Through the Bible – Day 356

₁In the future, the mountain

with the LORD's temple

will be the highest of all.

It will reach above the hills,

and every nation

will rush to it.

₂People of many nations

will come and say,

“Let's go up 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.

₃He will settle arguments

between distant

and powerful nations.

They will beat their swords

and their spears

into rakes and shovels;

they will never again make war

or attack one another.

₄Everyone will find rest

beneath their own fig trees

or grapevines,

and they will live in peace.

This is a solemn promise

of the LORD All-Powerful.

₅Others may follow their gods,

but we will always follow

the LORD our God.

₆The LORD said:

At that time

I will gather my people—

the lame and the outcasts,

and all into whose lives

I have brought sorrow.

₇Then the lame and the outcasts

will belong to my people

and become a strong nation.

I, the LORD, will rule them

from Mount Zion for ever.

₈Mount Zion in Jerusalem,

guardian of my people,

you will rule again.

₉Jerusalem, why are you crying?

Don't you have a king?

Have your advisers gone?

Are you suffering

like a woman in childbirth?

₁₀Keep on groaning with pain,

you people of Jerusalem!

If you escape from your city

to the countryside,

you will still be taken

as prisoners to Babylonia.

But later I will rescue you

from your enemies.

₁₁Zion, because of your sins

you are surrounded

by many nations who say,

“We can hardly wait

to see you disgraced.”

₁₂But they don't know

that I, the LORD,

have gathered them here

to grind them like grain.

₁₃Smash them to pieces, Zion!

I'll let you be like a bull

with iron horns

and bronze hoofs.

Crush those nations

and bring their wealth to me,

the LORD of the earth.

₁Jerusalem, enemy troops

have surrounded you;

they have struck Israel's ruler

in the face with a stick.

₂Bethlehem Ephrath,

you are one of the smallest towns

in the nation of Judah.

But the LORD will choose

one of your people

to rule the nation—

someone whose family

goes back to ancient times.

₃The LORD will abandon Israel

only until this ruler is born,

and the rest of his family

returns to Israel.

₄Like a shepherd

taking care of his sheep,

this ruler will lead

and care for his people

by the power and glorious name

of the LORD his God.

His people will live securely,

and the whole earth will know

his true greatness,

₅because he will bring peace.

Let Assyria attack our country

and our palaces.

We will counter-attack,

led by a number of rulers

₆whose strong army will defeat

the nation of Assyria.

Yes, our leaders will rescue us,

if those Assyrians

dare to invade our land.

₇A few of Jacob's descendants

survived and are scattered

among the nations.

But the LORD will let them

cover the earth like dew and rain

that refreshes the soil.

₈At present they are scattered,

but later they will attack,

as though they were fierce lions

pouncing on sheep.

Their enemies will be torn

to shreds,

with no one to save them;

₉they will be helpless,

completely destroyed.

₁₀The LORD said:

At that time I will wipe out

your cavalry and chariots,

₁₁as well as your cities

and your fortresses.

₁₂I will stop you

from telling fortunes

and practising witchcraft.

₁₃You will no longer worship

the idols or stone images

you have made—

I will destroy them,

₁₄together with the sacred poles

and even your towns.

₁₅I will become furious

and take revenge on the nations

that refuse to obey me.

₁The LORD said to his people:

Come and present your case

to the hills and mountains.

₂Israel, I am bringing charges

against you—

I call upon the mountains

and the earth's firm foundation

to be my witnesses.

₃My people, have I wronged you

in any way at all?

Please tell me.

₄I rescued you from Egypt,

where you were slaves.

I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam

to be your leaders.

₅Don't forget the evil plans

of King Balak of Moab

or what Balaam son of Beor

said to him.

Remember how I, the LORD,

saved you many times

on your way from Acacia

to Gilgal.

₆What offering should I bring

when I bow down to worship

the LORD God Most High?

Should I try to please him

by sacrificing

calves a year old?

₇Will thousands of sheep

or rivers of olive oil

make God satisfied with me?

Should I sacrifice to the LORD

my firstborn child as payment

for my terrible sins?

₈The LORD God has told us

what is right

and what he demands:

“See that justice is done,

let mercy be your first concern,

and humbly obey your God.”

₉I am the LORD,

and it makes sense to respect

my power to punish.

So listen to my message

for the city of Jerusalem:

₁₀You store up stolen treasures

and use dishonest scales.

₁₁But I, the LORD, will punish you

for cheating with weights

and with measures.

₁₂You rich people are violent,

and everyone tells lies.

₁₃Because of your sins,

I will wound you and leave you

ruined and defenceless.

₁₄You will eat,

but still be hungry;

you will store up goods,

but lose everything—

I, the LORD, will let it all

be captured in war.

₁₅You won't harvest what you plant

or use the oil

from your olive trees

or drink the wine

from grapes you grow.

₁₆Jerusalem, this will happen

because you followed

the sinful example

of kings Omri and Ahab.

Now I will destroy you

and your property.

Then the people of every nation

will make fun and insult you.

₁I feel so empty inside—

like someone starving

for grapes or figs,

after the vines and trees

have all been picked clean.

₂No one is loyal to God;

no one does right.

Everyone is brutal

and eager to deceive

everyone else.

₃People cooperate to commit crime.

Judges and leaders demand bribes,

and rulers cheat in court.

₄The most honest of them

is worse than a thorn patch.

Your doom has come!

Lookouts sound the warning,

and everyone panics.

₅Don't trust anyone,

not even your best friend,

and be careful what you say

to the one you love.

₆Sons refuse to respect

their own fathers,

daughters rebel against

their own mothers,

and daughters-in-law despise

their mothers-in-law.

Your family is now your enemy.

₇But I trust the LORD God

to save me,

and I will wait for him

to answer my prayer.

₈My enemies, don't be glad

because of my troubles!

I may have fallen,

but I will get up;

I may be sitting in the dark,

but the LORD is my light.

₉I have sinned against the LORD.

And so I must endure his anger,

until he comes to my defence.

But I know that I will see him

making things right for me

and leading me to the light.

₁₀You, my enemies, said,

“The LORD God is helpless.”

Now each of you

will be disgraced

and put to shame.

I will see you trampled

like mud in the street.

₁₁Towns of Judah, the day is coming

when your walls will be rebuilt,

and your boundaries enlarged.

₁₂People will flock to you

from Assyria and Egypt,

from Babylonia

and everywhere else.

₁₃Those nations will suffer disaster

because of what they did.

₁₄Lead your people, LORD!

Come and be our shepherd.

Grasslands surround us,

but we live in a forest.

So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,

and let us find pasture

as we did long ago.

₁₅I, the LORD, will work miracles

just as I did when I led you

out of Egypt.

₁₆Nations will see this

and be ashamed because

of their helpless armies.

They will be in shock,

unable to speak or hear,

₁₇because of their fear of me,

your LORD and God.

Then they will come trembling,

crawling out of their fortresses

like insects or snakes,

lapping up the dust.

₁₈Our God, no one is like you.

We are all that is left

of your chosen people,

and you freely forgive

our sin and guilt.

You don't stay angry for ever;

you're glad to have pity

₁₉and pleased to be merciful.

You will trample on our sins

and throw them in the sea.

₂₀You will keep your word

and be faithful to Jacob

and to Abraham,

as you promised our ancestors

many years ago.

₉If you have ears,

then listen!

₁₀If you are doomed

to be captured,

you will be captured.

If you are doomed

to be killed by a sword,

you will be killed

by a sword.