Through the Bible – Day 269

₂The LORD has said,

“Listen, heaven and earth!

The children I raised

have turned against me.

₃Oxen and donkeys know

who owns and feeds them,

but my people won't ever learn.”

₄Israel, you are a sinful nation

loaded down with guilt.

You are wicked and corrupt

and have turned from the LORD,

the holy God of Israel.

₅Why be punished more?

Why not give up your sin?

Your head is badly bruised,

and you are weak all over.

₆From your head to your toes

there isn't a healthy spot.

Bruises, cuts, and open sores

go without care

or oil to ease the pain.

₇Your country lies in ruins;

your towns are in ashes.

Foreigners and strangers

take and destroy your land

while you watch.

₈Enemies surround Jerusalem,

alone like a hut in a vineyard

or in a cucumber field.

₉Zion would have disappeared

like Sodom and Gomorrah,

if the LORD All-Powerful

had not let a few

of its people survive.

₁₀You are no better

than the leaders and people

of Sodom and Gomorrah!

So listen to the LORD God:

₁₁“Your sacrifices

mean nothing to me.

I am sick of your offerings

of rams and choice cattle;

I don't like the blood

of bulls or lambs or goats.

₁₂“Who asked you to bring all this

when you come to worship me?

Stay out of my temple!

₁₃Your sacrifices are worthless,

and incense is disgusting.

I can't stand the evil you do

on your New Moon Festivals

or on your Sabbaths

and other times of worship.

₁₄I hate your New Moon Festivals

and all others as well.

They are a heavy burden

I am tired of carrying.

₁₅“No matter how much you pray,

I won't listen.

You are too violent.

₁₆Wash yourselves clean!

I am disgusted

with your filthy deeds.

Stop doing wrong

₁₇and learn to live right.

See that justice is done.

Defend widows and orphans

and help those in need.”

₁₈I, the LORD, invite you

to come and talk it over.

Your sins are scarlet red,

but they will be whiter

than snow or wool.

₁₉If you willingly obey me,

the best crops in the land

will be yours.

₂₀But if you turn against me,

your enemies will kill you.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

₂₁Jerusalem, you are like

an unfaithful wife.

Once your judges were honest

and your people lived right;

now you are a city

full of murderers.

₂₂Your silver is fake,

and your wine

is watered down.

₂₃Your leaders have rejected me

to become friends of crooks;

your rulers are looking

for gifts and bribes.

Widows and orphans

never get a fair trial.

₂₄I am the LORD All-Powerful,

the mighty ruler of Israel,

and I make you a promise:

you are now my enemy,

and I will show my anger

by taking revenge on you.

₂₅I will punish you terribly

and burn away everything

that makes you unfit

to worship me.

₂₆Jerusalem, I will choose

judges and advisers

like those you had before.

Your new name will be

“Justice and Faithfulness”.

₂₇Jerusalem, you will be saved

by showing justice;

Zion's people who turn to me

will be saved

by doing right.

₂₈But those rebellious sinners

who turn against me, the LORD,

will all disappear.

₂₉You will be made ashamed

of those groves of trees

where you worshipped idols.

₃₀You will be like a grove of trees

dying in a drought.

₃₁Your strongest leaders

will be like dry wood

set on fire by their idols.

No one will be able to help,

as they all go up in flames.

₂In the future, the mountain

with the LORD's temple

will be the highest of all.

It will reach above the hills;

every nation will rush to it.

₃Many people will come and say,

“Let's go to the mountain

of the LORD God of Jacob

and worship in his temple.”

The LORD will teach us his Law

from Jerusalem,

and we will obey him.

₄He will settle arguments

between nations.

They will beat their swords

and their spears

into rakes and shovels;

they will never make war

or attack one another.

₅People of Israel, let's live

by the light of the LORD.

₆Our LORD, you have deserted

your people, Israel,

because they follow customs

of nations from the east.

They worship Philistine gods

and are close friends

of foreigners.

₇They have endless treasures

of silver and gold;

they have countless horses

and war chariots.

₈Everywhere in the country

they worship the idols

they have made.

₉And so, all of them

will be ashamed and disgraced.

Don't help them!

₁₀Every one of you,

hide among the rocks

and in the ground,

because the LORD is fearsome,

marvellous, and glorious.

₁₁When the LORD comes,

everyone who is proud

will be made humble,

and the LORD alone

will be honoured.

₁₂The LORD All-Powerful

has chosen a day

when those who are proud

and conceited

will be put down.

₁₃The tall and towering

cedars of Lebanon

will be destroyed.

So will the oak trees of Bashan,

₁₄all high mountains and hills,

₁₅every strong fortress,

₁₆all the seagoing ships,

and every beautiful boat.

₁₇When that day comes,

everyone who is proud

will be put down.

Only the LORD will be honoured.

₁₈Idols will be gone for good.

₁₉You had better hide

in caves and holes—

the LORD will be fearsome,

marvellous, and glorious

when he comes to terrify

people on earth.

₂₀On that day everyone will throw

to the rats and bats

their idols of silver and gold

they made to worship.

₂₁The LORD will be fearsome,

marvellous, and glorious

when he comes to terrify

people on earth—

they will hide in caves

and in the hills.

₂₂Stop trusting the power

of humans.

They are all going to die,

so how can they help?