselves together and come against her,

and rise up for battle! 15

For behold, I will make you small among the nations,

despised among mankind. 16

The horror you inspire has deceived you,

and the pride of your heart,

you who live in the clefts of the rock,

who hold the height of the hill.

Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,

I will bring you down from there,declares the Lord.
    17 “Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.” Judgment on Damascus23 Concerning Damascus:

“Hamath and Arpad are confounded,

for they have heard bad news;

they melt in fear,

they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet. 24

Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,

and panic seized her;

anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,

as of a woman in labor. 25

How is the famous city not forsaken,

the city of my joy? 26

Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,

and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,declares the Lord of hosts. 27

And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,

and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.” Judgment on Kedar and Hazor28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

Thus says the Lord:

“Rise up, advance against Kedar!

Destroy the people of the east! 29

Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,

their curtains and all their goods;

their camels shall be led away from them,

and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’ 30

Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,

O inhabitants of Hazor!declares the Lord.For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonhas made a plan against youand formed a purpose against you.
31

“Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,

that dwells securely,declares the Lord,that has no gates or bars,that dwells alone. 32

Their camels shall become plunder,

their herds of livestock a spoil.

I will scatter to every wind

those who cut the corners of their hair,

and I will bring their calamity

from every side of them,declares the Lord. 33

Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals,

an everlasting waste;

no man shall dwell there;

no man shall sojourn in her.” Judgment on Elam34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.
    35 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the Lord.
    39 “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the Lord.”

PSALM 80

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Restore Us, O GodTo the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.
80:1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock.

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

stir up your might

and come to save us!
3

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4

O Lord God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5

You have fed them with the bread of tears

and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6

You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,

and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8

You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it. 9

You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land. 10

The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches. 11

It sent out its branches to the sea

and its shoots to the River. 12

Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13

The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.
14

Turn again, O God of hosts!

Look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine, 15

the stock that your right hand planted,

and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16

They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;

may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17

But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,

the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18

Then we shall not turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

2 PETER 2

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False Prophets and Teachers  2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
    4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.
    Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
    17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”