JEREMIAH 47-48

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Prophecy against Philistia  47:1 That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 Thus says the LORD:

“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north

And become an overflowing torrent,

And overflow the land and all its fullness,

The city and those who live in it;

And the men will cry out,

And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

3 “Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,

The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,

The fathers have not turned back for their children,

Because of the limpness of their hands,

4 On account of the day that is coming

To destroy all the Philistines,

To cut off from Tyre and Sidon

Every ally that is left;

For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines,

The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

5 “Baldness has come upon Gaza;

Ashkelon has been ruined.

O remnant of their valley,

How long will you gash yourself?

6 “Ah, sword of the LORD,

How long will you not be quiet?

Withdraw into your sheath;

Be at rest and stay still.

7 “How can it be quiet,

When the LORD has given it an order?

Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast--

There He has assigned it.”

Prophecy against Moab  48:1 Concerning Moab. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,

“Woe to Nebo, for it has been destroyed;

Kiriathaim has been put to shame, it has been captured;

The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered.

2 “There is praise for Moab no longer;

In Heshbon they have devised calamity against her:

‘Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!’

You too, Madmen, will be silenced;

The sword will follow after you.

3 “The sound of an outcry from Horonaim,

‘Devastation and great destruction!’

4 “Moab is broken,

Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

5 “For by the ascent of Luhith

They will ascend with continual weeping;

For at the descent of Horonaim

They have heard the anguished cry of destruction.

6 “Flee, save your lives,

That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

7 “For because of your trust in your own achievements and treasures,

Even you yourself will be captured;

And Chemosh will go off into exile

Together with his priests and his princes.

8 “A destroyer will come to every city,

So that no city will escape;

The valley also will be ruined

And the plateau will be destroyed,

As the LORD has said.

9 “Give wings to Moab,

For she will flee away;

And her cities will become a desolation,

Without inhabitants in them.

10 “Cursed be the one who does the LORD’S work negligently,

And cursed be the one who restrains his sword from blood.

11 “Moab has been at ease since his youth;

He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs,

And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

Nor has he gone into exile.

Therefore he retains his flavor,

And his aroma has not changed.

12 Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will send to him those who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and shatter his jars. 13 And Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence.

14 “How can you say, ‘We are mighty warriors,

And men valiant for battle’?

15 “Moab has been destroyed and men have gone up to his cities;

His choicest young men have also gone down to the slaughter,”

Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

16 “The disaster of Moab will soon come,

And his calamity has swiftly hastened.

17 “Mourn for him, all you who live around him,

Even all of you who know his name;

Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter been broken,

A staff of splendor!’

18 “Come down from your glory

And sit on the parched ground,

O daughter dwelling in Dibon,

For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,

He has ruined your strongholds.

19 “Stand by the road and keep watch,

O inhabitant of Aroer;

Ask him who flees and her who escapes

And say, ‘What has happened?’

20 “Moab has been put to shame, for it has been shattered.

Wail and cry out;

Declare by the Arnon

That Moab has been destroyed.

    21 “Judgment has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah and against Mephaath, 22 against Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23 against Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24 against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab has been cut off and his arm broken,” declares the LORD. 26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock. 27 Now was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Or was he caught among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake your head in scorn.

28 “Leave the cities and dwell among the crags,

O inhabitants of Moab,

And be like a dove that nests

Beyond the mouth of the chasm.

29 “We have heard of the pride of Moab--he is very proud--

Of his haughtiness, his pride, his arrogance and his self-exaltation.

30 “I know his fury,” declares the LORD,

“But it is futile;

His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.

31 “Therefore I will wail for Moab,

Even for all Moab will I cry out;

I will moan for the men of Kir-heres.

32 “More than the weeping for Jazer

I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!

Your tendrils stretched across the sea,

They reached to the sea of Jazer;

Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest

The destroyer has fallen.

33 “So gladness and joy are taken away

From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab.

And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses;

No one will tread them with shouting,

The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

34 From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35 I will make an end of Moab,” declares the LORD, “the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods.
    36 “Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres. Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37 For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel,” declares the LORD. 39 “How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back--he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him.”
    40 For thus says the LORD:

“Behold, one will fly swiftly like an eagle

And spread out his wings against Moab.

41 “Kerioth has been captured

And the strongholds have been seized,

So the hearts of the mighty men of Moab in that day

Will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

42 “Moab will be destroyed from being a people

Because he has become arrogant toward the LORD.

43 “Terror, pit and snare are coming upon you,

O inhabitant of Moab,” declares the LORD.

44 “The one who flees from the terror

Will fall into the pit,

And the one who climbs up out of the pit

Will be caught in the snare;

For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,

The year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.

45 “In the shadow of Heshbon

The fugitives stand without strength;

For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon

And a flame from the midst of Sihon,

And it has devoured the forehead of Moab

And the scalps of the riotous revelers.

46 “Woe to you, Moab!

The people of Chemosh have perished;

For your sons have been taken away captive

And your daughters into captivity.

47 “Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab

In the latter days,” declares the LORD.

    Thus far the judgment on Moab.

PROVERBS 24

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Precepts and Warnings24:1 Do not be envious of evil men,

Nor desire to be with them;

2 For their minds devise violence,

And their lips talk of trouble.

3 By wisdom a house is built,

And by understanding it is established;

4 And by knowledge the rooms are filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.

5 A wise man is strong,

And a man of knowledge increases power.

6 For by wise guidance you will wage war,

And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

7 Wisdom is too exalted for a fool,

He does not open his mouth in the gate.

8 One who plans to do evil,

Men will call a schemer.

9 The devising of folly is sin,

And the scoffer is an abomination to men.

10 If you are slack in the day of distress,

Your strength is limited.

11 Deliver those who are being taken away to death,

And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.

12 If you say, “See, we did not know this,”

Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?

And does He not know it who keeps your soul?

And will He not render to man according to his work?

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,

Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;

14 Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;

If you find it, then there will be a future,

And your hope will not be cut off.

15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;

Do not destroy his resting place;

16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again,

But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.

17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,

And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

18 Or the LORD will see it and be displeased,

And turn His anger away from him.

19 Do not fret because of evildoers

Or be envious of the wicked;

20 For there will be no future for the evil man;

The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21 My son, fear the LORD and the king;

Do not associate with those who are given to change,

22 For their calamity will rise suddenly,

And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?

23 These also are sayings of the wise.

To show partiality in judgment is not good.

24 He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”

Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;

25 But to those who rebuke the wicked will be delight,

And a good blessing will come upon them.

26 He kisses the lips

Who gives a right answer.

27 Prepare your work outside

And make it ready for yourself in the field;

Afterwards, then, build your house.

28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,

And do not deceive with your lips.

29 Do not say, “Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me;

I will render to the man according to his work.”

30 I passed by the field of the sluggard

And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,

31 And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;

Its surface was covered with nettles,

And its stone wall was broken down.

32 When I saw, I reflected upon it;

I looked, and received instruction.

33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest,”

34 Then your poverty will come as a robber

And your want like an armed man.

PSALM 126

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Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.A Song of Ascents.
126:1 When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter

And our tongue with joyful shouting;

Then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

3 The LORD has done great things for us;

We are glad.

4 Restore our captivity, O LORD,

As the streams in the South.

5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

PSALM 127

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Prosperity Comes from the LORD.A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the LORD guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early,

To retire late,

To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one’s youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

They will not be ashamed

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.