Through the Bible – Day 277

₁You, LORD, are my God!

I will praise you

for doing the wonderful things

you had planned and promised

since ancient times.

₂You have destroyed the fortress

of our enemies,

leaving their city in ruins.

Nothing in that foreign city

will ever be rebuilt.

₃Now strong and cruel nations

will fear and honour you.

₄You have been a place of safety

for the poor and needy

in times of trouble.

Brutal enemies pounded us

like a heavy rain

or the heat of the sun at midday,

but you were our shelter.

₅Those wild foreigners struck

like scorching desert heat.

But you were like a cloud,

protecting us from the sun.

You kept our enemies from singing

songs of victory.

₆On this mountain

the LORD All-Powerful

will prepare for all nations

a feast of the finest foods.

Choice wines and the best meats

will be served.

₇Here the LORD will strip away

the burial clothes

that cover the nations.

₈The LORD All-Powerful

will destroy the power of death

and wipe away all tears.

No longer will his people

be insulted everywhere.

The LORD has spoken!

₉At that time, people will say,

“The LORD has saved us!

Let's celebrate.

We waited and hoped—

now our God is here.”

₁₀The powerful arm of the LORD

will protect this mountain.

The Moabites will be put down

and trampled on like straw

in a pit of manure.

₁₁They will struggle to get out,

but God will humiliate them

no matter how hard they try.

₁₂The walls of their fortresses

will be knocked down

and scattered in the dust.

₁The time is coming

when the people of Judah

will sing this song:

“Our city is protected.

The LORD is our fortress,

and he gives us victory.

₂Open the city gates

for a law-abiding nation

that is faithful to God.

₃The LORD gives perfect peace

to those whose faith is firm.

₄So always trust the LORD

because he is for ever

our mighty rock.

₅God has put down our enemies

in their mountain city

and rubbed it in the dust.

₆Now the poor and abused

trample all over that city.”

₇Our LORD, you always do right,

and you make the path smooth

for those who obey you.

₈You are the one we trust

to bring about justice;

above all else we want

your name to be honoured.

₉Throughout the night,

my heart searches for you,

because your decisions

show everyone on this earth

how to live right.

₁₀Even when the wicked

are treated with mercy

in this land of justice,

they do wrong and are blind

to your glory, our LORD.

₁₁Your hand is raised and ready

to punish them,

but they don't see it.

Put them to shame!

Show how much you care for us

and throw them into the fire

intended for your enemies.

₁₂You will give us peace, LORD,

because everything we have done

was by your power.

₁₃Others have ruled over us

besides you, our LORD God,

but we obey only you.

₁₄Those enemies are now dead

and can never live again.

You have punished them—

they are destroyed,

completely forgotten.

₁₅Our nation has grown

because of you, our LORD.

We have more land than before,

and you are honoured.

₁₆When you punished our people,

they turned and prayed

to you, our LORD.

₁₇Because of what you did to us,

we suffered like a woman

about to give birth.

₁₈But instead of having a child,

our terrible pain

produced only wind.

We have won no victories,

and we have no descendants

to take over the earth.

₁₉Your people will rise to life!

Tell them to leave their graves

and celebrate with shouts.

You refresh the earth

like morning dew;

you give life to the dead.

₂₀Go inside and lock the doors,

my people.

Hide there for a little while,

until the LORD

is no longer angry.

₂₁The LORD will come out

to punish everyone on earth

for their sins.

And when he does,

those who did violent crimes

will be known and punished.

₁On that day, Leviathan,

the sea monster,

will squirm and try to escape,

but the LORD will kill him

with a cruel, sharp sword.

₂At that time you must sing

about a fruitful vineyard.

₃I, the LORD, will protect it

and always keep it watered.

I will guard it day and night

to keep it from harm.

₄I am no longer angry.

But if it produces thorns,

I will go to war against it

and burn it to the ground.

₅Yet if the vineyard depends

on me for protection,

it will become my friend

and be at peace with me.

₆Some day Israel will take root

like a vine.

It will blossom and bear fruit

that covers the earth.

₇I, the LORD, didn't punish and kill

the people of Israel

as fiercely as I punished

and killed their enemies.

₈I carefully measured out

Israel's punishment

and sent the scorching heat

to chase them far away.

₉There's only one-way

that Israel's sin and guilt

can be completely forgiven:

they must crush the stones

of every pagan altar

and place of worship.

₁₀Fortress cities are left

like a desert

where no one lives.

Cattle walk through the ruins,

stripping the trees bare.

₁₁When broken branches

fall to the ground,

women pick them up

to feed the fire.

But these people are so stupid

that the God who created them

will show them no mercy.

₁The city of Samaria

above a fertile valley

is in for trouble!

Its leaders are drunkards,

who stuff themselves

with food and wine.

But they will be like flowers

that dry up and wilt.

₂Only the Lord is strong

and powerful!

His mighty hand

will strike them down

with the force of a hailstorm

or a mighty whirlwind

or an overwhelming flood.

₃Every drunkard in Ephraim

takes pride in Samaria,

but it will be crushed.

₄Samaria above a fertile valley

will quickly lose its glory.

It will be gobbled up

like the first ripe fig

at harvest season.

₅When this time comes,

the LORD All-Powerful

will be a glorious crown

for his people who survive.

₆He will see that justice rules

and that his people are able

to defend their cities.

₇Priests and prophets stumble

because they are drunk.

Their minds are too confused

to receive God's messages

or give honest decisions.

₈Their tables are covered,

completely covered,

with their stinking vomit.

₉You drunken leaders

are like babies!

How can you possibly understand

or teach the LORD's message?

₁₀You don't even listen—

all you hear is senseless sound

after senseless sound.

₁₁So, the Lord will speak

to his people

in strange sounds

and foreign languages.

₁₂He promised you

perfect peace and rest,

but you refused to listen.

₁₃Now his message to you

will be senseless sound

after senseless sound.

Then you will fall backwards,

injured and trapped.

₁₄You rulers of Jerusalem

do nothing but sneer;

now you must listen

to what the LORD says.

₁₅Do you think you have

an agreement with death

and the world of the dead?

Why do you trust in your lies

to keep you safe from danger

and the mighty flood?

₁₆And so the LORD says,

“I'm laying a firm foundation

for the city of Zion.

It's a valuable cornerstone

proved to be trustworthy;

no one who trusts it

will ever be disappointed.

₁₇Justice and fairness

will be the measuring lines

that help me build.”

Hailstones and floods

will destroy and wash away

your shelter of lies.

₁₈Your agreement with death

and the world of the dead

will be broken.

Then angry, roaring waves

will sweep over you.

₁₉Morning, noon, and night

an overwhelming flood

will wash you away.

The terrible things that happen

will teach you this lesson:

₂₀your bed is too short,

your blanket too skimpy.

₂₁The LORD will fiercely attack

as he did at Mount Perazim

and in Gibeon Valley.

But this time the LORD

will do something surprising,

not what you expect.

₂₂So you had better stop sneering

or you will be in worse shape

than ever before.

I heard the LORD All-Powerful

threaten the whole country

with destruction.

₂₃Pay close attention

to what I am saying.

₂₄Farmers don't just plough

and break up the ground.

₂₅When a field is ready,

they scatter the seeds

of dill and cumin;

they plant the seeds

of wheat and barley

in the proper places.

₂₆They learn this from their God.

₂₇After dill and cumin

have been harvested,

the stalks are beaten,

not run over with a wagon.

₂₈Wheat and barley are pounded,

but not beaten to pulp;

they are run over with a wagon,

but not ground to dust.

₂₉This wonderful knowledge comes

from the LORD All-Powerful,

who has such great wisdom.

₁₅Christ is exactly like God,

who cannot be seen.

He is the firstborn Son,

superior to all creation.

₁₆Everything was created by him,

everything in heaven

and on earth,

everything seen and unseen,

including all forces

and powers,

and all rulers

and authorities.

All things were created

by God's Son,

and everything was made

for him.

₁₇God's Son was before all else,

and by him everything

is held together.

₁₈He is the head of his body,

which is the church.

He is the very beginning,

the first to be raised

from death,

so that he would be

above all others.

₁₉God himself was pleased

to live fully in his Son.

₂₀And God was pleased

for him to make peace

by sacrificing his blood

on the cross,

so that all beings in heaven

and on earth

would be brought back to God.