1 Look, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies
is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
every source of security, including
all the food and water,
2 the mighty men and warriors,
judges and prophets,
omen readers and leaders,
3 captains of groups of fifty,
the respected citizens,
advisers and those skilled in magical arts,
and those who know incantations.
4 The Lord says, “I will make youths their officials;
malicious young men will rule over them.
5 The people will treat each other harshly;
men will oppose each other;
neighbors will fight.
Youths will proudly defy the elderly
and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected.
6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother
right in his father’s house and say,
‘You own a coat—
you be our leader!
This heap of ruins will be under your control.’
7 At that time the brother will shout,
‘I am no doctor,
I have no food or coat in my house;
don’t make me a leader of the people!’”
8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles,
Judah falls,
for their words and their actions offend the Lord;
they rebel against his royal authority.
9 The look on their faces testifies to their guilt;
like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin.
Woe to them!
For they bring disaster on themselves.
10 Tell the innocent it will go well with them,
for they will be rewarded for what they have done.
11 Woe to the wicked sinners!
For they will get exactly what they deserve.
12 Oppressors treat my people cruelly;
creditors rule over them.
My people, your leaders mislead you;
they give you confusing directions.
13 The Lord takes his position to judge;
he stands up to pass sentence on his people.
14 The Lord comes to pronounce judgment
on the leaders of his people and their officials.
He says, “It is you who have ruined the vineyard!
You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor.
15 Why do you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor?”
The Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken.
16 The Lord says,
“The women of Zion are proud.
They walk with their heads high
and flirt with their eyes.
They skip along
and the jewelry on their ankles jingles.
17 So the Lord will afflict the foreheads of Zion’s women with skin diseases;
the Lord will make the front of their heads bald.”
18 At that time the Lord will remove their beautiful ankle jewelry, neck ornaments, crescent-shaped ornaments, 19 earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle ornaments, sashes, sachets, amulets, 21 rings, nose rings, 22 festive dresses, robes, shawls, purses, 23 garments, vests, head coverings, and gowns.
24 A putrid stench will replace the smell of spices,
a rope will replace a belt,
baldness will replace braided locks of hair,
a sackcloth garment will replace a fine robe,
and a prisoner’s brand will replace beauty.
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your strong men will die in battle.
26 Her gates will mourn and lament;
deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.
1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time.
They will say, “We will provide our own food,
we will provide our own clothes;
but let us belong to you—
take away our shame!”
2 At that time
the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor;
the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight
to those who remain in Israel.
3 Those remaining in Zion, those left in Jerusalem,
will be called “holy,”
all in Jerusalem who are destined to live.
4 At that time the Lord will wash the excrement from Zion’s women,
he will rinse the bloodstains from Jerusalem’s midst,
as he comes to judge
and to bring devastation.
5 Then the Lord will create
over all Mount Zion
and over its convocations
a cloud and smoke by day
and a bright flame of fire by night;
indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence.
6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,
as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour.
1 I will sing to my love—
a song to my lover about his vineyard.
My love had a vineyard
on a fertile hill.
2 He built a hedge around it, removed its stones,
and planted a vine.
He built a tower in the middle of it,
and constructed a winepress.
He waited for it to produce edible grapes,
but it produced sour ones instead.
3 So now, residents of Jerusalem,
people of Judah,
you decide between me and my vineyard!
4 What more can I do for my vineyard
beyond what I have already done?
When I waited for it to produce edible grapes,
why did it produce sour ones instead?
5 Now I will inform you
what I am about to do to my vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture,
I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there.
6 I will make it a wasteland;
no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground,
and thorns and briers will grow there.
I will order the clouds
not to drop any rain on it.
7 Indeed, Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got—disobedience!
He waited for fairness, but look what he got—cries for help!
8 Beware, those who accumulate houses,
who also accumulate field after field
until there is no land left,
and you are the only landowners remaining within the land.
9 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this:
“Many houses will certainly become desolate,
large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.
10 Indeed, a large vineyard will produce just a few gallons,
and enough seed to yield several bushels will produce less than a bushel.”
11 Beware, those who get up early to drink beer,
those who keep drinking long after dark
until they are intoxicated with wine.
12 They have stringed instruments, tambourines, flutes,
and wine at their parties.
So they do not recognize what the Lord is doing,
they do not perceive what he is bringing about.
13 Therefore my people will be deported
because of their lack of understanding.
Their leaders will have nothing to eat,
their masses will have nothing to drink.
14 So Death will open up its throat,
and open wide its mouth;
Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it,
including those who revel and celebrate within her.
15 Men will be humiliated,
they will be brought low;
the proud will be brought low.
16 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted when he punishes,
the holy God’s authority will be recognized when he judges.
17 Lambs will graze as if in their pastures,
amid the ruins the rich sojourners will graze.
18 Beware, those who pull evil along using cords of emptiness are as good as dead,
who pull sin as with cart ropes.
19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly,
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel take shape and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
20 Beware, those who call evil good and good evil,
who turn darkness into light and light into darkness,
who turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter.
21 Beware, those who think they are wise,
those who think they possess understanding.
22 Beware, those who are champions at drinking,
who display great courage when mixing strong drinks.
23 They pronounce the guilty innocent for a payoff,
they ignore the just cause of the innocent.
24 Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.
25 So the Lord is furious with his people;
he lifts his hand and strikes them.
The mountains shake,
and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets.
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.
26 He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation,
he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth.
Look, they come quickly and swiftly.
27 None tire or stumble,
they don’t stop to nap or sleep.
They don’t loosen their belts,
or unstrap their sandals to rest.
28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared.
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint,
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.
29 Their roar is like a lion’s;
they roar like young lions.
They growl and seize their prey;
they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.
30 At that time they will growl over their prey,
it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks.
One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,
clouds will turn the light into darkness.
1 I wish that you would be patient with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are being patient with me! 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough! 5 For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6 And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way. 7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you could be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so that I could serve you! 9 When I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.
1 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”
They sin and commit evil deeds;
none of them does what is right.
2 God looks down from heaven at the human race,
to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.
3 Everyone rejects God;
they are all morally corrupt.
None of them does what is right,
not even one!
4 All those who behave wickedly do not understand—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to God.
5 They are absolutely terrified,
even by things that do not normally cause fear.
For God annihilates those who attack you.
You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.
6 I wish the deliverance of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the well-being of his people,
may Jacob rejoice,
may Israel be happy!
28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
that was put in place by your ancestors.
29 You have seen a person skilled in his work—
he will take his position before kings;
he will not take his position before obscure people.
