Day 304 of 365

Jer 49:1–50:46

49:1 Of the children of Ammon. "Thus says the Lord: 'Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then does Malcam possess Gad, and his people dwell in its cities?

49:2 Therefore behold, the days come,' says the Lord, 'that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the children of Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel possess those who possessed him,' says the Lord.

49:3 'Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste; cry, you daughters of Rabbah, clothe yourself in sackcloth: lament, and run back and forth among the fences; for Malcam shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes together.

49:4 Why do you glory in the valleys, your flowing valley, backsliding daughter? You who trusted in her treasures, saying, "Who shall come to me?"

49:5 Behold, I will bring a fear on you,' says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, 'from all who are around you; and you shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.

49:6 But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon,' says the Lord."

49:7 Of Edom. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished?

49:8 Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths, inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau on him, the time that I shall visit him.

49:9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleaning grapes? If thieves by night, wouldn't they destroy until they had enough?

49:10 But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is destroyed, and his brothers, and his neighbors; and he is no more.

49:11 Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me.'

49:12 For thus says the Lord: 'Behold, they to whom it did not pertain to drink of the cup shall certainly drink; and are you he who shall altogether go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.

49:13 For I have sworn by myself,' says the Lord, 'that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be perpetual wastes.'"

49:14 I have heard news from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, "Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle."

49:15 "For, behold, I have made you small among the nations, and despised among men.

49:16 As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill: though you should make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there," says the Lord.

49:17 "Edom shall become an astonishment: everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.

49:18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it," says the Lord, "no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.

49:19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? And who will appoint me a time? And who is the shepherd who will stand before me?

49:20 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he has taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall drag them away, the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.

49:21 The earth trembles at the noise of their fall; there is a cry, the noise which is heard in the Red Sea.

49:22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread out his wings against Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs."

49:23 Of Damascus. "Hamath is confounded, and Arpad; for they have heard evil news, they are melted away: there is sorrow on the sea; it can't be quiet.

49:24 Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail.

49:25 How is the city of praise not forsaken, the city of my joy?

49:26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day," says the Lord of hosts.

49:27 "I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben Hadad."

49:28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. "Thus says the Lord: 'Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east.'

49:29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, 'Terror on every side!'

49:30 Flee, wander far off, dwell in the depths, you inhabitants of Hazor," says the Lord; "for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you, and has conceived a purpose against you."

49:31 "Arise, go up to a nation that is at ease, that dwells without care, says the Lord; that have neither gates nor bars, that dwell alone.

49:32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their livestock a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners of their beards cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them," says the Lord.

49:33 "Hazor shall be a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein."

49:34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

49:35 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.

49:36 On Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.

49:37 I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life; and I will bring evil on them, even my fierce anger,' says the Lord; 'and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them;

49:38 and I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there king and princes,' says the Lord.

49:39 'But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,' says the Lord."

50:1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

50:2 "Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and do not conceal: say, 'Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.

50:3 For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal.

50:4 In those days, and in that time,' says the Lord, 'the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek the Lord their God.

50:5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, "Come, and join yourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten."

50:6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

50:7 All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, "We are not guilty, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of righteousness, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers."

50:8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.

50:9 For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.

50:10 Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied,' says the Lord.'

50:11 Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out the grain, and neigh as strong horses;

50:12 your mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

50:13 Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

50:14 "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.

50:15 Shout against her all around: she has submitted herself; her towers are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her.

50:16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land."'

50:17 'Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.

50:18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

50:19 I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

50:20 In those days, and in that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant."'"

50:21 "Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: kill and utterly destroy after them," says the Lord, "and do according to all that I have commanded you.

50:22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

50:23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! How is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

50:24 I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren't aware: you are found, and also caught, because you have striven against the Lord.

50:25 The Lord has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, the Lord of hosts, has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.

50:26 Come against her from the utmost border; open her storehouses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.

50:27 Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their visitation."

50:28 The voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.

50:29 "Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp against her all around; let none of it escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel.

50:30 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her men of war will be brought to silence in that day," says the Lord.

50:31 "Behold, I am against you, you proud one," says the Lord, the Lord of hosts; for your day has come, the time that I will visit you.

50:32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are around him."

50:33 Thus says the Lord of hosts: "The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

50:35 A sword is on the Chaldeans," says the Lord, "and on the inhabitants of Babylon, and on her princes, and on her wise men.

50:36 A sword is on the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is on her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

50:37 A sword is on their horses, and on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is on her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

50:38 A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they glory over idols.

50:39 Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation.

50:40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it," says the Lord, "so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein."

50:41 "Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

50:42 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon.

50:43 The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, pains as of a woman in labor.

50:44 Behold, the enemy shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? And who will appoint me a time? And who is the shepherd who can stand before me?"

50:45 Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: "Surely they shall drag them away, even the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.

50:46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations."

Phil 3:1–21

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.

2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh;

4 though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;

6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

7 However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.

8 More than that, I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ

9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death;

11 if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brothers, I do not regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forward to the things which are ahead,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you.

16 Nevertheless, to what we have attained, to the same continue on.

17 Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example.

18 For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ,

19 whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

21 who will change our lowly bodies into the likeness of his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.

Job 27:16–23

16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare clothing as the clay;

17 he may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver.

18 He builds his house as the moth, as a booth which the watchman makes.

19 He lies down rich, but he shall not do so again. He opens his eyes, and he is not.

20 Terrors overtake him like waters. A storm steals him away in the night.

21 The east wind carries him away, and he departs. It sweeps him out of his place.

22 For it hurls at him, and does not spare, as he flees away from his hand.

23 Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.