Day 802 of 939
JER 50:17-46
JER 50:17-46 · 1TH 2:1-10
Not written yet
The reading for this day is below. The commentary has not been written and reviewed yet — it is added a book at a time, and every day is read by a person before it appears here.
JER 50:17-46
17Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” 18Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. 19I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead. 20In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve. 21Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the LORD. 22“The noise of battle is in the land— the noise of great destruction. 23How the hammer of the whole earth lies broken and shattered! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations! 24I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD. 25The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. 26Come against her from the farthest border. Break open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain. Devote her to destruction; leave her no survivors. 27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come— the time of their punishment. 28Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple. 29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. 30Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,” declares the LORD. 31“Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you. 32The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.” 33This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them. 34Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon. 35A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men. 36A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror. 37A sword is against her horses and chariots and against all the foreigners in her midst, and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered. 38A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols. 39So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation. 40As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there. 41Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth. 42They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon. 43The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor. 44Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?” 45Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them. 46At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
Secondary reading — 1TH 2:1-10
1You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain. 2As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God. 3For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery. 4Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts. 5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness! 6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it. 7On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children. 8We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us. 9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.