October 19

1 The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:

2 "Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.' 

3 "For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away.

4 "In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God.

5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, 'Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.'

6 "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.

7 All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, 'We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.'

8 "Flee from the midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock.

9 For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.

10 Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the LORD.

11 "Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my heritage, though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture, and neigh like stallions, 

12 your mother shall be utterly shamed, and she who bore you shall be disgraced. Behold, she shall be the last of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. 

13 Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited but shall be an utter desolation; everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled, and hiss because of all her wounds. 

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD. 

15 Raise a shout against her all around; she has surrendered; her bulwarks have fallen; her walls are thrown down. For this is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done. 

16 Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest; because of the sword of the oppressor, every one shall turn to his own people, and every one shall flee to his own land. 

17 "Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.

18 Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria.

19 I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

20 In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.

21 "Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill, and devote them to destruction, declares the LORD, and do all that I have commanded you. 

22 The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction! 

23 How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations! 

24 I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it; you were found and caught, because you opposed the LORD. 

25 The LORD has opened his armory and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans. 

26 Come against her from every quarter; open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction; let nothing be left of her. 

27 Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come, the time of their punishment. 

28 "A voice! They flee and escape from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, vengeance for his temple.

29 "Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the LORD.

31 "Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord GOD of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. 

32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him. 

33 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 "A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials and her wise men! 

36 A sword against the diviners, that they may become fools! A sword against her warriors, that they may be destroyed! 

37 A sword against her horses and against her chariots, and against all the foreign troops in her midst, that they may become women! A sword against all her treasures, that they may be plundered! 

38 A drought against her waters, that they may be dried up! For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols. 

39 "Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations.

40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.

41 "Behold, a people comes from the north; a mighty nation and many kings are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. 

42 They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy. The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea; they ride on horses, arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon! 

43 "The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell helpless; anguish seized him, pain as of a woman in labor. 

44 "Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them 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?

45 Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Babylon, and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.

46 At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations." - Jeremiah 50

1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. 

2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them has lost its young. 

3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. 

4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built in rows of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. 

5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that graze among the lilies. 

6 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will go away to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. 

7 You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.  - Song of Solomon 4:1-7

1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,

2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

3 Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-

4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,

6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. - 1 Peter 3:1-7

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea,

17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened.

20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."

21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone.

23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. - John 6:16-24

Experiencing God’s Power in Your Weakness

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

An evangelist named Paul Hutchins was greatly used of the Lord in large citywide campaigns. Just when his ministry began to be the most fruitful, he learned he had tuberculosis and had to be shut away from the public for a long time.

Paul Hutchins then wrote,

If blind John Milton could write Paradise Lost, if John Bunyan in the Bedford Jail could write Pilgrim’s Progress, if Martin Luther imprisoned in Wartburg Castle could translate the entire New Testament into the German language, if Paul confined to a Roman prison and chained to a guard twenty-four hours a day could still proclaim the gospel; if these men under such mighty handicaps dared to make progress and history, why should not we?

Our strength is often made perfect in weakness!

ACTION POINT

Have you ever had the privilege of experiencing this? You sensed you were being empowered by the power residing in Christ Himself, experiencing the miraculous grace of God specifically for you in that season. In spite of circumstances, God was working in a way you could not explain apart from His divine hand. Think about one of the hardest times in your life. How did God show up in ways that have no human explanation? Write it down in a journal. Thank Him for His amazing grace.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jesus’s Joy in Marriage

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor. (Ephesians 5:25–27)

The reason there is so much misery in marriage is not that husbands and wives seek their own pleasure, but that they do not seek it in the pleasure of their spouses. The biblical mandate to husbands and wives is to seek your own joy in the joy of your spouse.

There is scarcely a more hedonistic passage in the Bible than the one on marriage in Ephesians 5:25–30. Husbands are told to love their wives the way Christ loved the church.

How did he love the church? Verse 25 says he “gave himself up for her.” But why? Verse 26 says, “that he might sanctify” and cleanse her. But why did he want to do that? Verse 27 answers, “that he might present the church to himself in splendor!”

Ah! There it is! “For the joy that was set before him [he] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). What joy? The joy of marriage to his bride, the church. The joy of presenting the church to himself in blood-bought splendor.

Jesus does not intend to have a dirty and unholy wife. Therefore, he was willing to die to sanctify and cleanse his betrothed so he could present to himself a wife “in splendor.” He gained the desire of his heart by giving himself up in suffering for the good of his bride.

Then Paul applies this to husbands in verses 28–30: “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”

Jesus had said to husbands and wives — and everyone else — “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Marriage is an extraordinary place of application. It is not merely “as” you love yourself. But you are loving yourself. When you love the person with whom God has made you one flesh, you are loving yourself. That is, your greatest joy is found in seeking the greatest joy of your spouse.

John Piper 

October 18

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."

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."

23 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." 

28 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 Babylon has made a plan against you and 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." 

34 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." - Jeremiah 49

1 On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not. 

2 I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not. 

3 The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" 

4 Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. 

5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. 

6 What is that coming up from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of a merchant? 

7 Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, some of the mighty men of Israel, 

8 all of them wearing swords and expert in war, each with his sword at his thigh, against terror by night. 

9 King Solomon made himself a carriage from the wood of Lebanon. 

10 He made its posts of silver, its back of gold, its seat of purple; its interior was inlaid with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. 

11 Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.  - Song of Solomon 3

18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.

23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. - 1 Peter 2:18-25

1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?"

6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little."

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,

9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?"

10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost."

13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, "This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!"

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. - John 6:1-15

Are You Still Holding on to Past Sins?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’”

(John 11:44)

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Do you remember when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead? Jesus said, “Lazarus! Come forth!” Lazarus came out. One preacher said, “If Jesus hadn’t specifically said ‘Lazarus,’ everybody would’ve come out!”

But Lazarus was still wrapped up like a mummy. He had life, but he didn't have liberty. Certain graveclothes were still clinging to him, impeding his freedom. Jesus told them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Some of you are saved, but you're still wearing the old filthy graveclothes of life before Christ—your old sinful nature. Get rid of those! You're to be swift to hear the Word of God. But some of us don't hear because something unclean from the old life is clogging up our spiritual ears. People are saved, born again, they’ve received the Lord Jesus Christ, their sins are forgiven, and yet, there still seems to be sort of a hangover sin holding on from the old life.

ACTION POINT

Do you want the Bible to speak to you? To be alive to you? Then willingly repent of those old hangover sins from your past life. When you repent, you’ll be free from those old graveclothes that bind you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Purpose of Prosperity

Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (Ephesians 4:28)

There are three levels of how to live with material things: (1) you can steal to get them; (2) or you can work to get them; (3) or you can work to get in order to give.

Too many professing Christians live on level two. We glorify work over against stealing and mooching, and feel we have acted virtuously if we have spurned stealing and mooching, and given ourselves to an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. That’s not a bad thing. Work is better than stealing and mooching. But that’s not what the apostle calls us to.

Almost all the forces of our culture urge us to live on level two: work to get. But the Bible pushes us relentlessly to level three: work to get to give. “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Why does God bless us with abundance? So we can have enough to live on, and then use the rest for all manner of good works that alleviate spiritual and physical misery — temporal and eternal suffering. Enough for us; abundance for others.

The issue is not how much a person makes. Big industry and big salaries are a fact of our times, and they are not necessarily evil. The evil is in being deceived into thinking that a large salary must be accompanied by a lavish lifestyle.

God has made us to be conduits of his grace. The danger is in thinking the conduit should be lined with gold. It shouldn’t. Copper will do. Copper can carry unbelievable riches to others. And in the very process of that giving we enjoy the greatest blessing (Acts 20:35).

John Piper 

October 17

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."  - Jeremiah 47

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.  - Jeremiah 48

1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. 

2 As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women. 

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 

4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. 

5 Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. 

6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! 

7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases. 

8 The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. 

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. 

10 My beloved speaks and says to me: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away, 

11 for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. 

12 The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 

13 The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. 

14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. 

15 Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom." 

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies. 

17 Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on cleft mountains.  - Song of Solomon 2

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,

14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. - 1 Peter 2:9-17

31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.

32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.

33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,

38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

41 I do not receive glory from people.

42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" - John 5:31-47