Jer. 48:21–47

48:21 “Judgment will come on the cities on the high plain: on Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath; 22on Dibon, Nebo, and Beth Diblathaim; 23on Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul, and Beth Meon; 24on Kerioth and Bozrah. It will come on all the towns of Moab, both far and near. 25Moab’s might will be crushed. Its power will be broken. I, the Lord, affirm it!

26“Moab has vaunted itself against me.

So make him drunk with the wine of my wrath

until he splashes around in his own vomit,

until others treat him as a laughingstock.

27For did not you people of Moab laugh at the people of Israel?

Did you think that they were nothing but thieves,

that you shook your head in contempt

every time you talked about them?

28Leave your towns, you inhabitants of Moab.

Go and live in the cliffs.

Be like a dove that makes its nest

high on the sides of a ravine.

29I have heard how proud the people of Moab are,

I know how haughty they are.

I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are,

what a high opinion they have of themselves.

30I, the Lord, affirm that I know how arrogant they are.

But their pride is ill founded.

Their boastings will prove to be false.

31So I will weep with sorrow for Moab.

I will cry out in sadness for all Moab.

I will moan for the people of Kir Heres.

32I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah

just like the town of Jazer weeps over them.

Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea.

They reached as far as the town of Jazer.

The destroyer will ravage

her fig, date, and grape crops.

33Joy and gladness will disappear

from the fruitful land of Moab.

I will stop the flow of wine from the winepresses.

No one will stomp on the grapes there and shout for joy.

The shouts there will be shouts of soldiers,

not the shouts of those making wine.

34Cries of anguish raised from Heshbon and Elealeh

will be sounded as far as Jahaz.

They will be sounded from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.

35I will put an end in Moab

to those who make offerings at her places of worship.

I will put an end to those who sacrifice to other gods.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

36So my heart moans for Moab

like a flute playing a funeral song.

Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song,

my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres.

For the wealth they have gained will perish.

37For all of them will shave their heads in mourning.

They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow.

They will all make gashes in their hands.

They will all put on sackcloth.

38On all the housetops in Moab

and in all its public squares,

there will be nothing but mourning.

For I will break Moab like an unwanted jar.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

39Oh, how shattered Moab will be!

Oh, how her people will wail!

Oh, how she will turn away in shame!

Moab will become an object of ridicule,

a terrifying sight to all the nations that surround her.”

40For the Lord says,

“Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings

a nation will swoop down on Moab.

41Her towns will be captured;

her fortresses will be taken.

At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened

like a woman in labor.

42Moab will be destroyed and no longer be a nation

because she has vaunted herself against the Lord.

43Terror, pits, and traps are in store

for the people who live in Moab.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

44Anyone who flees at the sound of terror

will fall into a pit.

Anyone who climbs out of the pit

will be caught in a trap.

For the time is coming

when I will punish the people of Moab.

I, the Lord, affirm it!

45In the shadows of the walls of Heshbon

those trying to escape will stand helpless.

For a fire will burst forth from Heshbon.

Flames will shoot out from the former territory of Sihon.

They will burn the foreheads of the people of Moab,

the skulls of those war-loving people.

46Moab, you are doomed!

You people who worship Chemosh will be destroyed.

Your sons will be taken away captive.

Your daughters will be carried away into exile.

47Yet in future days

I will reverse Moab’s ill fortune,”

says the Lord.

The judgment against Moab ends here.

Ps. 31

31:1 For the music director, a psalm of David.

In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.

Never let me be humiliated.

Vindicate me by rescuing me.

2Listen to me.

Quickly deliver me.

Be my protector and refuge,

a stronghold where I can be safe.

3For you are my high ridge and my stronghold;

for the sake of your own reputation you lead me and guide me.

4You will free me from the net they hid for me,

for you are my place of refuge.

5Into your hand I entrust my life;

you will rescue me, O Lord, the faithful God.

6I hate those who serve worthless idols,

but I trust in the Lord.

7I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,

because you notice my pain

and you are aware of how distressed I am.

8You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;

you enable me to stand in a wide open place.

9Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!

My eyes grow dim from suffering.

I have lost my strength.

10For my life nears its end in pain;

my years draw to a close as I groan.

My strength fails me because of my sin,

and my bones become brittle.

11Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;

my neighbors are appalled by my suffering—

those who know me are horrified by my condition;

those who see me in the street run away from me.

12I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;

I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.

13For I hear what so many are saying,

the terrifying news that comes from every direction.

When they plot together against me,

they figure out how they can take my life.

14But I trust in you, O Lord!

I declare, “You are my God!”

15You determine my destiny.

Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.

16Smile on your servant.

Deliver me because of your faithfulness.

17O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,

for I call out to you.

May evil men be humiliated.

May they go wailing to the grave.

18May lying lips be silenced—

lips that speak defiantly against the innocent

with arrogance and contempt.

19How great is your favor,

which you store up for your loyal followers.

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.

20You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks of men;

you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.

21The Lord deserves praise

for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.

22I jumped to conclusions and said,

“I am cut off from your presence!”

But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.

23Love the Lord, all you faithful followers of his!

The Lord protects those who have integrity,

but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.

24Be strong and confident,

all you who wait on the Lord.

Acts 28:17–31

28:17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. 18When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me because there was no basis for a death sentence against me. 19But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar—not that I had some charge to bring against my own people. 20So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.” 21They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there and reported or said anything bad about you. 22But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it.”

23They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. 24Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. 25So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah 26when he said,

‘Go to this people and say,

“You will keep on hearing, but will never understand,

and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive.

27For the heart of this people has become dull,

and their ears are hard of hearing,

and they have closed their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.”’

28“Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!”

30Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, 31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction.