Through the Bible – Day 350

When the LORD roars

from Jerusalem,

pasture lands and Mount Carmel

dry up and turn brown.

I will punish Syria

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They dragged logs with spikes

over the people of Gilead.

₄Now I will burn down the palaces

and fortresses of King Hazael

and of King Benhadad.

₅I will break through

the gates of Damascus.

I will destroy the people

of Wicked Valley

and the ruler of Beth-Eden.

Then the Syrians will be dragged

as prisoners to Kir.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

I will punish Philistia

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They dragged off my people

from town after town

to sell them as slaves

to the Edomites.

₇That's why I will burn down

the walls and fortresses

of the city of Gaza.

₈I will destroy the king of Ashdod

and the ruler of Ashkelon.

I will strike down Ekron,

and that will be the end

of the Philistines.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

I will punish Phoenicia

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They broke their treaty

and dragged off my people

from town after town

to sell them as slaves

to the Edomites.

₁₀That's why I will send flames

to burn down the city of Tyre

along with its fortresses.

I will punish Edom

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They killed their own relatives

and were so terribly furious

that they showed no mercy.

₁₂Now I will send fire to wipe out

the fortresses of Teman

and Bozrah.

I will punish Ammon

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

In Gilead they ripped open

pregnant women,

just to take the land.

₁₄Now I will send fire to destroy

the walls and fortresses

of Rabbah.

Enemies will shout and attack

like a whirlwind.

₁₅Ammon's king and leaders

will be dragged away.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

I will punish Moab

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They made lime from the bones

of the king of Edom.

₂Now I will send fire to destroy

the fortresses of Kerioth.

Battle shouts and trumpet blasts

will be heard as I destroy Moab

₃with its king and leaders.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

I will punish Judah

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They have rejected my teachings

and refused to obey me.

They were led astray

by the same false gods

their ancestors worshipped.

₅Now I will send fire on Judah

and destroy the fortresses

of Jerusalem.

I will punish Israel

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They sell honest people for money,

and the needy are sold

for the price of sandals.

₇They throw the poor to the ground

and push aside

those who are helpless.

My holy name is dishonoured,

because fathers and sons sleep

with the same young women.

₈They lie down beside altars

on clothes taken

as security for loans.

And they drink wine in my temple,

wine bought with the money

they received from fines.

₉Israel, the Amorites were there

when you entered Canaan.

They were tall as cedars

and strong as oaks.

But I wiped them out—

I destroyed their branches

and their roots.

₁₀I had rescued you from Egypt,

and for forty years I had led you

through the desert.

Then I gave you the land

of the Amorites.

₁₁I chose some of you

to be prophets

and others to be Nazirites.

People of Israel,

you know this is true.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

₁₂But you commanded the prophets

not to speak their message,

and you pressured the Nazirites

into drinking wine.

₁₃And so I will crush you,

just as a wagon full of grain

crushes the ground.

₁₄No matter how fast you run,

you won't escape.

No matter how strong you are,

you will lose your strength

and your life.

₁₅Even if you are an expert

with a bow and arrow,

you will retreat.

And you won't get away alive,

not even if you run fast

or ride a horse.

₁₆You may be brave and strong,

but you will run away,

stripped naked.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

₁People of Israel,

I rescued you from Egypt.

Now listen to my judgment

against you.

₂Of all nations on earth,

you are the only one

I have chosen.

That's why I will punish you

because of your sins.

₃Can two people walk together

without agreeing to meet?

₄Does a lion roar in the forest

unless it has caught

a victim?

Does it growl in its den

unless it is eating?

₅How can anyone catch a bird

without using a net?

Does a trap spring shut

unless something is caught?

₆Isn't the whole city frightened

when the trumpet

signals an attack?

Isn't it the LORD who brings

disaster on a city?

₇Whatever the LORD God

plans to do,

he tells his servants,

the prophets.

₈Everyone is terrified

when a lion roars—

and ordinary people

become prophets

when the LORD God speaks.

₉Here is a message

for the leaders

of Philistia and Egypt—

tell everyone to come together

on the hills of Samaria.

Let them see the injustice

and the lawlessness

in that city.

₁₀The LORD has said

that they don't even know how

to do right.

They have become rich

from violence and robbery.

₁₁And so the LORD God has sworn

that they will be surrounded.

Enemies will break through

their defences

and steal their treasures.

₁₂The LORD has promised

that only a few from Samaria

will escape with their lives

and with some broken pieces

of their beds and couches.

It will be like when a shepherd

rescues two leg bones

and part of a sheep's ear

from the jaws of a lion.

₁₃The LORD God All-Powerful

told me to speak this message

against Jacob's descendants:

₁₄When I, the LORD, punish Israel

for their sins,

I will destroy the altars

at Bethel.

Even the corners of the altar

will be left in the dust.

₁₅I will tear down winter homes

and summer homes.

Houses decorated with ivory

and all other mansions

will be gone for ever.

I, the LORD, have spoken!

₅12,000 from Judah,

12,000 from Reuben,

12,000 from Gad,

₆12,000 from Asher,

12,000 from Naphtali,

12,000 from Manasseh,

₇12,000 from Simeon,

12,000 from Levi,

12,000 from Issachar,

₈12,000 from Zebulun,

12,000 from Joseph, and

12,000 from Benjamin.

“Our God, who sits

upon the throne,

has the power

to save his people,

and so does the Lamb.”

“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom,

thanks, honour, power,

and strength belong to our God

for ever and ever! Amen!”

“These are the ones

who have gone through

the great suffering.

They have washed their robes

in the blood of the Lamb

and have made them white.

₁₅And so they stand

before the throne of God

and worship him in his temple

day and night.

The one who sits on the throne

will spread his tent

over them.

₁₆They will never hunger

or thirst again,

and they won't be troubled

by the sun

or any scorching heat.

₁₇The Lamb in the centre

of the throne

will be their shepherd.

He will lead them to streams

of life-giving water,

and God will wipe all tears

from their eyes.”