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God Will Bless Judah and Ephraim
10 Ask (A)rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain—
The Lord who (B)makes the [a]storm clouds;
And He will give them (C)showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.
2 For the (D)teraphim speak [b]iniquity,
And the (E)diviners see [c]lying visions
And tell (F)false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people [d]wander like (G)sheep,
They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
3 “My (H)anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the [e]male goats;
For the Lord of hosts has (I)visited His flock, the house of Judah,
And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.
4 “From [f]them will come the (J)cornerstone,
From [g]them the tent peg,
From [h]them the bow of (K)battle,
From [i]them every [j]ruler, all of them together.
5 “They will be as mighty men,
(L)Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, for the Lord will be with them;
And the (M)riders on horses will be put to shame.
6 “I will (N)strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will (O)save the house of Joseph,
And I will [k](P)bring them back,
Because I have had (Q)compassion on them;
And they will be as though I had (R)not rejected them,
For I am the Lord their God and I will (S)answer them.
7 “Ephraim will be like a mighty man,
And their heart will be glad as if from wine;
Indeed, their (T)children will see it and be glad,
[l]Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.
8 “I will (U)whistle for them to gather them together,
For I have redeemed them;
And they will be as (V)numerous as they [m](W)were before.
9 “When I [n]scatter them among the peoples,
They will (X)remember Me in far countries,
And they with their children will live and come back.
10 “I will (Y)bring them back from the land of Egypt
And gather them from Assyria;
And I will bring them into the land of (Z)Gilead and Lebanon
[o]Until (AA)no room can be found for them.
11 “And they will pass through the (AB)sea of distress
And He will strike the waves in the sea,
So that all the depths of the (AC)Nile will dry up;
And the pride of (AD)Assyria will be brought down
And the scepter of (AE)Egypt will depart.
12 “And I will (AF)strengthen them in the Lord,
And in His name (AG)they will walk,” declares the Lord.
The Doomed Flock
11 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That a (AH)fire may feed on your (AI)cedars.
2 Wail, O [p]cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the glorious trees have been destroyed;
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the [q]impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ (AJ)wail,
For their glory is ruined;
There is a (AK)sound of the young lions’ roar,
For the [r]pride of the Jordan is ruined.
4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to (AL)slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slay them and [s]go (AM)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (AN)I have become rich!’ And their (AO)own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will (AP)no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (AQ)cause the men to [t]fall, each into another’s [u]power and into the [v]power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will (AR)not deliver them from their [w]power.”
7 So I (AS)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [x]hence the (AT)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (AU)staffs: the one I called [y](AV)Favor and the other I called [z](AW)Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in (AX)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [aa]was weary of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (AY)die, [ab]let it die, and what is to be annihilated, [ac]let it be annihilated; and [ad]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 I took my staff [ae](AZ)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [af](BA)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [ag]broken on that day, and [ah]thus the (BB)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my (BC)wages; but if not, [ai]never mind!” So they weighed out (BD)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (BE)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff [aj](BF)Union, to (BG)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a [ak](BH)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (BI)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will (BJ)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
Babylon Is Fallen
18 After these things I saw another (A)angel (B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was (C)illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She (E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a [b]prison of every (F)unclean spirit, and a [c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations [d]have drunk of the (G)wine of the [e]passion of her immorality, and (H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the (I)merchants of the earth have become rich by the [f]wealth of her [g](J)sensuality.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have [h](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her iniquities. 6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and [i]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the (O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 (P)To the degree that she glorified herself and (Q)lived [j]sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason (S)in one day her plagues will come, [k]pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be (T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her (U)is strong.
Lament for Babylon
9 “And (V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and (W)lived [l]sensuously with her, will (X)weep and lament over her when they (Y)see the smoke of her burning, 10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘(AA)Woe, woe, (AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in (AC)one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the (AD)merchants of the earth (AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— 12 cargoes of (AF)gold and silver and precious [m]stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and [n]bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and [o]spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and [p]slaves and [q](AG)human lives. 14 The fruit [r]you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15 The (AH)merchants of (AI)these things, who became rich from her, will (AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘(AK)Woe, woe, (AL)the great city, she who (AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and [s]adorned with gold and precious [t]stones and pearls; 17 for in (AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid (AO)waste!’ And (AP)every shipmaster and every [u]passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, (AQ)stood at a distance, 18 and were (AR)crying out as they (AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘(AT)What city is like (AU)the great city?’ 19 And they threw (AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea (AX)became rich by her [v]wealth, for in (AY)one hour she has been laid (AZ)waste!’ 20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you [w]saints and (BB)apostles and prophets, because (BC)God has [x]pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21 Then [y]a (BD)strong angel (BE)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, (BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and (BG)will not be found any longer. 22 And (BH)the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the (BI)sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the (BJ)voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your (BK)merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived (BL)by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the (BM)blood of prophets and of [z]saints and of (BN)all who have been slain on the earth.”
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.