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Prophecy against Damascus
23 Concerning (A)Damascus:
“(B)Hamath and (C)Arpad are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They (D)despair.
There is anxiety at the sea,
It (E)cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
(F)Distress and labor pains have seized her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25 How the (G)city of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
26 Therefore, her (H)young men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will perish on that day,” declares the Lord of armies.
27 “I will (I)set fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the fortified palace of (J)Ben-hadad.”
Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor
28 Concerning (K)Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated. This is what the Lord says:
“Arise, go up to Kedar
And devastate the [a](L)people of the east.
29 They will take away their tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent (M)curtains, all their goods and their (N)camels,
And they will call out to one another, ‘(O)Horror on every side!’
30 Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths,
You inhabitants of Hazor,” declares the Lord;
“For (P)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you
And devised a scheme against you.
31 Arise, go up against a nation which is (Q)at ease,
Which lives securely,” declares the Lord.
“It has (R)no gates or bars;
They (S)dwell alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
And their many livestock for spoils,
And I will (T)scatter to all the winds those who (U)cut the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side,” declares the Lord.
33 “Hazor will become a (V)haunt of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will [b]anyone of mankind reside in it.”
Prophecy against Elam
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning (W)Elam, (X)at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35 “This is what the Lord of armies says:
‘Behold, I am going to (Y)break the bow of Elam,
The [c]finest of their might.
36 I will bring upon Elam the (Z)four winds
From the four ends of heaven,
And will (AA)scatter them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 So I will [d]shatter Elam before their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will (AB)bring disaster upon them,
Even My (AC)fierce anger,’ declares the Lord,
‘And I will (AD)send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 Then I will set My throne in Elam,
And eliminate from there the king and officials,’
Declares the Lord.
39 ‘But it will come about in the last days
That I will (AE)restore the fortunes of Elam,’”
Declares the Lord.
Prophecy against Babylon
50 The word which the Lord spoke concerning (AF)Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2 “(AG)Declare and proclaim among the nations.
Proclaim it and (AH)lift up a flag,
Do not conceal it. Say,
‘(AI)Babylon has been captured,
(AJ)Bel has been put to shame, [e]Marduk has been [f]shattered;
Her (AK)idols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.’
3 For a nation has come up against her from the (AL)north; it will make her land (AM)an object of horror, and there will be (AN)no inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!
4 “In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, they and the sons of Judah (AO)as well; they will go along (AP)weeping as they go, and it will be (AQ)the Lord their God whom they will seek. 5 They will (AR)ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces [g]in its direction; [h]they [i]will come so that they may join themselves to the Lord in an (AS)everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.
6 “My people have become (AT)lost sheep;
(AU)Their shepherds have led them astray.
They have made them turn aside on the (AV)mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill,
They have forgotten their (AW)resting place.
7 All who found them have devoured them;
And their adversaries have said, ‘(AX)We are not guilty,
Since they have sinned against the Lord who is the (AY)habitation of righteousness,
The Lord, the (AZ)hope of their fathers.’
8 “Wander away from the (BA)midst of Babylon
And [j]go out from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be like male goats [k]at the head of the flock.
9 For behold, I am going to (BB)rouse and bring up against Babylon
A contingent of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like [l]an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10 [m](BC)Chaldea will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord.
11 “Because you are glad, because you are jubilant,
You who (BD)pillage My heritage,
Because you skip about [n]like a threshing (BE)heifer
And neigh like [o]stallions,
12 Your (BF)mother [p]will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth [q]will be humiliated.
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A (BG)wilderness, a dry land and a desert.
13 Because of the wrath of the Lord she will (BH)not be inhabited,
But she will be (BI)completely desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon (BJ)will be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14 Draw up your battle lines against Babylon on every side,
All of you who [r]bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not spare your arrows,
For she has (BK)sinned against the Lord.
15 Raise your battle cry against her on every side!
She has (BL)given [s]herself up, her towers have fallen,
Her (BM)walls have been torn down.
For this is the (BN)vengeance of the Lord:
Take vengeance on her;
(BO)As she has done to others, so do to her.
16 Eliminate the (BP)sower from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From [t]the (BQ)sword of the oppressor
(BR)Each of them will turn back to his own people
And each of them will flee to his own land.
17 “Israel is a (BS)scattered [u]flock, the (BT)lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the (BU)king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is (BV)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 18 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I (BW)punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will (BX)bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his [v]desire will be satisfied in the (BY)hill country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the wrongdoing of Israel, but (BZ)there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will forgive those (CA)whom I leave as a remnant.’
21 “Against the land of [w]Merathaim, go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of [x](CB)Pekod.
Kill and [y]completely destroy them,” declares the Lord,
“And do according to everything that I have commanded you.
22 The (CC)noise of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23 How the (CD)hammer of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24 I (CE)set a trap for you and you were also (CF)caught, Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in (CG)conflict with the Lord.”
25 The Lord has opened His armory
And has brought out the (CH)weapons of His indignation,
For it is a (CI)work of the Lord [z]God of armies
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26 Come to her from the [aa]farthest border;
(CJ)Open up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps of grain
And [ab](CK)completely destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27 (CL)Put all her bulls to the sword;
Let them (CM)go down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their (CN)day has come,
The time of their punishment.
28 There is a (CO)sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the (CP)vengeance of the Lord our God,
Vengeance for His (CQ)temple.
29 “Summon [ac]many against Babylon,
All those who [ad]bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape[ae].
Repay her according to her work;
(CR)According to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become (CS)arrogant against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30 Therefore her (CT)young men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will (CU)perish on that day,” declares the Lord.
31 “Behold, (CV)I am against you, [af]arrogant one,”
Declares the Lord [ag]God of armies,
“For your day has come,
The time [ah]when I will punish you.
32 The [ai](CW)arrogant one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will (CX)set fire to his cities,
And it will devour all his surroundings.”
33 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And (CY)all who took them captive have held them firmly,
They have refused to let them go.
34 Their (CZ)Redeemer is strong, (DA)the Lord of armies is His name;
He will vigorously (DB)plead their case
So that He may (DC)bring rest to their land,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35 A (DD)sword against the Chaldeans,” declares the Lord,
“And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her (DE)leaders and her (DF)wise men!
36 A sword against the (DG)oracle priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her (DH)warriors, and they will be [aj](DI)shattered!
37 A sword against [ak]their (DJ)horses, against [al]their chariots,
And against all the [am](DK)foreigners who are in the midst of her,
And they will become (DL)women!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38 A [an](DM)drought on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of (DN)idols,
And they go insane at frightful images.
39 “Therefore the (DO)desert creatures will live there with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it.
It will (DP)never again be inhabited
Nor lived in from generation to generation.
40 As when God overthrew (DQ)Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors,” declares the Lord,
“No one will live there,
Nor will [ao]anyone of mankind reside in it.
41 “Behold, a people is coming (DR)from the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be roused from the remote parts of the earth.
42 They (DS)seize their bow and javelin;
They are (DT)cruel and have no mercy.
Their (DU)voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on (DV)horses,
(DW)Drawn up like a man for the battle
Against you, daughter of Babylon.
43 The (DX)king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
(DY)Distress has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44 “(DZ)Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase them away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is (EA)chosen. For who is (EB)like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can (EC)stand against Me?” 45 Therefore hear the (ED)plan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: (EE)they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them. 46 At the [ap]shout, “Babylon has been conquered!” the (EF)earth quakes, and an (EG)outcry is heard among the nations.
Salutation
1 Paul, (A)a bond-servant of God and an (B)apostle of Jesus Christ, [a]for the faith of those (C)chosen of God and (D)the knowledge of the truth which is (E)according to godliness, 2 in (F)the hope of eternal life, which God, (G)who cannot lie, (H)promised [b](I)long ages ago, 3 but (J)at the proper time revealed His word in (K)the proclamation (L)with which I was entrusted (M)according to the commandment of (N)God our Savior;
4 To (O)Titus, (P)my true [c]son [d]in a (Q)common faith: (R)Grace and peace from God the Father and (S)Christ Jesus our Savior.
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (T)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (U)appoint (V)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (W)if any man is beyond reproach, the (X)husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of (Y)indecent behavior or (Z)rebellion. 7 For the [e](AA)overseer must be beyond reproach as (AB)God’s steward, not (AC)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (AD)overindulging in wine, not [f]a bully, (AE)not greedy for money, 8 but (AF)hospitable, (AG)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 (AH)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to [g]exhort in (AI)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 (AJ)For there are many (AK)rebellious people, (AL)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (AM)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (AN)whole families, teaching (AO)things they should not teach (AP)for the sake of [h]dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “(AQ)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (AR)reprimand them (AS)severely so that they may be (AT)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AU)myths and (AV)commandments of men who (AW)turn away from the truth. 15 (AX)To the pure, all things are pure; but (AY)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AZ)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (BA)They profess to know God, but by their deeds they (BB)deny Him, being (BC)detestable and (BD)disobedient and (BE)worthless (BF)for any good deed.
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
97 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, may the (B)earth rejoice;
May the many [b](C)islands be joyful.
2 (D)Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
(E)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 (F)Fire goes before Him
And (G)burns up His enemies all around.
4 His (H)lightning lit up the world;
The earth saw it and (I)trembled.
5 The mountains (J)melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the (K)Lord of the whole earth.
6 The (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
And (M)all the peoples have seen His glory.
7 May all those be ashamed who serve (N)carved images,
Who boast in (O)idols;
[c](P)Worship Him, all you [d]gods.
8 Zion [e]heard this and (Q)was joyful,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, Lord.
9 For You are the Lord (R)Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far (S)above all [f]gods.
10 (T)Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who (U)watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He (V)saves them from the hand of the wicked.
11 (W)Light is sown like seed for the righteous,
And (X)gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be (Y)joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And (Z)praise [g]the mention of His holy name.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 Sing a (AA)new song to the Lord,
For He has done (AB)wonderful things,
His (AC)right hand and His (AD)holy arm have [h]gained the victory for Him.
2 (AE)The Lord has made His salvation known;
He has (AF)revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (AG)remembered His graciousness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(AH)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 (AI)Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
(AJ)Be cheerful and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the (AK)lyre,
With the lyre and the [i](AL)sound of melody.
6 With (AM)trumpets and the sound of the horn
(AN)Shout joyfully before (AO)the King, the Lord.
7 May the (AP)sea roar and [j]all it contains,
The (AQ)world and those who dwell in it.
8 May the (AR)rivers clap their hands,
May the (AS)mountains sing together for joy
9 Before the Lord, for He is coming to (AT)judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And (AU)the peoples with fairness.
13 [a]A (A)lazy one says, “There is a lion on the road!
A lion is [b]in the public square!”
14 As the door turns on its hinges,
So does a (B)lazy one on his bed.
15 A (C)lazy one buries his hand in the dish;
He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.
16 A lazy one is (D)wiser in his own eyes
Than seven people who can [c]give a discreet answer.
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