Old/New Testament
3 The Lord will cut off Jerusalem’s and Judah’s food and water supplies 2 and kill her leaders; he will destroy her armies, judges, prophets, elders, 3 army officers, businessmen, lawyers, magicians, and politicians. 4 Israel’s kings will be like babies, ruling childishly. 5 And the worst sort of anarchy will prevail—everyone stepping on someone else, neighbors fighting neighbors, youths revolting against authority, criminals sneering at honorable men.
6 In those days a man will say to his brother, “You have some extra clothing, so you be our king and take care of this mess.”
7 “No!” he will reply. “I cannot be of any help! I have no extra food or clothes. Don’t get me involved!”
8 Israel’s civil government will be in utter ruin because the Jews have spoken out against their Lord and will not worship him; they offend his glory. 9 The very look on their faces gives them away and shows their guilt. And they boast that their sin is equal to the sin of Sodom; they are not even ashamed. What a catastrophe! They have doomed themselves.
10 But all is well for the godly man. Tell him, “What a reward you are going to get!” 11 But say to the wicked, “Your doom is sure. You too shall get your just deserts. Your well-earned punishment is on the way.”
12 O my people! Can’t you see what fools your rulers are? Weak as women! Foolish as little children playing king. True leaders? No, misleaders! Leading you down the garden path to destruction.
13 The Lord stands up! He is the great Prosecuting Attorney presenting his case against his people! 14 First to feel his wrath will be the elders and the princes, for they have defrauded the poor. They have filled their barns with grain extorted from the helpless peasants.
15 “How dare you grind my people in the dust like that?” the Lord Almighty will demand of them.
16 Next he will judge the haughty Jewish women, who mince along, noses in the air, tinkling bracelets on their ankles, with wanton eyes that rove among the crowds to catch the glances of the men. 17 The Lord will send a plague of scabs to ornament their heads! He will expose their nakedness for all to see. 18 No longer shall they tinkle with self-assurance as they walk. For the Lord will strip away their artful beauty and their ornaments, 19 their necklaces and bracelets and veils of shimmering gauze. 20 Gone shall be their scarves and ankle chains, headbands, earrings, and perfumes; 21 their rings, jewels, 22 party clothes, negligees, capes, ornate combs, and purses; 23 their mirrors, lovely lingerie, beautiful dresses, and veils. 24 Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, they’ll stink; for sashes they’ll use ropes; their well-set hair will all fall out; they’ll wear sacks instead of robes.
All their beauty will be gone; all that will be left to them is shame and disgrace. 25-26 Their husbands shall die in battle; the women, ravaged, shall sit crying on the ground.
4 At that time so few men will be left alive that seven women will fight over each of them and say, “Let us all marry you! We will furnish our own food and clothing; only let us be called by your name so that we won’t be mocked as old maids.”
2-4 Those whose names are written down to escape the destruction of Jerusalem will be washed and rinsed of all their moral filth by the horrors and the fire. They will be God’s holy people.[a] And the land will produce for them its lushest bounty and its richest fruit. 5 Then the Lord will provide shade on all Jerusalem—over every home and all its public grounds—a canopy of smoke and cloud throughout the day, and clouds of fire at night, covering the Glorious Land, 6 protecting it from daytime heat and from rains and storms.
6 Dear brothers, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong. 2 Share each other’s troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord’s command. 3 If anyone thinks he is too great to stoop to this, he is fooling himself. He is really a nobody.
4 Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best, for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to compare himself with someone else. 5 Each of us must bear some faults and burdens of his own. For none of us is perfect!
6 Those who are taught the Word of God should help their teachers by paying them.
7 Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! 8 If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him. 9 And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up. 10 That’s why whenever we can we should always be kind to everyone, and especially to our Christian brothers.
11 I will write these closing words in my own handwriting. See how large I have to make the letters! 12 Those teachers of yours who are trying to convince you to be circumcised are doing it for just one reason: so that they can be popular and avoid the persecution they would get if they admitted that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those teachers who submit to circumcision don’t try to keep the other Jewish laws; but they want you to be circumcised in order that they can boast that you are their disciples.
14 As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in all the attractive things of the world was killed long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead. 15 It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not; what counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.
16 May God’s mercy and peace be upon all of you who live by this principle and upon those everywhere who are really God’s own.
17 From now on please don’t argue with me about these things, for I carry on my body the scars of the whippings and wounds from Jesus’ enemies that mark me as his slave.
18 Dear brothers, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Sincerely, Paul
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.