JEREMIAH 51:1-53
TITUS 2:1-15
PSALM 99:1-9
PROVERBS 26:17
JEREMIAH 51:1-53
This is what the LORD says: " I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Babylonia. 2 Foreigners will come and winnow her, blowing her away as chaff. They will come from every side to rise against her in her day of trouble. 3 Don't let the archers put on their armor or draw their bows. No one will be spared! Young and old alike will be completely destroyed. 4 They will fall dead in the land of the Babylonians, slashed to death in her streets. 5 For the LORD Almighty has not forsaken Israel and Judah. He is still their God, even though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel." 6 Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don't get trapped in her punishment! It is the LORD's time for vengeance; he will fully repay her. 7 Babylon has been like a golden cup in the LORD's hands, a cup from which he made the whole earth drink and go mad. 8 But now suddenly, Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her, and give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed. 9 We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land, for her judgment will be so great it cannot be measured. 10 The LORD has vindicated us. Come, let us announce in Jerusalem everything the LORD our God has done. 11 Sharpen the arrows! Lift up the shields! For the LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes to march against Babylon and destroy her. This is his vengeance against those who desecrated his Temple. 12 Raise the battle flag against Babylon! Reinforce the guard and station the watchmen. Prepare an ambush, for the LORD will fulfill all his plans against Babylon. 13 You are a city rich with water, a great center of commerce, but your end has come. The thread of your life is cut. 14 The LORD Almighty has taken this vow and has sworn to it by his own name: " Your cities will be filled with enemies, like fields filled with locusts, and they will lift their shouts of triumph over you."15 He made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
He has stretched out the heavens
by his understanding.
16 When he speaks, there is thunder in the heavens.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
17 Compared to him, all people are foolish
and have no knowledge at all!
They make idols, but the idols will disgrace their makers,
for they are frauds.
They have no life or power in them.
18 Idols are worthless; they are lies!
The time is coming when they will all be destroyed.
19 But the God of Israel is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including his people, his own special possession.
The LORD Almighty is his name!
20 " You are my battle-ax and sword," says the LORD. " With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms. 21 With you I will shatter armies, destroying the horse and rider, the chariot and charioteer. 22 With you I will shatter men and women, old people and children, young men and maidens. 23 With you I will shatter shepherds and flocks, farmers and oxen, captains and rulers. 24 " As you watch, I will repay Babylon and the people of Babylonia for all the wrong they have done to my people in Jerusalem," says the LORD. 25 " Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy," says the LORD. " I will raise my fist against you, to roll you down from the heights. When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of rubble. 26 You will be desolate forever. Even your stones will never again be used for building. You will be completely wiped out," says the LORD. 27 Signal many nations to mobilize for war against Babylon. Sound the battle cry! Bring out the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a leader, and bring a multitude of horses! 28 Bring against her the armies of the kings of the Medes and their generals, and the armies of all the countries they rule.29 Babylon trembles and writhes in pain, for everything the LORD has planned against her stands unchanged. Babylon will be left desolate without a single inhabitant. 30 Her mightiest warriors no longer fight. They stay in their barracks. Their courage is gone. They have become as fearful as women. The invaders have burned the houses and broken down the city gates. 31 Messengers from every side come running to the king to tell him all is lost! 32 All the escape routes are blocked. The fortifications are burning, and the army is in panic. 33 For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: " Babylon is like wheat on a threshing floor, about to be trampled. In just a little while her harvest will begin."34 " King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has eaten and crushed us and emptied out our strength. He has swallowed us like a great monster and filled his belly with our riches. He has thrown us out of our own country. 35 May Babylon be repaid for all the violence she did to us," say the people of Jerusalem. " May the people of Babylonia be paid in full for all the blood they spilled," says Jerusalem. 36 The LORD says to Jerusalem, " I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, her water supply, 37 and Babylon will become a heap of rubble, haunted by jackals. It will be an object of horror and contempt, without a single person living there. 38 " In their drunken feasts, the people of Babylon roar like lions. 39 And while they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will prepare a different kind of feast for them. I will make them drink until they fall asleep, never again to waken," says the LORD. 40 " I will bring them like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats to be sacrificed. 41 " How Babylon is fallen--great Babylon, praised throughout the earth! The world can scarcely believe its eyes at her fall! 42 The sea has risen over Babylon; she is covered by its waves. 43 Her cities now lie in ruins; she is a dry wilderness where no one lives or even passes by. 44 And I will punish Bel, the god of Babylon, and pull from his mouth what he has taken. The nations will no longer come and worship him. The wall of Babylon has fallen. 45 " Listen, my people, flee from Babylon. Save yourselves! Run from the LORD's fierce anger. 46 But do not panic when you hear the first rumor of approaching forces. For rumors will keep coming year by year. Then there will be a time of violence as the leaders fight against each other. 47 For the time is surely coming when I will punish this great city and all her idols. Her whole land will be disgraced, and her dead will lie in the streets. 48 The heavens and earth will rejoice, for out of the north will come destroying armies against Babylon," says the LORD. 49 " Just as Babylon killed the people of Israel and others throughout the world, so must her people be killed. 50 Go, you who escaped the sword! Do not stand and watch--flee while you can! Remember the LORD, even though you are in a far-off land, and think about your home in Jerusalem." 51 " We are ashamed," the people say. " We are insulted and disgraced because the LORD's Temple has been defiled by foreigners." 52 " Yes," says the LORD, " but the time is coming when Babylon's idols will be destroyed. The groans of her wounded people will be heard throughout the land. 53 Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens, and though she increases her strength immeasurably, I will send enemies to plunder her," says the LORD.
TITUS 2:1-15
But as for you [Titus], promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching. 2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have strong faith and be filled with love and patience. 3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that is appropriate for someone serving the Lord. They must not go around speaking evil of others and must not be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to take care of their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. 6 In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely in all they do. 7 And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. 8 Let your teaching be so correct that it can't be criticized. Then those who want to argue will be ashamed because they won't have anything bad to say about us. 9 Slaves must obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back 10 or steal, but they must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. 11 For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right. 15 You must teach these things and encourage your people to do them, correcting them when necessary. You have the authority to do this, so don't let anyone ignore you or disregard what you say.
PSALM 99:1-9
The LORD is king!
Let the nations tremble!
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the whole earth quake!
2 The LORD sits in majesty in Jerusalem,
supreme above all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Your name is holy!
4 Mighty king, lover of justice,
you have established fairness.
You have acted with justice
and righteousness throughout Israel.
5 Exalt the LORD our God!
Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel also called on his name.
They cried to the LORD for help,
and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud,
and they followed the decrees and principles he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them.
You were a forgiving God,
but you punished them when they went wrong.
9 Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his holy mountain in Jerusalem,
for the LORD our God is holy!
PROVERBS 26:17
Yanking a dog's ears is as foolish as interfering in someone else's argument.
