Jeremiah 10 Cross References - ISV

¹ The True God and Worthless IdolsHear the message that the LORD has spoken to you, house of Israel. ² This is what the LORD says: “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified of them. ³ For the practices of the people are worthless. Indeed, a tree is cut down from the forest; it’s the work of the hands of a craftsman with an ax. ⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold. They secure it with nails and hammers so it won’t totter. ⁵ Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They can’t speak! They must always be carried because they can’t walk! Don’t be afraid of them because they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.” ⁶ There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great and powerful. ⁷ Who wouldn’t fear you, king of the nations? This is what you deserve! Indeed, among all the wise men of the nations, and throughout all their kingdoms, there is no one like you! ⁸ Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood! ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. The idols are the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. The idols are all the work of skilled craftsmen. ¹⁰ The LORD is the true God; he’s the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
¹¹ Tell this to them: “The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”
¹² A Hymn of Praise to GodThe LORD is the one who made the world by his power, who established the earth by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. ¹³ When his voice sounds there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses. ¹⁴ Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false. There is no life in them. ¹⁵ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish. ¹⁶ The Portion of Jacob is not like these. He made everything, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
¹⁷ The Coming Captivity of JudahYou who live under siege, Gather up your bundle from the ground. ¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says: “I’m going to throw out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I’ll bring distress on them so they’ll experience it.” ¹⁹ Woe is me because of my injury. My wound is severe. I said, “Truly this is my sickness, and I must bear it. ²⁰ My tent is destroyed, and all my tent cords are broken. My sons have gone away from me, they no longer live. There is no one to pitch my tent again and set up my curtains. ²¹ Because the shepherds are stupid and don’t seek the LORD, therefore, they don’t prosper, and their flock is scattered. ²² The sound of a report, it’s coming now! There is a great commotion from a land in the north to make the towns of Judah desolate, a refuge for jackals.”
²³ Jeremiah’s PrayerLORD, I know that a person’s life is not his to control, nor does a person establish his way in life. ²⁴ LORD, correct me, but with justice, not with anger. Otherwise, you’ll bring me to nothing. ²⁵ Pour out your anger on the nations that don’t acknowledge you, and on the families that don’t call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured and consumed him; they have devastated his habitation.

¹⁹ But Micaiah responded, “Therefore, listen to what the LORD has to say. I saw the LORD, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was standing around him on his right hand and on his left hand.

⁷ “Listen, my people, for I am making a pronouncement: Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you.

¹⁰ “Listen to what the LORD says, you rulers of Sodom, and pay attention to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

¹⁴ God’s Precious Cornerstone“Therefore hear the message from the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.

⁴ Her Rejection of God’s LoveListen to this message from the LORD, you descendants of Jacob and all the families of the descendants of Israel.

¹⁵ Listen and pay attention! Don’t be proud, for the LORD has spoken. ¹⁶ Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. You hope for light, but he turns it into deep darkness. He changes it into heavy gloom. ¹⁷ If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

² ‘Listen to this message from the LORD, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials, and your people who enter these gates.

¹⁵ then hear this message from the LORD, remnant of Judah: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “If you are really determined to go into Egypt, and you go there to settle,

¹ God Accuses Israel “Hear this message from the LORD, people of Israel. Indeed, the LORD brings a charge against the people who live in the land— for there is no truth and no gracious love or knowledge of God in the land.

¹⁶ “Very well then, hear this message from the LORD: ‘You are saying, “Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.”

¹³ How the Thessalonians Welcomed the GospelHere is another reason why we constantly give thanks to God: When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you did not accept it as the word of humans but for what it really is—the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

²⁹ ‘Let everyone listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

³ You are not to do what you used to do in the land of Egypt where you lived. You are not to do what Canaan does, where I’m about to bring you, so that you live according to their statutes.

²³ You are not to live by the customs of the nations, whom I’ve cast away right in front of you. Because they did all of these things, I detested them.

³⁰ after they have been destroyed in your sight, be careful not to be ensnared as they were. Otherwise, you will seek their gods and ask yourselves, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.’ ³¹ You must not do the same to the LORD your God, because they practiced in the presence of their gods every sort of abomination that the LORD hates. Moreover, they sacrificed their sons and daughters to their gods.

¹² “But stand up now with your spells and your many incantations, at which you have labored from your childhood until today, ¹³ according to your multiple schemes. Let them stand up now— those who conjure the heavens and gaze at the stars, predicting at the new moons— and save you from what is about to happen to them. ¹⁴ “See, they are just like stubble; fire burns them up. They could not even save themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals for warming oneself, no fire to sit by.

³² The thing that you’re imagining is never going to happen, since you’re thinking, “We’ll be like the nations, like the clans of other lands who serve gods made from wood and stone.”’”

²⁵ The Coming of the Son of Man
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.
²⁸ “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your deliverance is approaching.”

³⁰ Therefore, keep my injunctions so that you won’t practice these detestable things that have been done before you, and so that you won’t be defiled in them. I am the LORD.”

²⁶ So they took the ox that was given to them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from early morning until noon. “Baal! Answer us!” they cried. But there was no response. Nobody answered. So they kept on dancing around the altar that they had made.
²⁷ Starting about noon, Elijah began to tease them:
“Shout louder!
“He’s a god, so maybe he’s busy.
“Maybe he’s relieving himself.
“Maybe he’s busy someplace.
“Maybe he’s taking a nap and somebody needs to wake him up.”
²⁸ So the prophets of Baal cried even louder and slashed themselves with swords and lances until their blood gushed out all over them, as was their custom.

¹⁹ To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains. ²⁰ To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won’t rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won’t topple?”
²¹ The Majesty of the LORD“You know, don’t you? You have heard, haven’t you? Hasn’t it been told you from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth? ²² He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in, ²³ who brings princes to nothing, and makes void the rulers of the earth. ²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner have their stems taken root in the earth, than he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest sweeps them away like stubble. ²⁵ “To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?” asks the Holy One. ²⁶ “Lift your eyes up to heaven and see who created all these— the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number, calling them all by name— because of his great might and his powerful strength— and not one is missing.”
²⁷ The LORD Watches Israel“Jacob, why do you say— and Israel, why do you complain— ‘My predicament is hidden from the LORD, and my cause is ignored by my God.’? ²⁸ Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed. ²⁹ He’s the one who gives might to the faint, renewing strength for the powerless. ³⁰ Even boys grow tired and weary, and young men collapse and fall, ³¹ but those who keep waiting for the LORD will renew their strength. Then they’ll soar on wings like eagles; they’ll run and not grow weary; they’ll walk and not grow tired.”

⁹ A Rebuke to Idol WorshipNow, all the forming of images means nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their own witnesses cannot see, and they know nothing. So they will be put to shame.
¹⁰ Who would shape a god or cast an image that profits nothing? ¹¹ To be sure, all who associate with it will be put to shame; and as for the craftsmen, they are only human. Let them all gather together and take their stand. Then let them be terrified—they will be humiliated together.
¹² The blacksmith prepares a tool and works in the coals, then fashions an idol with hammers, working by the strength of his arm. He even becomes hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
¹³ The carpenter measures it with a line; he traces its shape with a stylus, then fashions it with planes and shapes it with a compass. He makes the idol like a human figure, with human beauty, to be at home in a shrine. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress tree or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. Or he plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ He divides it up for people to burn. Taking part of it, he warms himself, makes a fire, and bakes bread. Or perhaps he constructs a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶ Half the wood he burns in the fire, and over that half he places meat so he can eat. He sits by its coals, warms himself, and says, “Ah! I am warm in front of the fire.” ¹⁷ And the rest of it he makes into a god. To blocks of wood he bows down, worships, prays, and says, “Save me, since you are my god.”
¹⁸ They don’t realize; they don’t understand, because their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds, too, so they cannot understand. ¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?” ²⁰ He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”

²⁰ “Gather together and come; draw near and enter, your fugitives from the nations. Those who carry around their wooden idols know nothing, nor do those who keep praying to a god that cannot save.

⁵ This is what the LORD says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that they left me, and pursued worthless things, and so they became worthless?

⁸ Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood!

⁴ They set kings in place, but not by me. They established princes, whom I did not recognize. They crafted idols for themselves from their silver and gold; as a result, they will be destroyed. ⁵ Your calf, Samaria, has been thrown away. My anger is burning against them. How long until they become pure again? ⁶ Because from Israel it was fashioned by craftsmen, it is not God; therefore Samaria’s calf will be broken in pieces.

¹⁸ Judgment on the Idol Maker“Where is the benefit in owning a carved image, that motivates its maker to carve it? It is only a cast image— a teacher that lies— because the engraver entrusts himself to his carving, crafting speechless idols. ¹⁹ “Woe to the one who says to a tree, ‘Wake up!’ or ‘Arise!’ to a speechless stone. Idols like this can’t teach, can they? Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver, there’s no breath in it at all.”

⁷ “When you are praying, don’t say meaningless things like the unbelievers do, because they think they will be heard by being so wordy.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you have been ransomed from the worthless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors,

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, worked by the hands of human beings.

¹⁹ To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains. ²⁰ To the impoverished person? He prepares an offering— wood that won’t rot— Or to the one who chooses a skilled craftsman and seeks to erect an idol that won’t topple?”

⁶ Each helps his neighbor, saying to each other, ‘Be strong!’ ⁷ The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and the hammersmith encourages the one who strikes the anvil. He says about the welding, ‘It’s good!’ and he reinforces it with nails so that it won’t topple.”

¹² The blacksmith prepares a tool and works in the coals, then fashions an idol with hammers, working by the strength of his arm. He even becomes hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.

⁷ And they lift it on their shoulders, carry it, set it up in its place, and there it stands. It cannot move from that spot. One may even call to it, but it cannot answer nor save him from his distress.

⁵ They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see. ⁶ They have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands, but cannot touch; feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even groan with their throats. ⁸ Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them.

¹⁶ Mouths are attributed to them, but they cannot speak; sight is attributed to them, but they cannot see; ¹⁷ ears are attributed to them, but they do not hear, and there is no breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ Those who craft them— and all who trust in them— will become like them.

²³ Tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods! Yes, do something good or something bad, so we may hear and gaze at it together.’” ²⁴ “Look! You and your work are less than nothing; whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”

⁹ A Rebuke to Idol WorshipNow, all the forming of images means nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their own witnesses cannot see, and they know nothing. So they will be put to shame.
¹⁰ Who would shape a god or cast an image that profits nothing?

¹ God is Unique and Eternal “Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low. Their idols are on beasts, on livestock. Your loads are more burdensome than their reports.

¹⁹ “Woe to the one who says to a tree, ‘Wake up!’ or ‘Arise!’ to a speechless stone. Idols like this can’t teach, can they? Look, even though it is overlaid with gold and silver, there’s no breath in it at all.”

⁴ Now concerning eating food offered to idols: We know that no idol is real in this world and that there is only one God.

² You know that when you were unbelievers, you were enticed and led astray to worship idols that couldn’t even speak.

¹⁴ It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ The second beast was allowed to impart life to the image of the first beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast.

¹⁰ Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.”
Moses said, “It will be just as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God.

¹⁴ Indeed, this time I’m sending all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

¹¹ “Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, and working wonders?

³¹ For their rock isn’t like our Rock, as even our enemies admit.

²⁶ Israel’s Defender“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens with its lofty clouds to help you.

²² And therefore you are great, Lord GOD, there is no one like you, there is no God except for you, just as we’ve heard with our own ears.

¹⁴ Looking things over, I stood up and spoke to the officials, the military leaders, and the rest of the people: “Don’t fear them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

³² “Now therefore, our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and gracious love, don’t let all of the difficulties seem trifling to you, all of hardships that have come upon us, upon our kings, upon our leaders, upon our priests, upon our prophets, upon our ancestors, and upon all of your people from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.

¹⁰ All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like you? Who delivers the weak from the one who is stronger than he, and the weak and the needy from the one who wants to rob him?”

¹ A song: Lyrics by the Sons of Korah.
Zion, City of God Great is the LORD! For he is to be praised greatly, even in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

⁸ No one can compare with you among the gods, Lord; No one can accomplish your work. ⁹ All the nations that you have established will come and worship you, my Lord. They will honor your name. ¹⁰ For you are great, and you are doing awesome things; you alone are God.

⁶ For who in the skies compares to the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the divine beings? ⁷ God is feared in the council of the holy ones, revered by all those around him. ⁸ LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, who is as mighty as you, LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds you.

⁴ For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised; he is awesome above all gods.

³ The LORD is great, and to be praised highly, though his greatness is indescribable.

⁵ Our Lord is great, and rich in power; his understanding has no limitation.

⁶ Shout aloud, and sing for joy, you who live in Zion, because great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

¹⁸ “To whom, then, will you compare me, the One who is God? Or to what image will you liken me?

²⁵ “To whom, then, will you compare me, and to whom should I be equal?” asks the Holy One.

⁵ “To whom will you compare me, count me equal, or liken me, so that I may be compared?

⁹ Remember the former things from long ago, Because I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like me.

¹⁸ You, the great God, the mighty one, show gracious love to thousands and repay the parents’ iniquity to their children after them. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

³ How great are his signs!How powerful are his wonders!His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion lasts from generation to generation.

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.

¹¹ Even so, from where the sun rises to where it sets my name will be great among the Gentiles. Incense will be brought to me everywhere, along with pure offerings, because my name will be great among the Gentiles,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

²³ We cannot find the Almighty— he is majestic in power and justice, and overflowing with righteousness; he never oppresses. ²⁴ Therefore humanity fears him, which none of the wise can quite comprehend.”

²⁸ Indeed, the kingdom belongs to the LORD; he rules over the nations.

¹¹ May all kings bow down to him, and all nations serve him.

⁷ You are awesome! who can stand in your presence when you’re angry?

⁹ All the nations that you have established will come and worship you, my Lord. They will honor your name.

⁶ For who in the skies compares to the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the divine beings?

⁴ He will judge between the nations, and will render verdicts for the benefit of many. “They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations will not raise swords against nations, and they will not learn warfare anymore.

²² ‘You don’t fear me, do you?’ declares the LORD. ‘You don’t tremble before me, do you? I’m the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it, though they roar, they cannot cross it.’

⁶ There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great and powerful.

¹¹ “Many nations will cling to the LORD at that time and will become my people. I will live in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you.

⁵ I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the authority to throw you into hell after killing you. Yes, I tell you, be afraid of him!

¹⁹ For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.”
²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he?

¹⁵ The Vision of the Seventh Angel Blowing His TrumpetWhen the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The world’s kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever.”

⁴ Lord, who won’t fear and praise your name? For you alone are holy, and all the nations will come and worship you because your judgments have been revealed.”

⁸ Those who craft them will become like them, as will all those who trust in them.

¹⁸ Those who craft them— and all who trust in them— will become like them.

²⁹ See, none of them exist, and their deeds are nothing. Their metal images are only wind and confusion.’”

¹⁹ No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?”

²⁷ who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ They have turned their back to me, but not their faces. In the time of their trouble, they’ll say, ‘Rise up! Deliver us!’”

²² The LORD’s Complaint about His People“For my people are foolish, they don’t know me. They’re stupid children, they have no understanding. They’re skilled at doing evil, but how to do good, they don’t know.”

¹⁴ Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false. There is no life in them.

¹⁷ Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols, for his images are false, and there is no life in them. ¹⁸ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish.

¹² My people seek counsel from their piece of wood, and their diviner’s rod speaks to them. For a spirit of prostitution causes them to go astray; in their immorality they desert their God.

¹⁸ Judgment on the Idol Maker“Where is the benefit in owning a carved image, that motivates its maker to carve it? It is only a cast image— a teacher that lies— because the engraver entrusts himself to his carving, crafting speechless idols.

² Truly the family idols talk nonsense and the diviners discern lies, describing delusional dreams. Since their comfort is vacuous, they wander off on their own like sheep, because there is no shepherd.

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools

²² because the king had ships that sailed to Tarshish accompanied by Hiram’s ships. Once every three years ships from Tarshish returned, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

¹⁹ To an idol? A craftsman makes the image, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains.

¹² Tyre’s Trading Partners‘Tarshish was your business partner because of your phenomenal wealth. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise.

⁵ I lifted up my eyes to look, and to my surprise, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was encircled with gold from Uphaz!

²⁶ For what mortal man has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire like we did, and lived?

⁴ Flawless is the work of the Rock, because all his ways are just. A faithful God—never unjust— righteous and upright is he.

⁴ LORD, when you left Seir, when you marched out from the grain field of Edom, the earth quaked and the heavens poured out rain; indeed, the clouds poured out water.

²⁶ David asked the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he defied the armies of the living God.”

³⁹ When all the people saw what had happened, they fell flat on their faces and cried out “The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”

³ Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law,

⁶ He shakes the earth from its orbit, so that its foundations shudder.

¹⁶ The LORD is king forever and ever; nations will perish from his land.

⁷ The world shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains quaked, they shook because he was angry.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit; for you have redeemed me, LORD God of truth.

² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When may I come and appear in God’s presence?

¹¹ The Lord issues a command. Numerous are the women who announce the news:

¹⁸ Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind; your lightning lights up the world; the earth becomes agitated and quakes.

² I desire and long for the Temple courts of the LORD. My heart and body sing for joy to the living God.

¹¹ Who can know the intensity of your anger? Because our fear of you matches your wrath,

² Your throne has been established since time immemorial; you are king from eternity.

⁴ His lightning bolts light the world; the earth sees and shakes.

⁵ for the LORD is good and his gracious love stands forever. His faithfulness remains from generation to generation.

³² He looks at the earth and it shakes; he touches the mountains and they smoke.

⁷ Tremble then, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your authority endures from one generation to another. ^13bGod is faithful about everything he says and merciful in everything he does.

⁶ maker of heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them, forever the guardian of truth,

⁴ Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to mock the living God, and perhaps he will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard. So lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives in this city.”

¹⁷ Extend your ear, LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, LORD, and look! Listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.

¹⁵ “For this is what the high and lofty One says, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “He lives in the height and in holiness, and also with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

³⁶ But you are to no longer mention the oracle of the LORD, because the oracle is only for the person to whom the LORD gives his message, and you have overturned the words of the living God, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, our God.

²⁶ “I hereby decree that in every area of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, who endures forever. His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed, and his dominion continues forever.

¹⁴ To him dominion was bestowed, along with glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages are to serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion—it will never pass away—and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

¹¹ The LORD will shout in the presence of his forces, because his encampment is very great; for powerful is he who carries out his message. Truly the Day of the LORD is great, and very terrifying. Who will be able to survive it?”

⁴ The mountains will melt under him and the valleys will split apart, like wax in the presence of fire and like water gushing down a steep incline.

⁶ Who can stand before his fury? And who can endure his fierce anger? His displeasure pours out like fire, and rocks are broken to pieces because of him.

⁶ He stood up and shook the land; with his stare he startled the nations. The age-old mountains were shattered, and the ancient hilltops bowed down. His ways are eternal.

¹⁰ When the mountains looked upon you, they trembled; the overflowing water passed by, the ocean shouted, and its waves surged upward.

² But who will survive the day when he comes? Or who can stand when he appears? Because he’s like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap,

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!”

⁶³ But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest told him, “I command you by the living God to tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God!”

⁵¹ Suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks were split open, ⁵² tombs were opened, and many saints who had died were brought back to life.

³ And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah.

¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings with natures like yours. We are telling you the good news so you’ll turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

⁹ For people keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God

¹⁷ Now to the King Eternal—the immortal, invisible, and only God—be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

¹⁷ Advice for the WealthyTell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!

²⁰ We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus the Messiah, who is the true God and eternal life.

¹¹ The Vision of the White Throne JudgmentThen I saw a large, white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

¹⁸ Their idols will utterly vanish.

¹⁵ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish.

¹⁸ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish.

⁶⁶ Pursue them in your anger and destroy them from under the LORD’s heaven.

¹¹ The LORD will incite them to terror, because he will cause all the gods of the earth to waste away. They will worship him, every person in his own home, including even the coastlands of the nations.”
The LORD’s Rebuke to Cush and Nineveh

² Cessation of Prophecy“At that time,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered anymore. I will also force both prophet and demon to leave the land.

² He captured the dragon, that ancient serpent, also known as the devil and Satan, and tied him up for a thousand years.

¹ The CreationIn the beginning, God created the universe.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a canopy between bodies of water, separating bodies of water from bodies of water!” ⁷ So God made a canopy that separated the water beneath the canopy from the water above it. And that is what happened: ⁸ God called the canopy “sky.” The twilight and the dawn were the second day.
⁹ Then God said, “Let the water beneath the sky come together into one area, and let dry ground appear!” And that is what happened:

⁸ He alone spreads out the heavens, he walks on the waves of the sea.

⁷ He spreads out the north over empty space, suspending the earth over nothing.

⁴ On the Natural World“Where were you when I laid the foundation of my earth? Tell me, since you’re so informed! ⁵ Who set its measurement? Am I to assume you know? Who stretched a boundary line over it? ⁶ On what were its bases set? Who laid its corner stone ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the divine beings shouted joyfully?

² Indeed, he founded it upon the seas, he established it upon deep waters.

⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made; all the heavenly bodies by the breath of his mouth.

⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary, high as the heavens, like the earth that he established forever.

¹ God Reigns The LORD reigns! He is clothed in majesty; the LORD is clothed, and he is girded with strength. Indeed, the world is well established, and cannot be shaken.

² you are wrapped in light like a garment, stretching out the sky like a curtain.

²⁴ How numerous are your works, LORD! You have made them all wisely; the earth is filled with your creations.

⁹⁰ Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation. You established the earth, and it stands firm.

⁵ to the one who by wisdom made the heavens, for his gracious love is everlasting— ⁶ to the one who spread out the earth over the waters, for his gracious love is everlasting—

⁵ Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, ⁶ maker of heaven and earth, the seas and everything in them, forever the guardian of truth,

⁴ Praise him, you heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens. ⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he himself gave the command that they be created.

¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, and by understanding he set the heavens in place.

⁴ Who has ascended to heaven, and then descended? Who has collected the wind in his hands? Who has wrapped up waters in a garment? Who has established all the farthest points of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!

²² He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in,

⁵ God Speaks about the ServantThis is what God says— the God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its produce, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

²⁴ “This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer and the one who formed you in the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who has made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth— Who was with me at that time?—

¹² I myself made the earth and personally created humankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the skies; I marshaled all their starry hosts.”

¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says, who created the heavens— he is God, and the one who formed the earth and made it, and he is the one who established it; he didn’t create it for chaos, but formed it to be inhabited— “I am the LORD and there is no other.

¹³ Moreover, my hands laid the earth’s foundation, and my right hand spread out the heavens. I call out to them, and they stand up together.

⁸ The Restoration of Israel“This what the LORD says: “I’ll answer you in a time of favor, and on a day of salvation I’ll help you. I have watched over you, and given you as a covenant for the people, to restore the land, to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated;

¹³ When his voice sounds there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses.

¹⁷ ‘LORD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!

¹⁵ Praise to the God of JacobHe made the earth by his power. He established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he spread out the heavens. ¹⁶ When his voice sounds, there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses. ¹⁷ Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his own idols, for his images are false, and there is no life in them. ¹⁸ They’re worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they’ll perish. ¹⁹ The Portion of Jacob is not like these. He made everything, including the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

¹ The LORD will Deliver JerusalemA declaration: a message from the LORD to Israel. “The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who frames the spirit of man within himself, declares,

³ Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made.

¹⁶ For by him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers, or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.

²³ When Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. The LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.

¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I’ll call upon the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain. Then you will know and understand that you have done a great evil in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king for yourselves.” ¹⁸ Samuel called upon the LORD that same day, and the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

⁴¹ The Rain Storm Ends the DroughtAfter this, Elijah told Ahab, “Get up and have something to eat and drink, because there’s the sound of a coming rainstorm.”

⁴⁵ A little while later, the sky turned black with storm clouds and winds, and there was a heavy shower. So Ahab rode off to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ After Ahab had left, the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his mantle into his belt and outran Ahab in a race to the city gate of Jezreel.

²⁷ He draws up drops of water, distilling it to rain and mist. ²⁸ When the clouds pour down; they drop their rain on all of humanity. ²⁹ “Furthermore, can anyone understand cloud patterns, or the thundering in his pavilion? ³⁰ He scatters his lightning above it, and covers the bottom of the sea. ³¹ He uses them to judge some people and give food to many. ³² His hands are covered with lightning that he commands to strike his designated target. ³³ His thunder declares his presence; and tells the animals what is coming.”

² Listen carefully to his thundering voice; to the sound that rumbles from his mouth. ³ He releases his lightning throughout the sky, to the ends of the earth. ⁴ His thunder roars after it; his majestic voice will thunder; and no one can trace them once his voice has been heard. ⁵ “God thunders with his wondrous voice; he does awesome works that we don’t comprehend.

²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen where the hail is stored,

²⁵ “Who cuts canals for storm floods, and paths for the lightning and thunder, ²⁶ to bring rain upon a land without inhabitants, a desert in which no human beings live, ²⁷ to satisfy a desolate and devastated desert, causing it to sprout vegetation?

³⁴ “Can you call out to the clouds, so that abundant water drenches you? ³⁵ Can you command the lightning, so that it goes forth and calls to you, ‘Look at us!’

¹³ Then the LORD thundered in the heavens, and the Most High sounded aloud, calling for hail stones and flashes of fire.

³ The voice of the LORD was heard above the waters; the God of glory thundered; the LORD was heard over many waters. ⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. ⁵ The voice of the LORD snaps the cedars; the LORD snaps the cedars of Lebanon. ⁶ He makes them stagger like a calf, even Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. ⁷ The voice of the LORD shoots out flashes of fire. ⁸ The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. ⁹ The voice of the LORD causes deer to give birth, and strips the forest bare. In his Temple all of them shout, “Glory!” ¹⁰ The LORD sat enthroned over the flood, and the LORD sits as king forever.

³³ to the one who rides the heavens, the ancient heavens. Behold! He thunders with a mighty voice.

⁷ He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth, fashioning lightning for the rain, bringing the wind from his storehouses.

¹⁷ ears are attributed to them, but they do not hear, and there is no breath in their mouths.

⁸ He shields the heavens with clouds, preparing rain for the earth and making grass grow on the hills.

¹ The LORD’s Care for Judah “Ask the LORD for rain in the spring— the LORD who fashions lightning thunderstorms, giving rain showers to mankind along with grain in the fields.

² The LORD looks down from the heavens upon humanity to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.

⁶ A stupid man doesn’t know, and a fool can’t comprehend this:

⁸ Pay attention, you dull ones among the crowds! You fools! Will you ever become wise?

⁷ All who serve carved images— and those who praise idols—will be humiliated. Worship him, all you “gods”!

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, crafted by human hands.

² Surely I am beyond the senselessness of any man; I do not perceive things the way human beings do.

¹⁷ Those who trust in carved idols will turn back and be completely disappointed, along with those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”

¹¹ To be sure, all who associate with it will be put to shame; and as for the craftsmen, they are only human. Let them all gather together and take their stand. Then let them be terrified—they will be humiliated together.

¹⁶ All of them will be put to shame—indeed, disgraced! The makers of idols will go off in disgrace together.

⁷ And they lift it on their shoulders, carry it, set it up in its place, and there it stands. It cannot move from that spot. One may even call to it, but it cannot answer nor save him from his distress. ⁸ “Remember this, and stand firm; take it again to heart, you rebels.

²² Though claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images that looked like mortal human beings, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

²¹ They provoked me to jealousy over non-gods, and to be angry over their vanity. Now I’ll provoke them to jealousy over a non-people; and over a foolish nation I’ll provoke them to anger.

²¹ Don’t turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or deliver because they’re useless.

¹⁸ Their idols will utterly vanish. ¹⁹ “They will enter caverns in the rocks and holes in the ground to escape the presence of the terror of the LORD, to escape the splendor of his majesty when he arises to terrify the earth. ²⁰ At that time, mankind will throw their silver and gold idols that their fingers have made as objects of worship to the moles and to the bats. ²¹ They will enter caverns in the rocks and clefts in the cliffs, to escape the terror of the LORD and to escape the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to terrorize the earth.

²⁴ “Look! You and your work are less than nothing; whoever finds you pleasing is disgusting.”

¹² Are they ashamed because they have done what is repugnant to God? They weren’t ashamed at all; they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore they’ll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they’ll be brought down,” says the LORD.

¹⁹ Listen! My people cry from a distant land: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her king no longer there?”
The LORD Speaks “Why did they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign gods?”

¹¹ Tell this to them: “The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”

²² Can any of the worthless gods of the nations make it rain? Can the heavens themselves bring forth showers? Aren’t you the one who does this, LORD our God? So we hope in you, for you are the one who does all these things.

⁸ Those who cling to vain idols leave behind the gracious love that could have been theirs.

³ “I’ll consume both human beings and animals— I’ll consume the birds of the sky, the fish in the sea, and the wicked along with their sin, when I eliminate human beings from the land,” declares the LORD. ⁴ “I will also stretch out my hand against Judah, and upon all inhabitants of Jerusalem. I’ll wipe out every trace of Baal from this place, and the name of the pagan priests, along with my own priests.

⁵ And now if you carefully obey me and keep my covenant, you are to be my special possession out of all the peoples, because the whole earth belongs to me,

⁹ For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is his allotted portion.

⁵ The LORD is my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for me; truly, I have a beautiful heritage.

²⁶ My body and mind may fail, but God is my strength and my portion forever.

² Remember your community, whom you purchased long ago, the tribe whom you redeemed for your possession. Remember Mount Zion, where you live.

⁵⁷ Cheth
Keeping God’s WordThe LORD is my inheritance; I have given my promise to keep your word.

⁴ It is Jacob whom the LORD chose for himself— Israel as his personal possession.

⁵ So I cry to you, Lord, declaring, “You are my refuge, my only possession while I am on this earth.”

⁴ The LORD made everything answerable to him, including the wicked at the time of trouble.

⁷ God is Sovereign“I form light and create darkness, I make goodness and create disaster. I am the LORD, who does all these things.

⁴ “Our Redeemer— the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.

⁶ I was angry with my people, and I desecrated my heritage, and gave them into your control. You showed them no mercy; even on the aged you laid your yoke most heavily.

¹⁵ A Promise of Restoration“For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea, so that its waves roar, ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.’

⁵ For your Maker is your husband; the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name, and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of the whole earth.

¹² A Hymn of Praise to GodThe LORD is the one who made the world by his power, who established the earth by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

³⁵ This is what the LORD says, who gives the sun for light by day, the laws that govern the moon and stars for light by night, and who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name:

³⁴ Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name. He will vigorously plead their case in order to bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

¹⁹ The Portion of Jacob is not like these. He made everything, including the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

²⁴ “The LORD is all I have,” says my soul, “Therefore I will trust in him.”

¹ The Enemy Besieges Jerusalem “Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north.

¹³ “Look, I’m against you, city dwelling in the valley, rock of the plain,” declares the LORD, “those of you who say, ‘Who can come down against us and who can enter our habitations?’

³ “So now, Son of Man, you are to prepare your luggage for a trip into exile, and then you are to leave during the daytime so they see you leaving. Leave from your place to another while they’re watching. Then perhaps they’ll realize that they’re a rebellious house.
⁴ “Bring out your luggage, like you’re packing to go into exile, and do this during the daytime while they’re watching you. Later that evening, leave while they’re watching you like someone heading into exile. ⁵ While they continue to watch, dig a hole for yourself in the wall and enter through it.
⁶ “While they’re watching, carry your luggage on your shoulder and go out in total darkness. Cover your face so that you won’t see the land, because I’m using you as a sign to Israel’s house.”
⁷ I did just as I was commanded. I brought out the luggage as if it were luggage for exile. I did this during the day. Then in the evening I dug a hole in the wall with my hand and brought the luggage out in total darkness and carried it out on my shoulder while they were watching.
⁸ The Meaning of the MessageThe next morning, this message came to me from the LORD: ⁹ “Son of Man, didn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Answer them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says, “This oracle concerns the prince of Jerusalem and the whole of Israel’s house that is in their midst. ¹¹ Tell them, ‘I’m a sign for you. Just as I enacted it, it’s going to happen to them. They’ll go into exile and captivity. ¹² Then the prince, who will be one of them, will carry his luggage on his shoulder in the dark and will go out. They’ll dig a hole in the wall for him to go through. His face will be covered so that he won’t be able to see the land with his eyes.

¹⁰ “Get up and go, because there’s no rest for you here! Since everything is polluted, it can only cause destruction, even heavy destruction.

¹⁵ Signs of the End
“So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),

⁶³ Just as the LORD delighted to prosper and increase you, so now the LORD will delight to destroy, exterminate, and banish you from the land that you are about to enter to possess.”
⁶⁴ Scattering among the Nations“He’ll scatter you among the peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you’ll serve other gods made of wood and stones, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.

²⁹ If anyone should arise to pursue you and seek your life, may the life of your majesty be bound up with the LORD your God in a bundle of the living, and may he sling out the lives of your enemies from the pocket of a sling.

¹ The Destiny of the JudgedThen the LORD told me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me, I wouldn’t be favorably disposed toward this people. Send them out of my presence! Let them go!
² “When they say to you, ‘Where can we go?’, say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Those destined for death, to death will go; those destined for the sword, to the sword will go; and those destined for captivity, to captivity will go.

¹³ I’ll throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, and I’ll show you no favor.’

²⁰ The LORD’s anger won’t turn back until he has accomplished what he intended to do. In the future you will clearly understand it.

¹⁰ Then they’ll know that I am the LORD. I didn’t declare this evil that’s intended for them without a reason.’”

⁶ But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.’”

⁹ I remain silent; I do not open my mouth, for you are the one who acted.

¹⁰ So I say: “It causes me pain that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

¹⁷ I’ll wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I’ll put my trust in him.

¹⁹ Jeremiah’s Lament for His People“My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the aching of my heart! My heart pounds within me; I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm for war.

³¹ I heard a cry like that of a woman in labor, anguish like one giving birth to her firstborn, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for air, stretching out her hand: “Woe is me! I’m about to faint in front of killers!”

²¹ The Prophet MournsBecause my people are crushed, I’m crushed. I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me.

¹ The LORD’s Sorrow for His People “Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, for then I would cry day and night for those of my people who have been killed.

¹⁷ “And deliver this message to them: ‘Let tears run down my face, night and day, and don’t let them stop, because my virgin daughter—my people— will be broken with a powerful blow, with a severe wound.

¹³ LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn aside from you will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

² Bitterly she cries in the night, as tears stream down her cheeks. No one consoles her of all her friends. All her neighbors have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

¹² May it not befall you, all who pass along the road! Look and see: Is there any grief like my grief dealt out to me, by which the LORD afflicted me in the time of his fierce wrath? ¹³ He sent fire from on high, making it penetrate my bones. He stretched out a net at my feet, forcing me to turn back. He made me desolate; I’m fainting all day long. ¹⁴ The yoke of my sins was bound on, fastened together by his hand. They settled on my neck; he caused my strength to fail. The LORD placed me in the power of those I cannot resist. ¹⁵ He rejected all the valiant men— the LORD, in my midst. He set a time to meet with me to crush my young warriors. The LORD has trampled, as in a winepress, the fair virgin that is Judah. ¹⁶ Because of all this, I weep; my eyes stream with tears because far from me is the comforter of my soul. My children are sorrowful, because the enemy has won. ¹⁷ Zion spreads out her hands; no one is there to comfort her. The LORD has issued an order against Jacob, that all who are around him are to be his enemies; Jerusalem has become unclean among them. ¹⁸ The LORD is in the right, but I rebelled against his commands. Listen, please, all you people, and look at my pain— my young men and women have gone into captivity. ¹⁹ I called out to my lovers, but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have died within the city while looking for something to eat to keep themselves alive. ²⁰ Look, LORD, how distressed I am; all my insides are churning. My heart is troubled within me, because I vigorously rebelled. Outside the sword brings loss of life, while at home death rules. ²¹ People heard how I groan, with no one to comfort me. All my adversaries have heard about my troubles; they rejoice that you have caused them. Bring on the day you have promised, so my adversaries will become like me. ²² May all of their wickedness come to your attention, and deal with them as you have done with me because of all my transgressions. For I am constantly groaning, and my heart is faint.

¹¹ My eyes are worn out from crying, my insides are churning, My emotions pour out in grief because my people are destroyed— Children and infants faint in the streets of the city. ¹² They ask their mothers, “Is there anything to eat or drink?” They faint in the streets of the city like wounded men. Their life ebbs away while they lie on their mother’s bosom. ¹³ What can be said about you? To what should you be compared, fair Jerusalem? To what may I liken you, so I may comfort you, fair one of Zion? Indeed, your wound is as deep as the sea— who can heal you? ¹⁴ Your prophets look on your behalf; they see false and deceptive visions. They did not expose your sins in order to restore what had been captured. Instead, they crafted oracles for you that are false and misleading. ¹⁵ Everyone who passes by on the road shake their fists at you. They hiss and shake their heads at cherished Jerusalem: “Is this the city men used to call ‘The Perfection of Beauty,’ and ‘The Joy of the Entire Earth’”? ¹⁶ All of your enemies insult you with gaping mouths. They hiss and grind their teeth while saying, “We have devoured her completely. Yes, this is the day that we anticipated! We found it at last; we have seen it!” ¹⁷ The LORD did what he planned. He carried out his threat. Just as he commanded long ago, he has torn down without pity; He let the enemy boast about you and has exalted the power of your enemies. ¹⁸ Cry out from your heart to the Lord, wall of fair Zion! Let your tears run down like a river day and night. Allow yourself no rest, and don’t stop crying. ¹⁹ Get up and cry aloud in the night, at the beginning of every hour. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord! Lift up your hands toward him for the lives of your children, who are fainting away at every street corner. ²⁰ Look, LORD, and take note: To whom have you done this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cuddled? Should priests and prophets be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? ²¹ Young men and the aged lie on the ground in the streets; my young women and young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without pity. ²² You have invited those who terrorize me to come around, as if today were a festival. No one has escaped or survived the time of the LORD’s anger. My enemy has finished off those whom I cuddled and raised.

¹⁸ So I say, “My strength is gone as is my hope in the LORD.” ¹⁹ Remember my affliction and homelessness— wormwood and gall! ²⁰ My mind keeps reflecting on it, and I become depressed. ²¹ This is what comes to mind, and therefore I have hope:

³⁹ Why should anyone living complain, any mortal, about being punished for sin? ⁴⁰ Let us examine our lifestyles, putting them to the test, and turn back to the LORD.

⁴⁸ My eyes run with rivers of tears over the destruction of my cherished people.

⁹ I will endure the LORD’s anger— since I have sinned against him— until he takes over my defense, administers justice on my behalf, and brings me out to the light, where I will gaze on his righteousness.

⁸ The eyes of the one who sees me won’t see me anymore; your eyes will look for me but I won’t be around!

⁷ After they’re overthrown, the wicked won’t be found, but the house of the righteous stands firm.

²⁰ “The children who are grieving at present will yet say in your hearing, ‘This place is too crowded for me; make room for me, so I may have a place to live.’ ²¹ Then you’ll ask in your heart, ‘Who bore these children for me, although I was childless and barren, and an exile and cast aside? Who brought these up? Look! For my part I was left all alone; but as for these, where have they come from?’ ²² “For this what the LORD says, ‘Watch! I’ll lift up my hand to the nations and raise my banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.’

¹⁶ I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of my hand, so that I could plant the heavens and lay the earth’s foundations, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’

² “Enlarge the location of your tent, let the curtains of your dwellings be stretched wide, and don’t hold back. Lengthen your cords; strengthen your stakes.

²⁰ Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains.

¹⁵ The End of Rachel’s MourningThis is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter crying. Rachel is crying, and she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no longer alive.”

⁵ Her adversaries dominate her, her enemies prosper. For the LORD has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away, taken into captivity in the presence of the enemy.

⁴ He bent his bow against us as would an enemy, his right hand cocked as would an adversary. He has killed everyone in whom we took pride; in the tent of cherished Zion he poured out his anger like fire. ⁵ The Lord has become like an enemy— he has devoured Israel. He has devoured all of her palaces, destroying her fortresses. He filled cherished Judah with mourning and lament. ⁶ He plowed under his Temple like a garden, spoiling his tent. The LORD abolished in Zion both festivals and Sabbaths. In his fierce wrath he despised both king and priest.

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge. They are all dumb dogs— they cannot bark. They keep on dreaming and lying around, and they’re lovers of sleep! ¹¹ Meanwhile, the dogs have a mighty appetite— they can never get enough. And as for them, they are the shepherds who lack understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, each and every one. ¹² “‘Come!’ they say, ‘let’s have some wine, and let’s fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!’”

⁸ “The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ and those handling the Law didn’t know me. The rulers transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they followed that which does not profit.

³¹ The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?”

⁹ The wise men will be put to shame. They’ll be dismayed and taken captive. Look, they have rejected the message from the LORD! So what kind of wisdom do they have?

¹⁰ Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They’ll trample down my portion. They’ll turn my pleasant portion into a desolate desert.

¹ A Righteous King for God’s People“How terrible for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. ² Therefore, this is what the LORD God of Israel says about the shepherds who are shepherding my people, “You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven’t taken care of them, and now I’m about to take care of you because of your evil deeds,” declares the LORD.

⁹ An Oracle about False ProphetsConcerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones shake. I’m like a drunk man, like a person overcome with wine, because of the LORD, and because of his holy words. ¹⁰ Indeed, the land is full of adulterers. Indeed, the land mourns because of the curse; the pastures of the wilderness have dried up. The adulterers’ lifestyles are evil, and they use their strength for what is not right. ¹¹ Indeed, both priest and prophet are ungodly. Even in my house I find evil,” declares the LORD. ¹² Therefore their way will be slippery. They’ll be driven out into the darkness, where they’ll fall. For I’ll bring disaster on them, the year of their judgment,” declares the LORD. ¹³ “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing, for they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. ¹⁴ Among the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a horrible thing, for they commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil, so that no one repents of his evil. All of them are like Sodom to me, and her residents like Gomorrah.”
¹⁵ Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says about the prophets, “I’m about to make them eat wormwood and drink poisoned water, because godlessness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.” ¹⁶ This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you; they’re giving you false hopes. They declare visions from their own minds— they don’t come from the LORD! ¹⁷ They keep on saying to those who despise me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace.”’ To all who stubbornly follow their own desires they say, ‘Disaster won’t come upon you.’ ¹⁸ But who has stood in the LORD’s council to see and hear his message? Who has paid attention to his message and obeyed it? ¹⁹ Look, the storm of the LORD’s wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest, and it will swirl down around the head of the wicked. ²⁰ The LORD’s anger won’t turn back until he has accomplished what he intended to do. In the future you will clearly understand it. ²¹ I didn’t send these prophets, but they ran anyway. I didn’t speak to them, but they prophesied. ²² If they had stood in my council and had delivered my words to my people, then they would have turned them back from their evil way, from their evil deeds.” ²³ “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “rather than a God who is far away? ²⁴ If a person hides himself in secret places, will I not see him?” declares the LORD. “I fill the heavens and the earth, do I not?” declares the LORD.
²⁵ “I’ve heard what the prophets who prophesy lies in my name have said: ‘I had a dream; I had a dream.’ ²⁶ How long will this go on? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy from the deceit that is in their hearts? ²⁷ With their dreams that they relate to one another, they plan to make my people forget my name just as their ancestors forgot my name by embracing Baal. ²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream relate the dream, but let whoever receives my message speak my message truthfully. What does straw have in common with wheat?” declares the LORD. ²⁹ “My message is like fire or like a hammer that shatters rock, is it not?” declares the LORD.
³⁰ “Therefore, look, I’m against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal my words from each other. ³¹ Look, I’m against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues to issue a declaration. ³² Look, I’m against those who prophesy based on false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and relate them and lead my people astray with their lies and their recklessness. I didn’t send them; I didn’t command them, and they provide no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.

³² Their camels will become booty, their many herds will become spoil. I’ll scatter to the winds those who shave the corners of their beards, and I’ll bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the LORD.

¹⁷ Hope for Israel“Israel is a scattered flock, driven out by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria, and then afterward King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gnawed his bones.

²⁵ There’s a conspiracy of prophets within her, and like a roaring lion tearing its prey, they’ve devoured people, and confiscated treasures, and taken precious things. They’ve added to the population of widows within her. ²⁶ Her priests have violated my Law and profaned my sacred things. They didn’t differentiate between what’s sacred and what’s common. They didn’t instruct others to discern clean from unclean things. They refused to keep my Sabbaths.
“‘I’m constantly being profaned among them. ²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey apart. They shed blood, destroying souls, and make unjust gain.
²⁸ “‘Her prophets whitewashed all of these things through false visions and lying divinations. They kept on saying, “This is what the Lord GOD says…”, when the LORD has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land were vigorously oppressive and took possession of plunder by violence. They’ve afflicted the poor and the needy and unjustly treated the foreigner. ³⁰ I sought for a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won’t be destroyed, but I found no one,

² “Son of Man, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Tell those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:
“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn’t shepherds feed the sheep? ³ You’re eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep! ⁴ You haven’t strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you’ve dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness.
⁵ “Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are! ⁶ My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them.
⁷ “Therefore listen to what the LORD says, you shepherds: ⁸ ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!’
⁹ “Therefore, you shepherds, listen to what the LORD says: ¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “Watch out, I’m coming after you shepherds! I’m going to demand my sheep back from them and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won’t be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can’t be eaten by them anymore.”’”

¹² Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I’m going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they’ve been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.

³ “Against the shepherds my anger rises— I am punishing the leaders also, because the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah, appointing them as his royal war horse for battle.

⁷ “Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the mighty one who is related to me,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. “Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the insignificant ones.

¹² The hired worker, who isn’t the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, deserts the sheep, and runs away. So the wolf snatches them and scatters them, ¹³ because he’s a hired worker, and the sheep don’t matter to him.

¹⁵ because I’m about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north,” declares the LORD. “They’ll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

⁶ Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don’t stand around! For I’m bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction.

¹⁵ People of Israel, I’m now bringing a nation from far away to attack you,” declares the LORD. “It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don’t know. And you won’t understand what they say.

²² The Invaders from the NorthThis is what the LORD says: “Look, people are coming from a northern country. A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth.

¹¹ “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants.”

⁶ Watch out! For I am bringing in the Chaldeans, that cruel and impetuous people, who sweep across the earth dispossessing people from homes not their own. ⁷ They are terrible and fearsome; their brand of justice and sense of honor derive only from themselves! ⁸ Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures. ⁹ “They all come to oppress— hordes of them, their faces pressing onward— they take prisoners as numerous as the desert sand!

³ rejected Esau, turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to desert jackals.

⁵ Because my steps have held fast to your paths, my footsteps have not faltered.

²³ A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way.

¹¹⁶ Sustain me, God, as you have promised, and I will live. Do not let me be ashamed of my hope. ¹¹⁷ Support me, that I may be saved, and I will carry out your statutes consistently.

¹ Wisdom’s Blessings People do the planning, but the end result is from the LORD.

²⁴ A man’s steps are directed by the LORD; how then can anyone understand his own way?

¹⁸ Travelers divert in their route; they go into a wasteland and die.

¹ To the Director: With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Davidic Psalm
A Prayer in Times of Trouble LORD, in your anger, do not rebuke me, in your wrath, do not discipline me.

¹ A Davidic Psalm: As a Reminder.
The Outcast Cries Out LORD! Do not rebuke me in your anger; do not correct me in your wrath,

²³ who brings princes to nothing, and makes void the rulers of the earth.

¹¹ The Coming Defeat of God’s Enemies“Look! All who are enraged at you will be put to shame and disgraced; those who contend with you will all die. ¹² Those who quarrel with you will be as nothing; those who fight you like nothing at all!”

¹¹ For I’ll be with you to save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘For I’ll put an end to all the nations where I scattered you; but I won’t make an end of you. I’ll discipline you justly, but I certainly won’t leave you unpunished.’

² LORD, as I listen to what has been said about you, I am afraid. LORD, revive your work throughout all of our lives— reveal yourself throughout all of our lives— when you are angry, remember compassion.

²¹ Indeed, the residences of the wicked are like this; and so are the homes of those who don’t know God.”

⁴ Will those who do evil ever learn? They devour my people like they devour bread, and never call on the LORD.

² When those who practice evil, my enemies, and my oppressors come near me to devour my flesh, they stumble and fall.

⁶ Pour out your wrath upon the nations that do not acknowledge you, and over the kingdoms that do not call on your name. ⁷ For they consumed Jacob, making his dwelling place desolate.

²² God is Weary of Israel “And yet you didn’t call upon me, Jacob; indeed, you are tired of me, Israel!

⁷ There is no one who calls on your name or rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have given us into the control of our iniquity.

¹⁶ The LORD’s Warning“The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan. At the neighing of their stallions, the whole earth quakes. They’re coming to devour the land and all it contains, the city and all who live in it.

⁷ All who find them devour them, but their enemies say, ‘We’re not guilty, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their ancestors.’

³⁴ Judah’s Complaint against Babylon“King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me. He set me down like an empty vessel. He swallowed me like a monster, and filled his belly with my delicacies. Then he washed me away. ³⁵ May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon,” says the inhabitant of Zion. “May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.

²² You have invited those who terrorize me to come around, as if today were a festival. No one has escaped or survived the time of the LORD’s anger. My enemy has finished off those whom I cuddled and raised.

⁶ Why God Condemned Ammon“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you’ve applauded, stamped your feet, and rejoiced with all sorts of malice in your heart against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore you’d better watch out! I’m raising a clenched fist in your direction! I’m about to feed you to the surrounding nations as war plunder. I’m going to eliminate you as a nation and kill off those of you who survive to live in other countries. I’m going to destroy you, and that’s how you’ll learn that I am the LORD.’”
⁸ A Message Rebuking Moab and Seir“This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir are claiming, “Judah’s citizens are just like every other nation,”

⁵ “Because of your undying hatred, you kept on making the Israelis experience abuse during the time of their calamity, even when they were in their final stages of punishment, ⁶ therefore as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord GOD, “I’m turning you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will certainly overtake you, since you never have hated shedding blood. That’s why bloodshed will certainly pursue you. ⁷ I’m turning Mount Seir over to ruin and desolation. I’m going to eliminate everyone who comes and goes, ⁸ and I’ll fill that mountain with the dead. Those who die by violence will cover your hills, and fill your valleys and all your ravines! ⁹ I will turn you into an everlasting wasteland, and your cities will never be inhabited. Then you’ll learn that I am the LORD!
¹⁰ “Because you have claimed, ‘These two nations and these two lands are going to belong to me, and we will take possession of them, even though the LORD is there,’

¹⁰ “Shame will overwhelm you because of the violence you inflicted on your brother Jacob, and you will be excluded forever. ¹¹ “On the day you just stood by, when strangers carried away Jacob’s wealth and foreigners entered his gates, casting lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. ¹² “You should not have gloated over your brother, on the day of his calamity. You should not have rejoiced when the descendants of Judah were perishing. You should not have boasted when they were in distress. ¹³ “You should not have entered the gate of my people on the day of their disaster. Also, you should not have gloated over Judah’s misfortune on the day of his disaster, nor should you have plundered his wealth on the day of his disaster. ¹⁴ And you should not have taken your stand at the crossroads to cut down his fleeing refugees, nor should you have handed over his survivors on the day of his distress.”
The LORD’s Judgment and Israel’s Final Victory ¹⁵ “Indeed, the Day of the LORD approaches all nations. As you have done it will be done to you— your deeds will return to haunt you! ¹⁶ Just as you have drunk from the cup of my wrath upon my holy mountain, so will all nations drink from the cup of my wrath perpetually. They will drink, they will gulp it down, and they will be as if they had never existed!

⁶ those who turn away from the LORD, don’t seek the LORD, and never ask for his help.”
The Approaching Day of the LORD

⁸ “Just you wait!” declares the LORD. “The day will come when I stand up as a prosecutor, for I am determined to assemble the nations and to gather the kingdoms, in order to pour out my indignation upon them— all of my fierce anger. All the earth will be consumed by the fire of my jealousy.

¹⁵ I am deeply angry with the nations who are complacent, with whom I was only a little displeased—but they made things worse!”

²⁵ “Righteous Father, the world has never known you. Yet I have known you, and these men have known that you sent me.

²³ For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship.

³⁴ Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—don’t fully know God.

⁵ not with passion and lust like the gentiles who do not know God.

⁸ in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.