The One Year Bible TLB (227 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
To trust a rebel to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off your feet and drinking poison!
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In the mouth of a fool a proverb becomes as useless as a paralyzed leg.
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Honoring a rebel will backfire like a stone tied to a slingshot!
October 25The Moabites
This is the message of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, against Moab:
Woe to the city of Nebo, for it shall lie in ruins. The city of Kiriathaim and its forts are overwhelmed and captured.
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No one will ever brag about Moab anymore, for there is a plot against her life. In Heshbon plans have been completed to destroy her. “Come,” they say, “we will cut her off from being a nation.” In Madmen all is silent. And then the roar of battle will surge against Horonaim, for all Moab is being destroyed. Her crying will be heard as far away as Zoar.
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Her refugees will climb the hills of Luhith, weeping bitterly, while cries of terror rise from the city below.
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Flee for your lives; hide in the wilderness!
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For you trusted in your wealth and skill; therefore, you shall perish. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and princes, shall be taken away to distant lands!
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All the villages and cities, whether they be on the plateaus or in the valleys, shall be destroyed, for the Lord has said it.
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Oh, for wings for Moab that she could fly away, for her cities shall be left without a living soul.
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Cursed be those withholding their swords from your blood, refusing to do the work that God has given them!
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From her earliest history Moab has lived there undisturbed from all invasions. She is like wine that has not been poured from flask to flask and is fragrant and smooth. But now she shall have the pouring out of exile!
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The time is coming soon, the Lord has said, when he will send troublemakers to spill her out from jar to jar and then shatter the jars!
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Then at last Moab shall be ashamed of her idol Chemosh, as Israel was of her calf idol at Bethel.
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Do you remember that boast of yours: “We are heroes, mighty men of war”?
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But now Moab is to be destroyed; her destroyer is on the way; her choicest youth are doomed to slaughter, says the King, the Lord Almighty.
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Calamity is coming fast to Moab.
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O friends of Moab, weep for her and cry! See how the strong, the beautiful is shattered!
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Come down from your glory and sit in the dust, O people of Dibon, for those destroying Moab shall shatter Dibon too, and tear down all her towers.
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Those in Aroer stand anxiously beside the road to watch, and shout to those who flee from Moab, “What has happened there?”
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And they reply, “Moab lies in ruins; weep and wail. Tell it by the banks of the Arnon, that Moab is destroyed.”
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All the cities of the tableland lie in ruins too, for God’s judgment has been poured out upon them all—on Holon and Jahzah and Mephaath,
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and Dibon and Nebo and Beth-diblathaim,
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and Kiriathaim and Beth-gamul and Beth-meon,
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and Kerioth and Bozrah—and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.
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The strength of Moab is ended—her horns are cut off; her arms are broken.
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Let her stagger and fall like a drunkard, for she has rebelled against the Lord. Moab shall wallow in her vomit, scorned by all.
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For you scorned Israel and robbed her and were happy at her fall.
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O people of Moab, flee from your cities and live in the caves like doves that nest in the clefts of the rocks.
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We have all heard of the pride of Moab, for it is very great. We know your loftiness, your arrogance, and your haughty heart.
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I know her insolence, the Lord has said, but her boasts are false—her helplessness is great.
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Yes, I wail for Moab, my heart is broken for the men of Kir-heres.
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O men of Sibmah, rich in vineyards, I weep for you even more than for Jazer. For the destroyer has cut off your spreading tendrils and harvested your grapes and summer fruits. He has plucked you bare!
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Joy and gladness are gone from fruitful Moab. The presses yield no wine; no one treads the grapes with shouts of joy. There is shouting, yes, but not the shouting of joy.
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Instead the awful cries of terror and pain rise from all over the land—from Heshbon clear across to Elealeh and to Jahaz; from Zoar to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah. The pastures of Nimrim are deserted now.
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For the Lord says: I have put a stop to Moab’s worshiping false gods and burning incense to idols.
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Sadly sings my heart for Moab and Kir-heres, for all their wealth has disappeared.
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They shave their heads and beards in anguish; they slash their hands and put on clothes of sackcloth.
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Crying and sorrow will be in every Moabite home and on the streets; for I have smashed and shattered Moab like an old, unwanted bottle.
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How it is broken! Hear the wails! See the shame of Moab! For she is a sign of horror and of scoffing to her neighbors now.
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A vulture circles ominously above the land of Moab, says the Lord.
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Her cities are fallen; her strongholds are seized. The hearts of her mightiest warriors fail with fear like women in the pains of giving birth.
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Moab shall no longer be a nation, for she has boasted against the Lord.
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Fear and traps and treachery shall be your lot, O Moab, says the Lord.
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He who flees shall fall in a trap, and he who escapes from the trap shall run into a snare. I will see to it that you do not get away, for the time of your judgment has come.
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They flee to Heshbon, unable to go farther. But a fire comes from Heshbon—Sihon’s ancestral home—and devours the land from end to end with all its rebellious people.
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Woe to you, O Moab; the people of the god Chemosh are destroyed, and your sons and daughters are taken away as slaves.
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But in the latter days, says the Lord, I will reestablish Moab.
(Here the prophecy concerning Moab ends.)
49:
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The Ammonites
What is this you are doing? Why are you living in the cities of the Jews? Aren’t there Jews enough to fill them up? Didn’t they inherit them from me? Why then have you, who worship Milcom, taken over Gad and all its cities?
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I will punish you for this, the Lord declares, by destroying your city of Rabbah. It shall become a desolate heap, and the neighboring towns shall be burned. Then Israel shall come and take back her land from you again. She shall dispossess those who dispossessed her, says the Lord.
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Cry out, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Weep, daughter of Rabbah! Put on garments of mourning; weep and wail, hiding in the hedges, for your god Milcom shall be exiled along with his princes and priests.
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You are proud of your fertile valleys, but they will soon be ruined. O wicked daughter, you trusted in your wealth and thought no one could ever harm you.
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But see, I will bring terror upon you, says the Lord, the Lord Almighty. For all your neighbors shall drive you from your land and none shall help your exiles as they flee.
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But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, says the Lord.
The Edomites
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The Lord says: Where are all your wise men of days gone by? Is there not one left in all of Teman?
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Flee to the remotest parts of the desert, O people of Dedan;
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for when I punish Edom, I will punish you!
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Those who gather grapes leave a few for the poor, and even thieves don’t take everything, but I will strip bare the land of Esau, and there will be no place to hide. Her children, her brothers, her neighbors—all will be destroyed—and she herself will perish too.
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(But I will preserve your fatherless children who remain, and let your widows depend upon me.)
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The Lord says to Edom: If the innocent must suffer, how much more must you! You shall not go unpunished! You must drink this cup of judgment!
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For I have sworn by my own name, says the Lord, that Bozrah shall become heaps of ruins, cursed and mocked; and her cities shall be eternal wastes.
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I have heard this message from the Lord: I have sent a messenger to call the nations to form a coalition against Edom and destroy her.
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I will make her weak among the nations and despised by all, says the Lord.
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You have been fooled by your fame and your pride, living there in the mountains of Petra, in the clefts of the rocks. But though you live among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you down, says the Lord.
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The fate of Edom will be horrible; all who go by will be appalled and gasp at the sight.
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Your cities will become as silent as Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, says the Lord. No one will live there anymore.
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I will send against them one who will come like a lion from the wilds of Jordan stalking the sheep in the fold. Suddenly Edom shall be destroyed, and I will appoint over the Edomites the person of my choice. For who is like me, and who can call me to account? What shepherd can defy me?
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Take note: The Lord will certainly do this to Edom and also the people of Teman—even little children will be dragged away as slaves! It will be a shocking thing to see.
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The earth shakes with the noise of Edom’s fall; the cry of the people is heard as far away as the Red Sea.
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The one who will come will fly as swift as a vulture and will spread his wings against Bozrah. Then the courage of the mightiest warriors will disappear like that of women in labor.
Damascus
And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus—who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom—
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to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word.
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For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear.
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They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.
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Stand steady, and don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Bring others to Christ. Leave nothing undone that you ought to do.
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I say this because I won’t be around to help you very much longer. My time has almost run out. Very soon now I will be on my way to heaven.
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I have fought long and hard for my Lord, and through it all I have kept true to him. And now the time has come for me to stop fighting and rest.
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In heaven a crown is waiting for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And not just to me but to all those whose lives show that they are eagerly looking forward to his coming back again.
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Please come as soon as you can,
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for Demas has left me. He loved the good things of this life and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
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Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for I need him.
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(Tychicus is gone too, as I sent him to Ephesus.)
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When you come, be sure to bring the coat I left at Troas with Brother Carpus, and also the books, but especially the parchments.
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Alexander the coppersmith has done me much harm. The Lord will punish him,
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but be careful of him, for he fought against everything we said.
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The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was here to help me. Everyone had run away. I hope that they will not be blamed for it.
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But the Lord stood with me and gave me the opportunity to boldly preach a whole sermon for all the world to hear. And he saved me from being thrown to the lions.
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Yes, and the Lord will always deliver me from all evil and will bring me into his heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Please say hello for me to Priscilla and Aquila and those living at the home of Onesiphorus.
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Erastus stayed at Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
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Do try to be here before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the others.
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May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Farewell, Paul