Bible Reading Plan – Day 232

The LORD has sent his messenger to the nations,

and we have heard his message:

“Get ready! Let us go to war against Edom!”

₂The LORD says to Edom,

“I will make you weak;

everyone will despise you.

₃Your pride has deceived you.

Your capital is a fortress of solid rock;

your home is high in the mountains,

and so you say to yourself,

‘Who can ever pull me down?’

₄Even though you make your home

as high as an eagle's nest,

so that it seems to be among the stars,

yet I will pull you down.

₅“When thieves come at night,

they take only what they want.

When people gather grapes,

they always leave a few.

But your enemies have wiped you out completely.

₆Descendants of Esau, your treasures have been looted.

₇Your allies have deceived you;

they have driven you from your country.

People who were at peace with you have now conquered you.

Those friends who ate with you have laid a trap for you;

they say of you, ‘Where is all that cleverness he had?’

₈“On the day I punish Edom,

I will destroy their clever men

and wipe out all their wisdom.

₉The fighting men of Teman will be terrified,

and every soldier in Edom will be killed.

₁₀“Because you robbed and killed

your brothers, the descendants of Jacob,

you will be destroyed and dishonoured for ever.

₁₁You stood aside on that day

when enemies broke down their gates.

You were as bad as those strangers

who carried off Jerusalem's wealth

and divided it among themselves.

₁₂You should not have gloated

over the misfortune of your brothers in Judah.

You should not have been glad

on the day of their ruin.

You should not have laughed at them

in their distress.

₁₃You should not have entered the city of my people

to gloat over their suffering

and to seize their riches

on the day of their disaster.

₁₄You should not have stood at the crossroads

to catch those trying to escape.

You should not have handed them over to the enemy

on the day of their distress.

₁₅“The day is near when I, the LORD,

will judge all nations.

Edom, what you have done

will be done to you.

You will get back what you have given.

₁₆My people have drunk a bitter cup of punishment

on my sacred hill.

But all the surrounding nations will drink

a still more bitter cup of punishment;

they will drink it all and vanish away.

₁₇“But on Mount Zion some will escape,

and it will be a sacred place.

The people of Jacob will possess

the land that is theirs by right.

₁₈The people of Jacob and of Joseph will be like fire;

they will destroy the people of Esau

as fire burns stubble.

No descendant of Esau will survive.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

₁₉“People from southern Judah will occupy Edom;

those from the western foothills will capture Philistia;

Israelites will possess the territory of Ephraim and Samaria;

the people of Benjamin will take Gilead.

₂₀The army of exiles from northern Israel

will return and conquer Phoenicia

as far north as Zarephath.

The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sardis

will capture the towns of southern Judah.

₂₁The victorious men of Jerusalem

will attack Edom and rule over it.

And the LORD himself will be King.”

₁“Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!

₂Encourage the people of Jerusalem.

Tell them they have suffered long enough

and their sins are now forgiven.

I have punished them in full for all their sins.”

₃A voice cries out,

“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the LORD!

Clear the way in the desert for our God!

₄Fill every valley;

level every mountain.

The hills will become a plain,

and the rough country will be made smooth.

₅Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and the whole human race will see it.

The LORD himself has promised this.”

₆A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”

“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.

“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;

they last no longer than wild flowers.

₇Grass withers and flowers fade,

when the LORD sends the wind blowing over them.

People are no more enduring than grass.

₈Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,

but the word of our God endures for ever.”

₉Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain

and proclaim the good news!

Call out with a loud voice, Zion;

announce the good news!

Speak out and do not be afraid.

Tell the towns of Judah

that their God is coming!

₁₀The Sovereign LORD is coming to rule with power,

bringing with him the people he has rescued.

₁₁He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs together

and carry them in his arms;

he will gently lead their mothers.

₁₂Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls

or measure the sky with his hands?

Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup

or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?

₁₃Can anyone tell the LORD what to do?

Who can teach him or give him advice?

₁₄With whom does God consult

in order to know and understand

and to learn how things should be done?

₁₅To the LORD the nations are nothing,

no more than a drop of water;

the distant islands are as light as dust.

₁₆All the animals in the forests of Lebanon

are not enough for a sacrifice to our God,

and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.

₁₇The nations are nothing at all to him.

₁₈To whom can God be compared?

How can you describe what he is like?

₁₉He is not like an idol that workmen make,

that metalworkers cover with gold

and set in a base of silver.

₂₀The man who cannot afford silver or gold

chooses wood that will not rot.

He finds a skilful craftsman

to make an image that won't fall down.

₂₁Do you not know?

Were you not told long ago?

Have you not heard how the world began?

₂₂It was made by the one who sits on his throne

above the earth and beyond the sky;

the people below look as tiny as ants.

He stretched out the sky like a curtain,

like a tent in which to live.

₂₃He brings down powerful rulers

and reduces them to nothing.

₂₄They are like young plants,

just set out and barely rooted.

When the LORD sends a wind,

they dry up and blow away like straw.

₂₅To whom can the holy God be compared?

Is there anyone else like him?

₂₆Look up at the sky!

Who created the stars you see?

The one who leads them out like an army,

he knows how many there are

and calls each one by name!

His power is so great —

not one of them is ever missing!

₂₇Israel, why then do you complain

that the LORD doesn't know your troubles

or care if you suffer injustice?

₂₈Don't you know? Haven't you heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God;

he created all the world.

He never grows tired or weary.

No one understands his thoughts.

₂₉He strengthens those who are weak and tired.

₃₀Even those who are young grow weak;

young people can fall exhausted.

₃₁But those who trust in the LORD for help

will find their strength renewed.

They will rise on wings like eagles;

they will run and not get weary;

they will walk and not grow weak.

“Be silent and listen to me, you distant lands!

Get ready to present your case in court;

you will have your chance to speak.

Let us come together to decide who is right.

₂“Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east,

and makes him triumphant wherever he goes?

Who gives him victory over kings and nations?

His sword strikes them down as if they were dust.

His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.

₃He follows in pursuit and marches safely on,

so fast that he hardly touches the ground!

₄Who was it that made this happen?

Who has determined the course of history?

I, the LORD, was there at the beginning,

and I, the LORD, will be there at the end.

₅“The people of distant lands have seen what I have done;

they are frightened and tremble with fear.

So they all assemble and come.

₆The craftsmen help and encourage one another.

₇The carpenter says to the goldsmith, ‘Well done!’

The man who beats the idol smooth

encourages the one who nails it together.

They say, ‘The soldering is good’ —

and they fasten the idol in place with nails.

₈“But you, Israel my servant,

you are the people that I have chosen,

the descendants of Abraham, my friend.

₉I brought you from the ends of the earth;

I called you from its farthest corners

and said to you, ‘You are my servant.’

I did not reject you, but chose you.

₁₀Do not be afraid — I am with you!

I am your God — let nothing terrify you!

I will make you strong and help you;

I will protect you and save you.

₁₁“Those who are angry with you

will know the shame of defeat.

Those who fight against you will die

₁₂and will disappear from the earth.

₁₃I am the LORD your God;

I strengthen you and say,

‘Do not be afraid; I will help you.’ ”

“Small and weak as you are, Israel,

don't be afraid; I will help you.

I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.

₁₅I will make you like a threshing board,

with spikes that are new and sharp.

You will thresh mountains and destroy them;

hills will crumble into dust.

₁₆You will toss them in the air;

the wind will carry them off,

and they will be scattered by the storm.

Then you will be happy because I am your God;

you will praise me, the holy God of Israel.

₁₇“When my people in their need look for water,

when their throats are dry with thirst,

then I, the LORD, will answer their prayer;

I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

₁₈I will make rivers flow among barren hills

and springs of water run in the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water

and the dry land into flowing springs.

₁₉I will make cedars grow in the desert,

and acacias and myrtles and olive trees.

Forests will grow in barren land,

forests of pine and juniper and cypress.

₂₀People will see this and know

that I, the LORD, have done it.

They will come to understand

that Israel's holy God has made it happen.”

“You gods of the nations, present your case.

Bring the best arguments you have!

₂₂Come here and predict what will happen,

so that we will know it when it takes place.

Explain to the court the events of the past,

and tell us what they mean.

₂₃Tell us what the future holds —

then we will know that you are gods!

Do something good or bring some disaster;

fill us with fear and awe!

₂₄You and all you do are nothing;

those who worship you are disgusting!

₂₅“I have chosen a man who lives in the east;

I will bring him to attack from the north.

He tramples on rulers as if they were mud,

like a potter trampling clay.

₂₆Which of you predicted that this would happen,

so that we could say that you were right?

None of you said a word about it;

no one heard you say a thing!

₂₇I, the LORD, was the first to tell Zion the news;

I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,

‘Your people are coming! They are coming home!’

₂₈When I looked among the gods,

none of them had a thing to say;

not one could answer the questions I asked.

₂₉All these gods are useless;

they can do nothing at all —

these idols are weak and powerless.”