WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

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WELS Through my Bible in Three Years episodes

  • Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 12
    Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 12Philippians 1:12-26
    LISTEN HERE
    Through My Bible – May 12

    Philippians 1:12-26 (EHV)

    https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0512db.mp3
    See series: Through My Bible

    Philippians 1
    Christ Is Proclaimed

    12 I want you to know, brothers, [1] that the things which happened to me actually took place to advance the gospel. 13 And so it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that I am in chains because of Christ. [2] 14 And, through my chains, the majority of the brothers in the Lord have become much more confident about daring to speak the word of God [3] fearlessly. 15 Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and others out of good will. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking they can cause trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 What does it matter? Only this, that in every way, whether for outward appearance or for the truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

    To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain

    Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 because I know that this will turn out for my deliverance, through your prayer and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 This matches my earnest expectation and hope that I will in no way be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, so even now, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to go on living in the flesh, that will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which should I prefer? I do not know. 23 I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 24 But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh. 25 And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith. 26 And so by my coming to you again, my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ Jesus.

    Footnotes
    1. Philippians 1:12 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
    2. Philippians 1:13 Or my chains are in Christ
    3. Philippians 1:14 Some witnesses to the text omit of God. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)



    4. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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      3 min
    5. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 11
      Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 11Philippians 1:1-11
      LISTEN HERE
      Through My Bible – May 11

      Philippians 1:1-11 (EHV)

      https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0511db.mp3
      See series: Through My Bible

      Philippians 1
      Greeting

      1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

      To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

      2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

      Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians

      3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 Every time I pray for all of you, I always pray with joy, 5 because of your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am convinced of this very thing: that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 I am equally convinced that it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, for both in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all share in this grace with me. 8 Yes, God is my witness of how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

      9 And I pray that your love may still increase more and more in knowledge and every insight. 10 This will result in your approval of the things that really matter, so that you will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.




      The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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      2 min
    6. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 10
      Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 10Lamentations 5
      LISTEN HERE
      Through My Bible – May 10

      Lamentations 5 (EHV)

      https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0510db.mp3
      See series: Through My Bible

      Remember, Lord [1]

      1 Remember, Lord, what happened to us. Look and see our disgrace.

      2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.

      3 We have become orphans without a father. Our mothers are widows.
      4 We pay money to drink our own water. We must buy firewood for a price.
      5 Our pursuers are at our throat. We are exhausted. We are given no rest.
      6 We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria to have enough bread.
      7 Our fathers sinned. They are no more, and we have borne their guilt.
      8 Slaves rule over us. No one rescues us from their hand.
      9 We get bread at the risk of our life because of the sword in the wilderness.
      10 Our skin is as hot as an oven because of fever from hunger.
      11 Women in Zion have been violated, virgins in the cities of Judah.
      12 Officials have been hung up by their hands. The dignity of elders has not been respected.
      13 The best young men must grind grain, and boys stumble under loads of wood. [2]
      14 Elders are no longer seated in the city gate. The best young men no longer play music.
      15 The joy of our hearts has ceased. Our dancing has turned into mourning.
      16 The crown has fallen off our head. Woe to us, because we have sinned!
      17 Our heart is sick over this. Over these things our eyes have grown dim—
      18 over Mount Zion, which is devastated, so that jackals prowl on it.
      19 You, Lord, remain forever. Your throne remains for generation after generation.
      20 Why do you forget us completely? Why do you abandon us for so long?
      21 Lord, turn us back to you, and we will return. Renew our days like long ago,
      22 unless you have completely rejected us and you will be angry at us without limit. [3]

      Footnotes
      1. Lamentations 5:1 This is the only chapter in the book that is not an alphabetic acrostic, but its 22 verses echo the length of the alphabetic acrostic. The literary touches that were added by the acrostic form fade away as the poet is exhausted by grief.
      2. Lamentations 5:13 The meaning of this verse is uncertain.
      3. Lamentations 5:22 Or forever



      4. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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        3 min
      5. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 09
        Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 09Lamentations 4
        LISTEN HERE
        Through My Bible – May 09

        Lamentations 4 (EHV)

        https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0509db.mp3
        See series: Through My Bible

        Gloom Settles on the City [1]

        1 How dull the gold has become! How the fine gold has lost its shimmer!

        Sacred stones are poured out at the corner of every street.

        2 The precious sons of Zion, who were worth their weight in gold,
            now are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!
        3 Even jackals offer a breast and nurse their young,
            but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.
        4 The baby’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth because of thirst.
            Children ask for bread, but no one shares with them.
        5 Those who ate delicacies have become desolate in the streets.
            Those who were dressed in scarlet have embraced piles of trash.
        6 The guilt of the daughter of my people was greater than the sin of Sodom,
            which was overthrown in a moment, though no hands turned against her.
        7 Her consecrated ones [2] were brighter than snow. They were whiter than milk.
            Their bones were redder than rubies; their facets shined like sapphires.
        8 Now their faces have become the darkest black. They cannot be recognized in the streets.
            Their skin has shriveled on their bones. It is as dry as a stick of wood.
        9 Those cut down by the sword are better off than those cut down by hunger,
            those who waste away, pierced with pain, with no crops to eat from the field.
        10 The hands of compassionate women boiled their children.
            Their children became their food when the daughter of my people was broken.
        11 The Lord carried out his wrath. He poured out his burning anger.
            He kindled a fire in Zion, and it consumed her foundations.
        12 The kings of the earth and the world’s inhabitants never believed
            that foe and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
        13 The reason this happened was the sin of her prophets and the guilt of her priests,
            who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
        14 Those blind men staggered in the streets. They were defiled with blood,
            so people could not touch their garments.
        15 “Go away! Unclean!” people shouted to them. “Go away! Go away! Do not touch us!”
            When they fled, when they staggered, people among the nations said,
            “They may not stay here anymore.”
        16 The face of the Lord scattered them. He has no regard for them anymore.
            Priests were shown no consideration. Elders were shown no favor.
        17 Our eyes are still worn out, looking in vain for our help.
            In our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
        18 They hunted our steps, preventing us from going into the public squares of our city.
            Our end has drawn near. Our days are finished, for our end has come.
        19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky.
            On the mountains they were in hot pursuit of us. In the wilderness they waited to ambush us.
        20 The life breath for our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, [3] was caught in their pits.
            We had said of him, “In his shadow we will live among the nations.”
        21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, who dwells in the land of Uz.
            A cup will also come to you. You will become drunk and naked.
        22 The punishment for your guilt is finished, daughter of Zion. He will not send you into exile again.
            Daughter of Edom, he punishes your guilt. He reveals your sins.

        Footnotes
        1. Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. There are 22 verses in the chapter, and there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
        2. Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
        3. Lamentations 4:20 That is, the king



        4. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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          5 min
        5. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 08
          Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 08Lamentations 3
          LISTEN HERE
          Through My Bible – May 08

          Lamentations 3 (EHV)

          https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0508db.mp3
          See series: Through My Bible

          A Ray of Hope in the Midst of Anguish [1]

          1 I am the man who has experienced affliction under the rod of his fury.

          2 He drove me off and brought me into darkness instead of light.

          3 See how he turns against me. He turns his hand against me all day long.
          4 He wore out my flesh and my skin. He shattered my bones.
          5 He built siege works against me. He surrounded me with bitterness
              and hardship.
          6 He made me dwell in dark places, like people who died long ago.
          7 He walled me in, so I cannot leave. He made my chains heavy.
          8 Even when I call and cry out, he shuts out my prayer.
          9 He has blocked my way with a stone wall. He has made my paths crooked.
          10 He is about to ambush me like a bear, like a lion lying in wait.
          11 He diverted me off my path and tore me to pieces. He made
              me desolate.
          12 He bent his bow and set me up as a target for the arrow.
          13 He shot the arrows from his quiver into my heart. [2]
          14 I was a laughingstock to all my people, the target of their song
              all day long.
          15 He has made me eat bitter food and drink my fill of wormwood.
          16 He broke my teeth with gravel. He pushed me down into [3] the ashes.
          17 You deprived my soul of peace. I have forgotten what well-being [4] is.
          18 I said, “My endurance has vanished, along with my hope from
              the Lord.”
          19 Remember my affliction and my homeless wandering,
              the wormwood and bitterness.
          20 My soul always remembers, and it has sunk within me.
          21 Nevertheless, I keep this in my heart. This is the reason I have hope:
          22 By the mercies of the Lord we are not consumed, for his compassions do not fail.
          23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
          24 My soul says, “The Lord is my portion. Therefore, I will hope in him.”
          25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
          26 It is good to hope quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
          27 It is good for a man that he bears a yoke early in his life.
          28 Let him sit alone and be silent, because the Lord has laid this upon him.
          29 Let him stick his face in the dust. Perhaps there still is hope.
          30 Let him turn his cheek toward the one who strikes him. Let him be filled with disgrace.
          31 For the Lord will not push us away forever.
          32 Even though he brings grief, he will show compassion on the basis of his great mercy.
          33 Certainly it is not what his heart desires when he causes affliction,
              when he brings grief to the children of men.
          34 To crush all the land’s prisoners under his feet,
          35 to deny a man’s right before the face of the Most High,
          36 to undermine a man in his legal dispute—
              the Lord does not look with favor on these things. [5]
          37 Who can speak something and have it happen, unless the Lord commands it?
          38 Don’t the bad things and the good both come from the mouth of the Most High?
          39 How can any living man complain?
              How can someone complain about the consequences of his sins?
          40 Let us explore and examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord.
          41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven.
          42 We were disobedient and rebelled, so you did not forgive.
          43 You covered yourself with anger and pursued us. You killed and did not spare.
          44 You covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer passes through.
          45 You make us like scraps and garbage among the peoples.
          46 All our enemies opened their mouth against us.
          47 Panic and the pit were ours, devastation and destruction.
          48 Streams of water run down from my eyes,
              because of the breaking of the daughter of my people.
          49 My eye pours without stopping. It will not cease,
          50 until the Lord looks down so that he sees from heaven.
          51 What I see makes my soul ache for all the daughters of my city.
          52 For no reason, my enemies hunted me like a bird.
          53 They ended my life in the pit and threw stones at me.
          54 Water flowed above my head, and I said, “I am cut off!”
          55 I called on your name, Lord, from the deepest pit.
          56 You heard my voice: “Do not hide your ear from my cry for relief!”
          57 The day I called to you, you came near and said, “Do not fear.”
          58 Lord, you pleaded my soul’s case. You redeemed my life.
          59 Lord, you saw how I was wronged. Judge my case.
          60 You saw all their vengeance, all their plans against me.
          61 You heard their scorn, Lord, all their plans against me.
          62 You heard the lips of those who rise up against me
              and their plots against me all day long.
          63 Watch them when they sit down and when they get up.
              I am the target of their mocking song.
          64 You will pay them back, Lord, according to what their hands have done.
          65 You will give them a stubborn [6] heart. Your curse is on them.
          66 You will pursue them in anger
              and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.

          Footnotes
          1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. The 66 verses in the chapter form 22 groups, with three verses in each group. All three lines of each group of verses begin with one of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetic order. This chapter is the high point of the acrostic structure of Lamentations and includes most of the lines of bright hope contained in the five poems that make up the composition.
          2. Lamentations 3:13 Literally kidneys
          3. Lamentations 3:16 Or made me grovel in
          4. Lamentations 3:17 Or prosperity
          5. Lamentations 3:36 The Hebrew reads the Lord did not see.
          6. Lamentations 3:65 The meaning of this word is uncertain.



          7. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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            6 min
          8. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 07
            Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 07Lamentations 2
            LISTEN HERE
            Through My Bible – May 07

            Lamentations 2 (EHV)

            https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0507db.mp3
            See series: Through My Bible

            Under the Wrath of the Lord [1]

            1 How the Lord, in his anger, has covered the daughter of Zion with a dark cloud!

                He threw down the beauty of Israel from heaven to earth.

                He did not remember his footstool [2] in the day of his anger.
            2 The Lord swallowed up and did not spare the pastures [3] of Jacob.
                In his fury he tore down the fortifications of the daughter of Judah.
                He brought them down to the ground. He brought dishonor to the kingdom and its officials.
            3 He completely chopped off the horn [4] of Israel in burning anger.
                He withdrew his right hand in the presence of the enemy.
                He burned in Jacob like a flaming fire, which consumed all around.
            4 He bent his bow like an enemy. His right hand was ready like a foe,
                and he killed everyone who was precious in his eyes.
                On the tent of the daughter of Zion, he poured out his wrath like fire.
            5 The Lord was like an enemy. He swallowed up Israel.
                He swallowed up all her citadels. He left her fortresses in ruins.
                He increased mourning and lamenting for the daughter of Judah.
            6 He dealt violently with his shelter like a shed in a garden. [5] He ruined his meeting place.
                The Lord has caused the appointed assembly and the Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion.
                In his indignation and anger he showed contempt for king and priest.
            7 The Lord rejected his altar. He abandoned his holy place.
                He delivered her walls and palaces into the hand of the enemy.
                They gave a shout in the House of the Lord,
                like that on the day of an appointed assembly.
            8 The Lord had in mind to ruin the wall of the daughter of Zion.
                He stretched out a measuring line. He did not restrain his hand from swallowing her up.
                He made its rampart and wall mourn. Together they became weak.
            9 Her gates have sunk down to the ground. He destroyed and shattered her bars.
                Her king and her officials are exiled among the nations. There is no law.
                Even her prophets have not received a vision from the Lord.
            10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground and are silent.
                They throw dust on their heads and put on sackcloth.
                The virgins of Jerusalem bow their heads to the ground.
            11 My eyes are worn out with tears. I am troubled in my heart.
                I am emotionally drained [6] over the breaking of the daughter of my people,
                while children and infants grow weak in the public squares of the city.
            12 They ask their mothers, “Where are the grain and wine?”
                while they faint in the public squares of the city, like someone wounded,
                while they take their last breath in their mothers’ laps.
            13 What testimony can I give on your behalf?
                What can I compare to you, daughter of Jerusalem?
                What can I place next to you, so that I may comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion?
                Your wound is as wide as the sea. Who can heal you?
            14 Your prophets saw visions for you, but they were empty and worthless.
                They did not reveal your guilt, in order to turn away your captivity.
                They saw oracles for you that were empty and misleading.
            15 All who passed by clapped their hands over you.
                They hissed and shook their head over the daughter of Jerusalem:
                “Is this the city that was said to be the perfection of beauty,
                the joy of the whole earth?”
            16 All your enemies opened their mouth against you.
                They hissed and gnashed their teeth. They said, “We swallowed her up.
                Yes, this is the day we were waiting for. We found it. We saw it.”
            17 The Lord has done what he planned. He carried out his word,
                which he commanded long ago. He tore down and did not spare.
                He let the enemy rejoice over you. He raised up the horn of your foes.
            18 Their heart cried out to the Lord.
                O wall of the daughter of Zion,
                let your tears flow like a torrent, day and night.
                Do not let yourself become numb. Do not let your eye stop crying.
            19 Get up! Shout out during the night, as the night watches begin!
                Pour out your heart like water before the Lord’s face.
                Lift up your hands to him to pray for the life of your children,
                who are faint with hunger at every street corner.
            20 Look, Lord, and see! With whom have you dealt so harshly?
                Should women eat the children they produced,
                the children they played with on their knee?
                Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord’s holy place?
            21 In the streets young and old lie dead on the ground.
                My virgins and my best young men have fallen by the sword.
                You killed them on the day of your anger. You slaughtered and did not spare.
            22 As you do on a day of assembly, you summoned from every side the things I dread.
                On the day of the Lord’s anger, there was no one who escaped or survived.
                The enemy destroyed the children I played with on my knee and raised. [7]

            Footnotes
            1. Lamentations 2:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. The 22 successive verses begin with the 22 successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
            2. Lamentations 2:1 That is, the Ark of the Covenant
            3. Lamentations 2:2 Or dwelling places
            4. Lamentations 2:3 The horn is a symbol of power and often refers to the king.
            5. Lamentations 2:6 Literally like a garden
            6. Lamentations 2:11 The Hebrew reads my liver is poured out to the ground.
            7. Lamentations 2:22 The verse is difficult.



            8. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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              7 min
            9. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 06
              Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 06Lamentations 1
              LISTEN HERE
              Through My Bible – May 06

              Lamentations 1 (EHV)

              https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0506db.mp3
              See series: Through My Bible

              The Humiliation of the Daughter of Zion [1]

              1 How lonely the city sits, which once was full of people!

              She, who was great among the nations, is now a widow.
                  She, who was a princess among the provinces, now works as a slave.
              2 At night she weeps bitterly, and her tears linger on her cheek.
                  Not one of her lovers is there to comfort her.
                  All her friends have betrayed her. They are now her enemies.
              3 Judah has gone into exile. She endures affliction and harsh labor.
                  She lives among the nations. She finds no rest.
                  All her pursuers caught up with her when she was in great distress.
              4 The roads to Zion are mourning,
                  because there are no travelers going to the appointed assemblies.
                  All her gates are deserted. Her priests groan.
                  Her virgins grieve. Her grief is bitter.
              5 Her foes have risen to the top. Her enemies prosper.
                  Because of her many acts of rebellion, the Lord has brought grief to her.
                  Her children have gone into captivity in the presence of the foe.
              6 The daughter of Zion [2] has lost all her splendor.
                  Her officials have become like deer that find no pasture.
                  Powerless, they fled before [3] the pursuer.
              7 Jerusalem remembers the days of her affliction and her homeless wandering.
                  She remembers all her precious things which were hers from long ago.
                  When her people fell under the hand of the foe, there was no one to help her.
                  Foes saw her and laughed at the end she has come to.
              8 Jerusalem has sinned terribly, so she is unclean. [4]
                  All who once honored her now despise her, because they have seen her nakedness.
                  She can only sigh and turn away.
              9 Her flow of blood stains her skirt. She did not consider the outcome of her sin.
                  Her collapse was astonishing. There was no one to comfort her.
                  Look, Lord, at my affliction, for the enemy has done awful things.
              10 The foe has laid hands on all her precious things.
                  She has even seen nations enter her sanctuary,
                  nations about whom you commanded, “They shall not enter your assembly.”
              11 All her people are sighing as they search for bread.
                  They traded their precious things for food in order to stay alive.
                  Look, Lord, and see that I have become despised.
              12 But nothing like this is happening to you, all you who pass me by. [5]
                  Look and see if there is any pain like my pain, which was dealt out to me,
                  which the Lord caused me to suffer on the day of his burning anger.
              13 From on high he sent fire into my bones and overpowered [6] me.
                  He spread a net for my feet. He turned me back.
                  He made me desolate. I was sick all day long.
              14 The yoke of my sinful rebellion is fastened to my neck.
                  My sins are bound together by his hand.
                  They have risen up as high as my neck. He has weakened my strength. [7]
                  The Lord has given me into the hands of people I cannot resist.
              15 The Lord has tossed aside all the strong men in my midst.
                  He called an assembly against me to break my best young men.
                  The Lord has trampled the virgin daughter of Judah in a winepress.
              16 Because of these things, I am weeping. My eye, my eye flows with water,
                  because the comforter, the one who restores my soul, is far away from me.
                  My children have become desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.
              17 Zion spreads out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her.
                  The Lord has commanded those who surround Jacob to be his foes.
                  Among them, Jerusalem has become an unclean thing.
              18 The Lord is righteous. I am the one who rebelled against the word from his mouth.
                  Please listen, all you peoples, and see my pain.
                  My virgins and my best young men have gone into captivity.
              19 I called to my lovers, but they deceived me.
                  My priests and my elders perished in the city,
                  as they sought food for themselves to restore their lives.
              20 See, Lord, I am in distress. My emotions are in turmoil.
                  My heart turns over inside me, because I have been very rebellious.
                  Outside, the sword takes away my children.
                  Inside, there is death.
              21 People have heard that I am groaning. There is no one who comforts me.
                  All my enemies have heard about my misery, and they rejoiced that you did this.
                  Bring on the day that you have announced, so that they may become like me.
              22 May all their wickedness come before you. Deal harshly with them,
                  just as you dealt harshly with me because of all my rebellion.
                  Yes, my groans are many, and my heart is sick.

              Footnotes
              1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. The 22 successive verses begin with the 22 successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
              2. Lamentations 1:6 The phrase daughter of Zion is a personification of Jerusalem and her people. Daughter of Jerusalem and daughter of Judah are the same figure of speech.
              3. Lamentations 1:6 Or they were too weak to escape from
              4. Lamentations 1:8 The Hebrew term refers to ceremonial impurity caused by blood. Compare verse 9.
              5. Lamentations 1:12 Or is all this nothing to you, all you who pass me by?
              6. Lamentations 1:13 Or it came down on
              7. Lamentations 1:14 This verse is difficult.



              8. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                6 min
              9. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 05
                Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 05Jeremiah 51:59 – 52:34
                LISTEN HERE
                Through My Bible – May 05

                Jeremiah 51:59 – 52:34 (EHV)

                https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0505db.mp3
                See series: Through My Bible

                Jeremiah 51
                Jeremiah’s Message Is Sent to Babylon

                59 These are the instructions Jeremiah the prophet gave to Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Seraiah was Zedekiah’s personal aide. [1])

                60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disaster that was coming to Babylon—all of these things that had been written about Babylon.

                61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see to it that you read all these words aloud. 62 Say, ‘O Lord, you have spoken against this place, announcing that you would destroy it, that no one will live here anymore, neither man nor animal, and that it will be desolate forever.’ 63 When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and throw it in the middle of the Euphrates. 64 Then say, ‘In this same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster that I will bring on her. And her people [2] will be worn out.’”

                The words of Jeremiah end here.

                The Fall of Jerusalem
                Jeremiah 52

                1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just like everything that Jehoiakim had done. 3 All this took place in Jerusalem and Judah because of the anger of the Lord, until he cast them out of his presence.

                Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army. They set up camp around the city and built siege works all around it. 5 The city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7 Then a breach was made in the city wall, and all the men in the army fled. Since the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, the men left it at night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden. They fled toward the Arabah, 8 but the Chaldean army pursued the king. They caught up with King Zedekiah in the plain near Jericho, where his whole army was scattered, 9 and he was captured and taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in Hamath. There the king of Babylon passed judgment on him. 10 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes. He also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah. 11 Then the king of Babylon put out the eyes of Zedekiah and put him in bronze shackles. He brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day he died.

                12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He burned the temple of the Lord, the king’s palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He burned down every important building. 14 The whole Chaldean army under his command broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried off some of the poorest of the people, some of the survivors left in the city, some of the people who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen. 16 But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and farms.

                17 The Chaldeans broke up the bronze pillars that were in the Lord’s temple, along with the carts for water and the bronze Sea, and carried away all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, [3] the bowls, the dishes, and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19 The commander of the guard took away the bowls, fire pans, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes, and the drink offering bowls—the best of the gold and the best of the silver.

                20 The two pillars, the Sea, and the twelve bronze bulls under the basins, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord, were made of more bronze than could be weighed.

                21 As for the pillars, each pillar was twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet in circumference. Each was four fingers thick and hollow. 22 Each had a bronze capital, seven and a half feet high, with a network and pomegranate decorations on the capital all around, all of bronze. The other pillar with its pomegranates was just like it. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides. There was a total of one hundred pomegranates above the surrounding network.

                24 The captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers. 25 From the people left in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men and seven royal advisors he found in the city. He also took the scribe of the military officer who conscripted the people of the land, along with sixty of his men who were found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 The king of Babylon struck them down and executed them at Riblah in the land of Hamath.

                So Judah was carried away into exile from its native soil.

                28 This is a tally of people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile:

                In the seventh year, 3,023 Jews.

                29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, 832 people from Jerusalem.

                30 In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away 745 Jews into exile.

                There were 4,600 people in all.

                Jehoiachin Released

                31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil Merodak [4] king of Babylon, he elevated Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a throne higher than the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 Jehoiachin changed from his prison clothes and ate his meals in the king’s presence continually all the days of his life. 34 For his provisions, a regular allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon, a set amount each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life.

                Footnotes
                1. Jeremiah 51:59 Literally officer of rest
                2. Jeremiah 51:64 Hebrew they
                3. Jeremiah 52:18 The precise identification of some of these vessels and utensils is uncertain.
                4. Jeremiah 52:31 This seems to be a derogatory form of the name Amel Marduk.



                5. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                  8 min
                6. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 04
                  Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 04Jeremiah 51:1-58
                  LISTEN HERE
                  Through My Bible – May 04

                  Jeremiah 51:1-58 (EHV)

                  https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0504db.mp3
                  See series: Through My Bible

                  Jeremiah 51

                  1 This is what the Lord says:

                  Watch, I will stir up a destroying wind against Babylon

                  and against the people who live in Leb Kamai. [1]
                  2 I will send foreigners to Babylon
                      to winnow her and empty her land.
                  They will oppose her on every side in the day of trouble.
                  3 Bend your bow against anyone who bends a bow
                  and against anyone who stands in armor. [2]
                  Do not spare the young men.
                  Completely destroy her army.
                  4 They fall down, slain in the land of Chaldea,
                  mortally wounded in her streets.
                  5 Israel and Judah are not forsaken by God, the Lord of Armies,
                  though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.

                  6 Flee from the midst of Babylon!

                  Everyone, save your lives!
                  Do not be cut off because of her guilt,
                  for it is the time for the Lord’s vengeance.
                  He will punish them as they deserve.
                  7 Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand.
                  She made the whole world drunk.
                  The nations have drunk her wine,
                  and now they have gone mad.
                  8 Suddenly Babylon has fallen and is broken.
                  Wail for her.
                  Take balm to her for her pain.
                  Perhaps she can be healed.

                  9 We would have healed Babylon,

                  but she cannot be healed.
                  Leave her! Everyone go to his own land,
                  because her judgment reaches to the heavens.
                  It rises up to the clouds.
                  10 The Lord has brought our vindication.
                  Come, let us declare in Zion what the Lord our God has done.

                  11 Sharpen the arrows!

                  Hang on to the shields!
                  The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
                  because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.
                  This is the vengeance of the Lord,
                  vengeance for his temple.
                  12 Raise a signal flag against the walls of Babylon!
                  Strengthen the guard!
                  Set the watch,
                  and prepare an ambush!
                  The Lord has done what he said he would do
                      against the inhabitants of Babylon.
                  13 You who live by many waters,
                  you who are rich in treasures,
                  your end has come,
                  the full measure [3] of your violence.
                  14 The Lord of Armies has sworn by himself:
                  Surely I will fill you with men,
                  as if I were filling you with locusts.
                  They will raise the shout of victory over you.

                  A Hymn of Praise

                  15 He is the One who made the earth by his power

                  and established the world by his wisdom.
                  By his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
                  16 He thunders, and the waters in the heavens roar.
                  He makes storm clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
                  He makes lightning for the rain,
                  and he brings the wind out from his warehouses.

                  17 But as for mankind, they are all stupid.

                  Their knowledge has dried up.
                  Every goldsmith is embarrassed by his idols.
                  The images he makes are false.
                  There is no breath in them.
                  18 They are worthless,
                  an achievement to be mocked.
                  At the time of their punishment, they will perish.
                  19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
                  because he is the Maker of all things,
                  including the tribe that is his possession.
                  The Lord of Armies is his name.

                  Babylon, the Hammer of the Lord

                  20 You are my hammer, my war weapon.

                  With you I shatter nations.
                  With you I destroy kingdoms.
                  21 With you I shatter horse and rider.
                  With you I shatter chariot and driver.
                  22 With you I shatter man and woman.
                  With you I shatter the old and the young.
                  With you I shatter the young man and the virgin.
                  23 With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock.
                  With you I shatter the plowman and the team in his yoke.
                  With you I shatter governors and officials.

                  24 Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and everyone who lives in Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. 25 Look, I am against you, declares the Lord.

                  You destroying mountain,

                  you destroy the whole world.
                  I will stretch out my hand against you.
                  I will roll you off the cliffs,
                  and I will make you a burned-out volcano.
                  26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
                  nor as a foundation stone.
                  You will be desolate forever, declares the Lord.

                  27 Raise a signal flag in the land!

                  Blow the ram’s horn among the nations!
                  Set apart the nations against her!
                  Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat,
                      Minni, and Ashkenaz!
                  Appoint a field marshal against her!
                  Bring up horses like a thick swarm of locusts!
                  28 Consecrate the nations against her—
                  the kings of the Medes, their governors, all their officials,
                  and all the land under their dominion.

                  Babylon’s Punishment

                  29 The land trembles and writhes

                  because the Lord’s intentions against Babylon stand.
                  He will make the land of Babylon a desolation with no one living there.
                  30 The strong warriors of Babylon have stopped fighting.
                  They stay in their strongholds.
                  Their power has failed.
                  They have become as weak as women.
                  Her dwellings are set on fire.
                  The bars of the gates are broken.
                  31 Runner follows runner,
                  and messenger follows messenger
                      to announce to the king of Babylon
                      that his city is taken in every quarter.
                  32 The fords have been captured,
                  the marshes [4] are on fire,
                  and the soldiers are in a panic.
                  33 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says.
                  The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor when it is trampled.
                  In just a little while, the time of her harvest will come.

                  34 Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured us. [5]

                  He has crushed us
                  and made us like an empty jar.
                  Like a monster, he has swallowed us,
                  filled his stomach with our tastiest parts,
                  and spit out the rest.
                  35 “May the violence done to us and to our children [6] be upon Babylon,”
                  says she who dwells in Zion.
                  “May our blood be on those who live in Chaldea,” says Jerusalem.

                  36 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

                  Watch! I will defend your cause
                  and take revenge for you.
                  I will dry up her sea
                  and make her springs dry.
                  37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins,
                  a haunt for jackals,
                  a horror and a target of contempt, [7]
                  and no one will live there.
                  38 They will all roar together like young lions.
                  They will growl like lion cubs.
                  39 When they are ravenous, I will spread a feast.
                  I will make them drunk,
                  so that they will celebrate, [8]
                  and then they will go to sleep forever
                  and never wake up, declares the Lord.
                  40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter,
                  like rams and goats.

                  41 How Sheshak [9] is captured!

                  The pride of the whole earth is seized!
                  Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations.
                  42 The sea has come all the way up to Babylon,
                  and she is covered with its rolling waves.
                  43 Her cities have become desolate,
                  a desert and a wasteland,
                  a land in which no one lives,
                  a land through which no man passes.
                  44 I will punish Bel in Babylon
                  and make his mouth spit out what he has swallowed.
                  The nations will no longer stream to him.
                  The wall of Babylon will fall.

                  45 Come out of her, my people!

                  Save yourselves, every one of you,
                      from the Lord’s fierce anger.
                  46 Do not be faint of heart.
                  Do not fear the rumors you will hear in the land.
                  Rumors will come one year,
                  and the next year another rumor will come:
                  “Violence in the land!”
                  “Ruler against ruler!”
                  47 For the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon.
                  Her whole land will be disgraced,
                  and all her slain will fall within her.
                  48 Then the heavens and the earth and all that is in them
                      will rejoice over Babylon.
                  The destroyers will attack her from the north, declares the Lord.
                  49 Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
                  just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

                  A Message to the Israelites in Babylon
                  The Lord or the Prophet [10]

                  50 You who have escaped the sword, go!

                  Do not delay!
                  Remember the Lord from afar,
                  and think of Jerusalem.

                  The Exiles

                  51 We are disgraced,

                  because we have heard a taunt.
                  Dishonor covers our faces,
                  because strangers have come into the holy places of
                          the House of the Lord.

                  The Lord

                  52 So keep watch. The days are coming, declares the Lord,

                  when I will punish all her idols.
                  Through her whole land the wounded will groan.
                  53 Even if Babylon could reach the sky
                  and fortify the very heights of her stronghold,
                  I would still send destroyers to her, declares the Lord.

                  Further Destruction on Babylon

                  54 The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,

                  the sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans.
                  55 The Lord is destroying Babylon,
                  and he will silence her mighty voice.
                  Waves roar like many waters.
                  The sound of their noise rises!
                  56 The destroyer has come against her, against Babylon.
                  Her mighty warriors are captured.
                  Their bows are broken,
                  for the Lord is a God of retribution.
                  He will repay in full.

                  57 I will make her officials and her wise men drunk,

                  and her governors, officers, and strong warriors as well.
                  They will sleep for a long time,
                  and they will not wake up,
                  declares the King, whose name is the Lord of Armies.
                  58 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
                  The thick walls of Babylon will be leveled,
                  and her high gates will be set on fire.
                  The people will toil for nothing.
                  The work of the nations will be nothing but fuel for the fire.
                  They will be worn out.

                  Footnotes
                  1. Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai seems to be a cryptogram for Chaldea. Taking the letters of the Hebrew word for Chaldeans and writing them in reverse alphabet (A=Z, B=Y, etc.) produces Leb Kamai, which means heart of my adversaries.
                  2. Jeremiah 51:3 Or let no one bend a bow or stand up in armor. The Hebrew text and the meaning of these two lines are uncertain.
                  3. Jeremiah 51:13 Literally the cubit
                  4. Jeremiah 51:32 Or fortresses
                  5. Jeremiah 51:34 Hebrew variant me. The same variant occurs throughout verse 34.
                  6. Jeremiah 51:35 Or flesh
                  7. Jeremiah 51:37 Literally hissing
                  8. Jeremiah 51:39 The translation follows the Hebrew. The Greek and Latin read pass out.
                  9. Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cypher or cryptogram for Babylon. It is written in reverse alphabet: A=Z, B=Y, etc. In the Hebrew alphabet, bbl reversed is shshk.
                  10. Jeremiah 51:50 Because of the unannounced changes of speaker, the headings mark the speaker of each section.



                  11. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                    11 min
                  12. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 03
                    Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 03Jeremiah 49:34 – 50:46
                    LISTEN HERE
                    Through My Bible – May 03

                    Jeremiah 49:34 – 50:46 (EHV)

                    https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0503db.mp3
                    See series: Through My Bible

                    Jeremiah 49
                    A Prophecy About Elam

                    34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

                    35 This is what the Lord of Armies says.

                    Look, I will break the bow of Elam, [1]
                    the main source of its power.
                    36 I will bring against Elam the four winds,
                    from the four corners of the sky.
                    I will scatter its people to the four winds.
                    There will not be a nation
                        where the outcasts of Elam do not go.
                    37 I will make Elam terrified of their enemies,
                    those who seek their lives.
                    I will bring disaster on them,
                    namely, my fierce anger, declares the Lord,
                    and I will send the sword after them,
                    until I have consumed them.
                    38 I will set up my throne in Elam,
                    and there I will destroy their king and officials,
                    declares the Lord.

                    39 Yet I will reverse the captivity of Elam in days to come,

                    declares the Lord.

                    A Prophecy About Babylon and Israel
                    Jeremiah 50

                    1 The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:

                    2 Declare and proclaim this among the nations.

                    Set up a signal flag.
                    Proclaim and do not hide it.
                    Say this:
                    Babylon has been taken.
                    Bel has been put to shame.
                    Marduk is terrified.
                    Babylon’s images have been put to shame.
                    Her filthy idols are terrified.
                    3 A nation has come up against her out of the north.
                    It will make her land desolate,
                    and no one will dwell in it.
                    Both man and animal have wandered away.
                    They are gone.

                    4 In those days, and in that time, declares the Lord,

                    the people of Israel will come,
                    they and the people of Judah together with them.
                    They will come weeping,
                    and they will seek the Lord their God.
                    5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn toward it,
                    saying, “Come, join yourselves to the Lord
                        in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.”
                    6 My people have been lost sheep.
                    Their shepherds have led them astray.
                    They have turned them aside on the mountains.
                    They have gone from mountain to hill.
                    They have forgotten their resting place.
                    7 All who found them have devoured them.
                    Their enemies said, “We are not guilty,
                    because they sinned against the Lord,
                    who is their rightful pasture,
                    the Lord, the hope of their fathers.”

                    8 Flee from Babylon!

                    Leave the land of the Chaldeans.
                    Be like the male goats that lead the flock.
                    9 Watch, I will stir up and bring against Babylon
                        an assembly of great nations from the land of the north.
                    They will array themselves against her,
                    and she will be taken away captive from there.
                    Their arrows will be like those of a skilled warrior
                        who does not return empty-handed.
                    10 Chaldea will be plundered.
                    All who prey on her will have their fill, declares the Lord.

                    11 Because you are glad and rejoice,

                    you who plunder my inheritance,
                    because you leap like a heifer that treads out the grain,
                    and you neigh like strong horses,
                    12 your mother will be completely put to shame.
                    She who gave birth to you will be humiliated.
                    Watch, she will become the least of the nations,
                    a wilderness, a desert, a wasteland.
                    13 Because of the Lord’s wrath she will not be inhabited.
                    She will be completely desolate.
                    Everyone who passes by Babylon will be astonished.
                    Everyone will mock her because of all her wounds.
                    14 Line up for battle against Babylon and surround her.
                    All you who bend the bow, shoot at her.
                    Don’t save any arrows,
                    because she has sinned against the Lord.
                    15 Shout against her from all sides.
                    She surrenders!
                    Her fortifications [2] have fallen.
                    Her walls have been thrown down.
                    This is the vengeance of the Lord.
                    Take vengeance on her!
                    Do to her as she has done to others!
                    16 Cut off the sower from Babylon,
                    and the one who swings the sickle at harvest time.
                    They will each return to their own people.
                    They will each flee to their own land
                        because they fear the sword of the oppressor.

                    17 Israel is a scattered flock of sheep that lions have chased away.

                    First, the king of Assyria devoured him.
                    Now, the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
                    18 Therefore this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says:
                    I will certainly punish the king of Babylon and his land,
                    as I punished the king of Assyria.
                    19 I will restore Israel to his pasture.
                    He will feed on Carmel and in Bashan.
                    His soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
                    20 In those days and at that time, declares the Lord,
                    the guilt of Israel will be sought,
                    but there will be none.
                    The sins of Judah will be sought,
                    but they will not be found,
                    for I will forgive the survivors whom I spare.

                    21 Go up against the land of Merathaim

                    and against those who live in Pekod.
                    Kill them and destroy them, declares the Lord.
                    Do everything I have commanded you.
                    22 The noise of battle is in the land,
                    the noise of great destruction.
                    23 How the hammer of the whole earth
                        is smashed and broken to pieces!
                    How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!
                    24 I set a trap for you, Babylon,
                    and you were caught before you knew it.
                    You were found and captured,
                    because you fought against the Lord.
                    25 The Lord has opened his arsenal
                    and brought out his weapons of wrath,
                    for the Lord God of Armies has work to do
                        in the land of the Chaldeans.
                    26 Come against her from far away.
                    Open up her granaries,
                    and pile her up like heaps of grain.
                    Destroy her completely.
                    Let nothing be left.
                    27 Kill all her young bulls. [3]
                    Let them go down to the slaughter.
                    Woe to them, for their day has come,
                    the time for their punishment.
                    28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon!
                    They proclaim in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,
                    vengeance for what was done to his temple.

                    29 Call the archers to Babylon,

                    all those who bend the bow.
                    Set up camp all around her.
                    Don’t let her escape.
                    Pay her back for her deeds.
                    Do to her what she has done,
                    because she has defied the Lord,
                    the Holy One of Israel.
                    30 Therefore her young men will fall in the streets.
                    All her soldiers will be silenced in that day, declares the Lord.
                    31 Look, I am against you, you proud one, declares the Lord God of Armies.
                    Your day has come,
                    the time for your punishment.
                    32 The proud king [4] will stumble and fall,
                    and no one will help him up.
                    In his cities I will start a fire
                        that will consume everyone around him.

                    33 This is what the Lord of Armies says.

                    The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed.
                    All their captors hold them fast.
                    They refuse to let them go.
                    34 But their Redeemer is strong.
                    The Lord of Armies is his name.
                    He himself will take up their cause
                        so that he may bring rest to the earth,
                        and unrest to those who live in Babylon.

                    35 A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the Lord,

                    and against those who live in Babylon,
                    against her officials and her wise men!
                    36 A sword against her empty boasters!
                    They will become fools.
                    A sword against her strong warriors!
                    They will be filled with terror.
                    37 A sword against their horses and chariots!
                    All the foreigners in her ranks will become as weak as women.
                    A sword against her treasures!
                    They will be looted.
                    38 A sword against her waters!
                    They will be dried up,
                    because it is a land of idols,
                    and they are driven mad by those dreadful images.
                    39 That is why desert animals and hyenas [5] will live there,
                    and shrieking ostriches will dwell there.
                    It will never again be inhabited.
                    It will never be lived in from generation to generation.
                    40 Just as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
                    and their neighboring cities, declares the Lord,
                    no one will dwell there.
                    No one will live there even as a temporary resident.

                    41 Look! A people comes from the north!

                    A great nation and many kings are being stirred up
                        from the ends of the earth.
                    42 They take up bow and spear.
                    They are cruel and merciless.
                    Their roar sounds like the sea.
                    They ride on horses,
                    arrayed in battle formation against you, daughter of Babylon.
                    43 The king of Babylon has heard the report about them,
                    and his hands hang limp.
                    Anguish grips him,
                    pains like a woman in labor.
                    44 Watch this!
                    Like a lion coming out of the thickets of the Jordan
                        into the pastures that are always green,
                    I will suddenly chase Babylon away from its land,
                    and I will appoint whomever I choose over it.
                    For who is like me?
                    Who can challenge me?
                        What shepherd can stand before me?

                    45 Therefore hear what the Lord has planned for Babylon,

                    and what he intends to do against the land of the Chaldeans:
                    Even the little ones of the flock will be dragged away.
                    He will make their pasture desolate because of them.
                    46 The earth will tremble at the noise of Babylon’s fall.
                    Their cry will be heard among the nations.

                    Footnotes
                    1. Jeremiah 49:35 Elam is in present-day Iran. Here it probably refers to mercenaries in the Babylonian army.
                    2. Jeremiah 50:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word translated fortifications is uncertain. The Greek reads battlements; the Latin reads foundations.
                    3. Jeremiah 50:27 Perhaps a reference to young warriors
                    4. Jeremiah 50:32 The Hebrew text does not contain the word king, but the pronouns shift from feminine to masculine, suggesting a reference to the king.
                    5. Jeremiah 50:39 The meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain.



                    6. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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