Matthew 15

WEEK  15                                             Matthew 15

THURSDAY  Reflections

In this chapter, there are three great truths. The first is that the cause of sin (uncleanness) is not what is on the outside but what is on the inside. The second is the great faith of a Canaanite woman who came to Jesus the Jewish Messiah for healing. The final is the feeding of the 4000, a great sign to those who wanted to doubt Jesus (but that is for the next chapter).

 

All three events teach great truths, yet the truth I want to look at today is what is happening to the Canaanite woman. This woman has been dismissed by the disciples. They actually want her to be sent away. The people, who believe this woman doesn’t deserve help, are actually the disciples, as we see Jesus in other places freely giving a healing hand to those outside the Jewish community. Jesus here is, according to Saint Charles(me), isn’t correcting the woman by saying he was only sent to the Israelites, but was actually both correcting the disciples and demonstrating the faith of this woman. She according to the traditions of the day, had no right to claim anything of Jesus, yet she comes to him not just as a healer but she is claiming he is the Messiah. There must have been something which made her realize that the Messiah would not only help his own but also help those who were considered “dogs” by the Jewish culture. She had the courage to stand on her faith about who and what Jesus was, even though those around her dismissed and discouraged her. This is great faith.

 

My prayer is that you will have the strength of faith to stand firm in Christ though those around you dismiss and discourage you. 

Mat 15:1-39
(1)  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
(2)  Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
(3)  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
(4)  For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
(5)  But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
(6)  And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
(7)  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
(8)  This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
(9)  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
(10)  And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
(11)  Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
(12)  Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
(13)  But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
(14)  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
(15)  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
(16)  And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
(17)  Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
(18)  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
(19)  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
(20)  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
(21)  Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
(22)  And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
(23)  But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
(24)  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
(25)  Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
(26)  But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
(27)  And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
(28)  Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
(29)  And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
(30)  And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
(31)  Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
(32)  Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
(33)  And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
(34)  And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
(35)  And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
(36)  And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
(37)  And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
(38)  And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
(39)  And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

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Ecclesiastes 12

WEEK   15                                     Ecclesiastes 12

WEDNESDAY  Reflections

So ends Ecclesiastes, with the words of not the Teacher(preacher), but the writer. However, both conclude with the same admonition, obey God. The writer says that fearing God and keeping his commands is what lasts. Though this is true it isn't the whole truth in light of the New Testament. The whole truth is Jesus came not to just obey but to make us like him, to make us part of God's family. You might say Jesus came to make obeying natural to us and to have us not afraid of God but to love Him. 

If we refuse what Jesus has to offer, then we need to remember "God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (verse 14, NIV).

Ecc 12:1-14
(1)  Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
(2)  While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
(3)  In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
(4)  And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
(5)  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
(6)  Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
(7)  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
(8)  Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
(9)  And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
(10)  The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
(11)  The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
(12)  And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
(13)  Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
(14)  For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

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1 Kings 22

WEEK  15                                              1 Kings 22

TUESDAY  Reflections

Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat, was a good king and seemed to learn from his father what needed to be done. Yet he was willing to try and work with the wicked kings of Israel. He continued some but not all the reforms that God would have wanted in the nation. 

Here in chapter 22, he could recognize that Ahab brought forth prophets, which he could tell were false, and asked to hear a prophet of God. Ahab, against his own judgment, brought forth Micaiah. Micaiah’s interaction is priceless.  Jehoshaphat, who called for a true prophet of God, barely escaped with his life, but won the battle. Ahab tried to avoid the prophecy by disguising himself will die, anyway.  

The lesson to learn is if we ask God for direction, we need to make sure we want it and not just want God to back up our plans. God needs to be our leader, and be warned, God’s Word can’t be escaped.  

1Ki 22:1-53
(1)  And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
(2)  And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
(3)  And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
(4)  And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
(5)  And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
(6)  Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
(7)  And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
(8)  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
(9)  Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
(10)  And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
(11)  And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
(12)  And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand.
(13)  And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.
(14)  And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
(15)  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
(16)  And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
(17)  And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
(18)  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
(19)  And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
(20)  And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
(21)  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
(22)  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
(23)  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
(24)  But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
(25)  And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
(26)  And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
(27)  And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
(28)  And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
(29)  So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.
(30)  And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
(31)  But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
(32)  And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
(33)  And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
(34)  And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
(35)  And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
(36)  And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
(37)  So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
(38)  And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.
(39)  Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
(40)  So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
(41)  And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
(42)  Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
(43)  And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
(44)  And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
(45)  Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
(46)  And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.
(47)  There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
(48)  Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
(49)  Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
(50)  And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
(51)  Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
(52)  And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:
(53)  For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

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1 Kings 21

WEEK  15                                              1 Kings 21

MONDAY  Reflections

Ahab was an evil man up until that point. He was spurred on by his wife to do evil. Yet after everything else he had done, it seems now he is repenting. Some think this is real repentance, others believe it isn't because he didn't rebuke his wife. He later attacked true prophets and didn’t return Naboth's vineyard. Either way, God gave Ahab some mercy in response to his actions.

 

God is merciful. We see in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Judgment came on Ahab and his family because of their sins, but God was willing to give them room to sincerely repent.  




1Ki 21:1-29
(1)  And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
(2)  And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
(3)  And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
(4)  And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
(5)  But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
(6)  And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
(7)  And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
(8)  So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
(9)  And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
(10)  And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
(11)  And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
(12)  They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
(13)  And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
(14)  Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
(15)  And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
(16)  And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
(17)  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
(18)  Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.
(19)  And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
(20)  And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
(21)  Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
(22)  And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
(23)  And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
(24)  Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
(25)  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
(26)  And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.
(27)  And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
(28)  And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
(29)  Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Jeremiah 51

WEEK  14                                             Jeremiah 51

SATURDAY  Reflections

This chapter and the previous talk of the destruction of Babylon. One interesting note is that Jeremiah had these words copied and sent to Babylon to be read. In the middle of that busy city, the center of the world's power at the time, Seraiah was probably ignored completely. The book thrown in the river was destroyed but this was a picture that Babylon was going to sink and be destroyed. Again, this was probably ignored by those in authority. They, I am sure, felt there was no way they could be brought down.

 

The people who might have seen it and were given hope by it, were the captives from Judah. They had heard of the warnings from the prophets and heard of Jeremiah. They knew his words were true, so for them, this was a promise of hope. Those who brought destruction would meet their own. God would deal with them righteously. They were not like the other nations, whose hope was found in idols. God would redeem them. Hope is a powerful thing and now God is again giving it to his people. 

Jer 51:1-64
(1)  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
(2)  And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
(3)  Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.
(4)  Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
(5)  For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
(6)  Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
(7)  Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
(8)  Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
(9)  We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
(10)  The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
(11)  Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.
(12)  Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
(13)  O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
(14)  The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
(15)  He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
(16)  When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
(17)  Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
(18)  They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
(19)  The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
(20)  Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
(21)  And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
(22)  With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
(23)  I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
(24)  And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
(25)  Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
(26)  And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
(27)  Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
(28)  Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
(29)  And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
(30)  The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
(31)  One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
(32)  And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
(33)  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
(34)  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
(35)  The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
(36)  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
(37)  And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
(38)  They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.
(39)  In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
(40)  I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
(41)  How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
(42)  The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
(43)  Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
(44)  And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
(45)  My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
(46)  And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
(47)  Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
(48)  Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
(49)  As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
(50)  Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
(51)  We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.
(52)  Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
(53)  Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
(54)  A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
(55)  Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
(56)  Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
(57)  And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
(58)  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
(59)  The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
(60)  So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.
(61)  And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
(62)  Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
(63)  And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:
(64)  And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Photo by Ahmed Hasan on Unsplash