Through the Bible – Day 280

Bible text(s)

Isaiah 34

The nations will be judged

₁Everyone of every nation,

the entire earth,

and all its creatures,

come here and listen!

₂The LORD is terribly angry

with the nations;

he has condemned them

to be slaughtered.

₃Their dead bodies will be left

to rot and stink;

their blood will flow

down the mountains.

₄Each star will disappear—

the sky will roll up

like a scroll.

Everything in the sky

will dry up and wilt

like leaves on a vine

or fruit on a tree.

Trouble for Edom

₅After the sword of the LORD

has done what it wants

to the skies above,

it will come down on Edom,

the nation that the LORD

has doomed for destruction.

₆The sword of the LORD

is covered with blood

from lambs and goats,

together with fat

from kidneys of rams.

This is because the LORD

will slaughter many people

and make a sacrifice of them

in the city of Bozrah

and everywhere else

in Edom.

₇Edom's leaders are wild oxen.

They are powerful bulls,

but they will die

with the others.

Their country will be soaked

with their blood,

and its soil made fertile

with their fat.

₈The LORD has chosen

the year and the day,

when he will take revenge

and come to Zion's defence.

₉Edom's streams will turn into tar

and its soil into sulphur—

then the whole country

will go up in flames.

₁₀It will burn night and day

and never stop smoking.

Edom will be a desert,

generation after generation;

no one will ever travel

through that land.

₁₁Owls, hawks, and wild animals

will make it their home.

God will leave it in ruins,

merely a pile of rocks.

The end of Edom

₁₂Edom will be called

“Kingdom of Nothing”.

Its rulers will also be nothing.

₁₃Its palaces and fortresses

will be covered with thorns;

only wolves and ostriches

will make their home there.

₁₄Wildcats and hyenas

will hunt together,

demons will scream to demons,

and creatures of the night

will live among the ruins.

₁₅Owls will nest there

to raise their young

among its shadows,

while families of vultures

circle around.

₁₆In The Book of the Lord

you can search and find

where it is written,

“The LORD brought together

all his creatures

by the power of his Spirit.

Not one is missing.”

₁₇The LORD has decided

where they each should live;

they will be there for ever,

generation after generation.

Isaiah 35

God's splendour will be seen

₁Thirsty deserts will be glad;

barren lands will celebrate

and blossom with flowers.

₂Deserts will bloom everywhere

and sing joyful songs.

They will be as majestic

as Mount Lebanon,

as glorious as Mount Carmel

or Sharon Valley.

Everyone will see

the wonderful splendour

of the LORD our God.

God changes everything

_3-4Here is a message for all

who are weak, trembling,

and worried:

“Cheer up! Don't be afraid.

Your God is coming

to punish your enemies.

God will take revenge on them

and rescue you.”

₅The blind will see,

and the ears of the deaf

will be healed.

₆Those who were lame

will leap around like deer;

tongues once silent

will begin to shout.

Water will rush

through the desert.

₇Scorching sand

will turn into a lake,

and thirsty ground

will flow with fountains.

Grass will grow in wetlands,

where packs of wild dogs

once made their home.

God's sacred highway

₈A good road will be there,

and it will be named

“God's Sacred Highway”.

It will be for God's people;

no one unfit to worship God

will walk on that road.

And no fools can travel

on that highway.

₉No lions or other wild animals

will come near that road;

only those the LORD has saved

will travel there.

₁₀The people the LORD has rescued

will come back singing

as they enter Zion.

Happiness will be a crown

they will always wear.

They will celebrate and shout

because all sorrows and worries

will be gone far away.

Isaiah 36

The Assyrians surround Jerusalem

₁Hezekiah had been king of Judah for fourteen years when King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded the country and captured every walled city ₂except Jerusalem. The Assyrian king ordered his army commander to leave the city of Lachish and to take a large army to Jerusalem.

The commander went there and stood on the road near the cloth makers' shops along the canal from the upper pool. ₃Three of the king's highest officials came out of Jerusalem to meet him. One of them was Hilkiah's son Eliakim, who was the prime minister. The other two were Shebna, assistant to the prime minister, and Joah son of Asaph, keeper of the government records.

₄The Assyrian commander told them:

I have a message for Hezekiah from the great king of Assyria. Ask Hezekiah why he feels so sure of himself. ₅Does he think he can plan and win a war with nothing but words? Who is going to help him, now that he has turned against the king of Assyria? ₆Is he depending on Egypt and its king? That's the same as leaning on a broken stick, and it will go right through his hand.

₇Is Hezekiah now depending on the LORD, your God? Didn't Hezekiah tear down all except one of the LORD's altars and places of worship? Didn't he tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah to worship at that one place?

₈The king of Assyria wants to make a bet with you people! He will give you two thousand horses, if you have enough troops to ride them. ₉How could you defeat even our lowest ranking officer, when you have to depend on Egypt for chariots and cavalry? ₁₀Don't forget that it was the LORD who sent me here with orders to destroy your nation!

₁₁Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said, “Sir, we don't want the people listening from the city wall to understand what you are saying. So please speak to us in Aramaic instead of Hebrew.”

₁₂The Assyrian army commander answered, “My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you!”

₁₃Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he shouted out in Hebrew:

Listen to what the great king of Assyria says! ₁₄Don't be fooled by Hezekiah. He can't save you. ₁₅Don't trust him when he tells you that the LORD will protect you from the king of Assyria. ₁₆Stop listening to Hezekiah. Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns ₁₇for a while. Then he will come and take you away to a country just like yours, where you can plant vineyards and raise your own grain.

₁₈Hezekiah claims the LORD will save you. But don't be fooled by him. Were any other gods able to defend their land against the king of Assyria? ₁₉What happened to the gods of Hamath, Arpad, and Sepharvaim? Were the gods of Samaria able to protect their land against the Assyrian forces? ₂₀None of these gods kept their people safe from the king of Assyria. Do you think the LORD, your God, can do any better?

_21-22Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah had been warned by King Hezekiah not to answer the Assyrian commander. So they tore their clothes in sorrow and reported to Hezekiah everything the commander had said.

Isaiah 34:1-36:22CEVOpen in Bible reader

Colossians 3

Some rules for Christian living

₁₈A wife must put her husband first. This is her duty as a follower of the Lord.

Colossians 4

₁Slave owners, be fair and honest with your slaves. Don't forget that you have a Master in heaven.

₂Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. ₃Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. ₄Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible.

₅When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time. ₆Be pleasant and hold their interest when you speak the message. Choose your words carefully and be ready to give answers to anyone who asks questions.

Final greetings

₇Tychicus is the dear friend, who faithfully works and serves the Lord with us, and he will give you the news about me. ₈I am sending him to cheer you up by telling you how we are getting along. ₉Onesimus, that dear and faithful follower from your own group, is coming with him. The two of them will tell you everything that has happened here.

₁₀Aristarchus is in jail with me. He sends greetings to you, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have already been told to welcome Mark, if he visits you. ₁₁Jesus, who is known as Justus, sends his greetings. These three men are the only Jewish followers who have worked with me for the kingdom of God. They have given me much comfort.

₁₂Your own Epaphras, who serves Christ Jesus, sends his greetings. He always prays hard that you may fully know what the Lord wants you to do and that you may do it completely. ₁₃I have seen how much trouble he has gone through for you and for the followers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

₁₄Our dear doctor Luke sends you his greetings, and so does Demas.

₁₅Give my greetings to the followers at Laodicea, especially to Nympha and the church that meets in her home.

₁₆After this letter has been read to your people, be sure to have it read in the church at Laodicea. And you should read the letter that I have sent to them.

₁₇Remind Archippus to do the work that the Lord has given him to do.

₁₈I am signing this letter myself: PAUL.

Don't forget that I am in jail.

I pray that God will be kind to you.

Colossians 3:18CEVOpen in Bible reader