To The Word – Day 98

₁God's altar, Jerusalem itself, is doomed! The city where David camped is doomed! Let another year or two come and go, with its feasts and festivals, ₂and then God will bring disaster on the city that is called “God's altar”. There will be weeping and wailing, and the whole city will be like an altar covered with blood. ₃God will attack the city, surround it, and besiege it. ₄Jerusalem will be like a ghost struggling to speak from under the ground, a muffled voice coming from the dust.

₅Jerusalem, all the foreigners who attack you will be blown away like dust, and their terrifying armies will fly away like straw. Suddenly and unexpectedly ₆the LORD Almighty will rescue you with violent thunderstorms and earthquakes. He will send tempests and raging fire; ₇then all the armies of the nations attacking the city of God's altar, all their weapons and equipment — everything — will vanish like a dream, like something imagined in the night. ₈All the nations that assemble to attack Jerusalem will be like a starving person who dreams he is eating and wakes up hungry, or like someone dying of thirst who dreams he is drinking and wakes with a dry throat.

₉Go ahead and be stupid! Go ahead and be blind! Get drunk without any wine! Stagger without drinking a drop! ₁₀The LORD has made you drowsy, ready to fall into a deep sleep. The prophets should be the eyes of the people, but God has blindfolded them. ₁₁The meaning of every prophetic vision will be hidden from you; it will be like a sealed scroll. If you take it to someone who knows how to read and ask him to read it to you, he will say he can't because it is sealed. ₁₂If you give it to someone who can't read and ask him to read it to you, he will answer that he doesn't know how.

₁₃The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. ₁₄So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless.”

₁₅Those who try to hide their plans from the LORD are doomed! They carry out their schemes in secret and think no one will see them or know what they are doing. ₁₆They turn everything upside down. Which is more important, the potter or the clay? Can a thing which someone has made say to its maker, “You didn't make me”? Or “You don't know what you are doing”?

₁₇As the saying goes, before long the dense forest will become farmland, and the farmland will go back to forest.

₁₈When that day comes, the deaf will be able to hear a book being read aloud, and the blind, who have been living in darkness, will open their eyes and see. ₁₉Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the LORD, the holy God of Israel, gives. ₂₀It will be the end of those who oppress others and show contempt for God. Every sinner will be destroyed. ₂₁God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest men from getting justice.

₂₂So now the LORD, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, “My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame. ₂₃When you see the children that I will give you, then you will acknowledge that I am the holy God of Israel. You will honour me and stand in awe of me. ₂₄Foolish people will learn to understand, and those who are always grumbling will be glad to be taught.”

₁The LORD has spoken: “Those who rule Judah are doomed because they rebel against me. They follow plans that I did not make, and sign treaties against my will, piling one sin on another. ₂They go to Egypt for help without asking for my advice. They want Egypt to protect them, so they put their trust in Egypt's king. ₃But the king will be powerless to help them, and Egypt's protection will end in disaster. ₄Although their ambassadors have already arrived at the Egyptian cities of Zoan and Hanes, ₅the people of Judah will regret that they ever trusted that unreliable nation, a nation that fails them when they expect help.”

₆This is God's message about the animals of the southern desert: “The ambassadors travel through dangerous country, where lions live and where there are poisonous snakes and flying dragons. They load their donkeys and camels with expensive gifts for a nation that cannot give them any help. ₇The help that Egypt gives is useless. So I have nicknamed Egypt, ‘The Harmless Dragon’ ”.

₈God told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are. ₉They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the LORD's teachings. ₁₀They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, “Don't talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions. ₁₁Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don't want to hear about your holy God of Israel.”

₁₂But this is what the holy God of Israel says: “You ignore what I tell you and rely on violence and deceit. ₁₃You are guilty. You are like a high wall with a crack running down it; suddenly you will collapse. ₁₄You will be shattered like a clay pot, so badly broken that there is no piece big enough to pick up hot coals with, or to scoop water from a cistern.”

₁₅The Sovereign LORD, the holy God of Israel, says to the people, “Come back and quietly trust in me. Then you will be strong and secure.” But you refuse to do it! ₁₆Instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. And you are right — escape is what you will have to do! You think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster! ₁₇A thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. Nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagstaff on the top of a hill! ₁₈And yet the LORD is waiting to be merciful to you. He is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. Happy are those who put their trust in the LORD.

₁₉You people who live in Jerusalem will not weep any more. The LORD is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. ₂₀The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. ₂₁If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.” ₂₂You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, “Out of my sight!” ₂₃Whenever you sow your seeds, the LORD will send rain to make them grow and will give you a rich harvest, and your livestock will have plenty of pasture. ₂₄The oxen and donkeys that plough your fields will eat the finest and best fodder. ₂₅On the day when the forts of your enemies are captured and their people are killed, streams of water will flow from every mountain and every hill. ₂₆The moon will be as bright as the sun, and the sun will be seven times brighter than usual, like the light of seven days in one. This will all happen when the LORD bandages and heals the wounds he has given his people.

₂₇The LORD's power and glory can be seen in the distance. Fire and smoke show his anger. He speaks, and his words burn like fire. ₂₈He sends the wind in front of him like a flood that carries everything away. It sweeps nations to destruction and puts an end to their evil plans. ₂₉But you, God's people, will be happy and sing as you do on the night of a sacred festival. You will be as happy as those who walk to the music of flutes on their way to the Temple of the LORD, the defender of Israel.

₃₀The LORD will let everyone hear his majestic voice and feel the force of his anger. There will be flames, cloudbursts, hailstones, and torrents of rain. ₃₁The Assyrians will be terrified when they hear the LORD's voice and feel the force of his punishment. ₃₂As the LORD strikes them again and again, his people will keep time with the music of drums and harps. God himself will fight against the Assyrians. ₃₃Long ago a place was prepared where a huge fire will burn the emperor of Assyria. It is deep and wide, and piled high with wood. The LORD will breathe out a stream of flame to set it on fire.

₁Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt's vast military strength — horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the LORD, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help. ₂He knows what he is doing! He sends disaster. He carries out his threats to punish evil men and those who protect them. ₃The Egyptians are not gods — they are only human. Their horses are not supernatural. When the LORD acts, the strong nation will crumble, and the weak nation it helped will fall. Both of them will be destroyed.

₄The LORD said to me, “No matter how shepherds yell and shout, they can't scare away a lion from an animal that it has killed; in the same way, there is nothing that can keep me, the LORD Almighty, from protecting Mount Zion. ₅Just as a bird hovers over its nest to protect its young, so I, the LORD Almighty, will protect Jerusalem and defend it.”

₆The LORD said, “People of Israel, you have sinned against me and opposed me. But now, come back to me! ₇A time is coming when all of you will throw away the sinful idols you made out of silver and gold. ₈Assyria will be destroyed in war, but not by human power. The Assyrians will run from battle, and their young men will be made slaves. ₉Their emperor will run away in terror, and the officers will be so frightened that they will abandon their battle flags.” The LORD has spoken — the LORD who is worshipped in Jerusalem and whose fire burns there for sacrifices.

₁Some day there will be a king who rules with integrity, and national leaders who govern with justice. ₂Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind and a place to hide from storms. They will be like streams flowing in a desert, like the shadow of a giant rock in a barren land. ₃Their eyes and ears will be open to the needs of the people. ₄They will not be impatient any longer, but they will act with understanding and will say what they mean. ₅No one will think that a fool is honourable or say that a scoundrel is honest. ₆A fool speaks foolishly and thinks up evil things to do. What he does and what he says are an insult to the LORD, and he never feeds the hungry or gives thirsty people anything to drink. ₇A stupid person is evil and does evil things; he plots to ruin the poor with lies and to prevent them getting their rights. ₈But an honourable person acts honestly and stands firm for what is right.

₉You women who live an easy life, free from worries, listen to what I am saying. ₁₀You may be satisfied now, but this time next year you will be in despair because there will be no grapes for you to gather. ₁₁You have been living an easy life, free from worries; but now, tremble with fear! Strip off your clothes and tie rags round your waist. ₁₂Beat your breasts in grief because the fertile fields and the vineyards have been destroyed, ₁₃and thorn bushes and briars are growing on my people's land. Weep for all the houses where people were happy and for the city that was full of life. ₁₄Even the palace will be abandoned and the capital city totally deserted. Homes and the forts that guarded them will be in ruins for ever. Wild donkeys will roam there, and sheep will find pasture there.

₁₅But once more God will send us his Spirit. The waste land will become fertile, and fields will produce rich crops. ₁₆Everywhere in the land righteousness and justice will be done. ₁₇Because everyone will do what is right, there will be peace and security for ever. ₁₈God's people will be free from worries, and their homes peaceful and safe. ₁₉(But hail will fall on the forests, and the city will be torn down.) ₂₀How happy everyone will be with plenty of water for the crops and safe pasture everywhere for the donkeys and cattle.

₁Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the Devil. ₂After spending forty days and nights without food, Jesus was hungry. ₃Then the Devil came to him and said, “If you are God's Son, order these stones to turn into bread.”

₄But Jesus answered, “The scripture says, ‘Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.’ ”

₅Then the Devil took Jesus to Jerusalem, the Holy City, set him on the highest point of the Temple, ₆and said to him, “If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says:

₇Jesus answered, “But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

₈Then the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness. ₉“All this I will give you,” the Devil said, “if you kneel down and worship me.”

₁₀Then Jesus answered, “Go away, Satan! The scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him!’ ”

₁₁Then the Devil left Jesus; and angels came and helped him.

₁₂When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee. ₁₃He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. ₁₄This was done to make what the prophet Isaiah had said come true:

₁₇From that time Jesus began to preach his message: “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near!”

₁₈As Jesus walked along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers who were fishermen, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew, catching fish in the lake with a net. ₁₉Jesus said to them, “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.” ₂₀At once they left their nets and went with him.

₂₁He went on and saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat with their father Zebedee, getting their nets ready. Jesus called them, ₂₂and at once they left the boat and their father, and went with him.

₂₃Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom, and healing people who had all kinds of disease and sickness. ₂₄The news about him spread through the whole country of Syria, so that people brought to him all those who were sick, suffering from all kinds of diseases and disorders: people with demons, and epileptics, and paralytics — and Jesus healed them all. ₂₅Large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Ten Towns, from Jerusalem, Judea, and the land on the other side of the Jordan.