11 mOh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of jthe daughter of my people!
22 Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers' lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all nadulterers,
a company of otreacherous men.
3pThey bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong3 in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
qand they do not know me, declares the Lord.
4rLet everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every sbrother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor tgoes about as a slanderer.
5Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
uthey refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
7Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, vI will refine them and wtest them,
for what else can I do, jbecause of my people?
8xTheir tongue is a deadly arrow;
yit speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth zeach speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart ahe plans an ambush for him.
9bShall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10“I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for cthe pastures of the wilderness,
dbecause they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
eboth the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
11fI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
ga lair of jackals,
hand I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”
12iWho is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined jand laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13And the Lord says: k“Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14but lhave stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: mBehold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them npoisonous water to drink. 16oI will scatter them among the nations pwhom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will qsend the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”
17Thus says the Lord of hosts:
r“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18let them make haste sand raise a wailing over us,
tthat our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
u‘How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
20Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
vcutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
w‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
xlike sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.’”
23Thus says the Lord: y“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but zlet him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. aFor in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
25“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when bI will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26cEgypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and dall who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are euncircumcised in heart.”
The Prophesied Kingdom — Part One
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:31 • ID: 2390The Prophesied Kingdom — Part Two
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:38 • ID: 2391Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.