Destruction to deliverance#
Pre-reading#
Idea/question/discussion point spreadsheet.
Read Isaiah, chapters 21-27
¹ Oracle on the wastelands by the sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negeb,
it comes from the desert,
from the fearful land.
² A harsh vision has been announced to me:
“The traitor betrays,
the despoiler spoils.
Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media;
put an end to all its groaning!”
³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish,
pangs have seized me like those of a woman in labor;
I am too bewildered to hear,
too dismayed to look.
⁴ My mind reels,
shuddering assails me;
The twilight I yearned for
he has turned into dread.
⁵ They set the table,
spread out the rugs;
they eat, they drink.
Rise up, O princes,
oil the shield!
⁶ For thus my Lord said to me:
Go, station a watchman,
let him tell what he sees.
⁷ If he sees a chariot,
a pair of horses,
Someone riding a donkey,
someone riding a camel,
Then let him pay heed,
very close heed.
⁸ Then the watchman cried,
“On the watchtower, my Lord,
I stand constantly by day;
And I stay at my post
through all the watches of the night.
⁹ Here he comes—
a single chariot,
a pair of horses—
He calls out and says,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon!
All the images of her gods
are smashed to the ground!’”
¹⁰ To you, who have been threshed,
beaten on my threshing floor,
What I have heard
from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have announced to you.
¹¹ Oracle on Dumah:
They call to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much longer the night?
Watchman, how much longer the night?”
¹² The watchman replies,
“Morning has come, and again night.
If you will ask, ask; come back again.”
¹³ Oracle: in the steppe:
In the thicket in the steppe you will spend the night,
caravans of Dedanites.
¹⁴ Meet the thirsty, bring them water,
inhabitants of the land of Tema,
greet the fugitives with bread.
¹⁵ For they have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword;
From the taut bow,
from the thick of battle.
¹⁶ For thus the Lord has said to me: In another year, like the years of a hired laborer, all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end. ¹⁷ Few of Kedar’s stalwart archers shall remain, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.
¹ Oracle on the Valley of Vision:
What is the matter with you now, that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
² You who were full of noise,
tumultuous city,
exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword,
nor killed in battle.
³ All your leaders fled away together,
they were captured without use of bow;
All who were found were captured together,
though they had fled afar off.
⁴ That is why I say: Turn away from me,
let me weep bitterly;
Do not try to comfort me
for the ruin of the daughter of my people.
⁵ It is a day of panic, rout and confusion,
from the Lord, the God of hosts, in the Valley of Vision
Walls crash;
a cry for help to the mountains.
⁶ Elam takes up the quiver,
Aram mounts the horses
and Kir uncovers the shields.
⁷ Your choice valleys are filled with chariots,
horses are posted at the gates—
⁸ and shelter over Judah is removed.
⁹ you saw that the breaches in the City of David were many; you collected the water of the lower pool. ¹⁰ You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, tearing some down to strengthen the wall; ¹¹ you made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to the city’s Maker, nor consider the one who fashioned it long ago.
¹² On that day the Lord,
the God of hosts, called
For weeping and mourning,
for shaving the head and wearing sackcloth.
¹³ But look! instead, there was celebration and joy,
slaughtering cattle and butchering sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine:
“Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
¹⁴ This message was revealed in my hearing from the Lord of hosts:
This iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,
says the Lord, the God of hosts.
¹⁵ Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
Up, go to that official,
Shebna, master of the palace,
¹⁶ “What have you here? Whom have you here,
that you have hewn for yourself a tomb here,
Hewing a tomb on high,
carving a resting place in the rock?”
¹⁷ The Lord shall hurl you down headlong, mortal man!
He shall grip you firmly,
¹⁸ And roll you up and toss you like a ball
into a broad land.
There you will die, there with the chariots you glory in,
you disgrace to your master’s house!
¹⁹ I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
²⁰ On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
²¹ I will clothe him with your robe,
gird him with your sash,
confer on him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
²² I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder;
what he opens, no one will shut,
what he shuts, no one will open.
²³ I will fix him as a peg in a firm place,
a seat of honor for his ancestral house;
²⁴ On him shall hang all the glory of his ancestral house:
descendants and offspring,
all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs.
²⁵ On that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg fixed in a firm place shall give way, break off and fall, and the weight that hung on it shall be done away with; for the Lord has spoken.
¹ Oracle on Tyre:
Wail, ships of Tarshish,
for your port is destroyed;
From the land of the Kittim
the news reaches them.
² Silence! you who dwell on the coast,
you merchants of Sidon,
Whose messengers crossed the sea
³ over the deep waters,
Whose revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile,
you who were the merchant among the nations.
⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, fortress on the sea,
for the sea has spoken,
“I have not been in labor, nor given birth,
nor raised young men,
nor reared young women.”
⁵ When the report reaches Egypt
they shall be in anguish at the report about Tyre.
⁶ Pass over to Tarshish,
wail, you who dwell on the coast!
⁷ Is this your exultant city,
whose origin is from old,
Whose feet have taken her
to dwell in distant lands?
⁸ Who has planned such a thing
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are the earth’s honored men?
⁹ The Lord of hosts has planned it,
to disgrace the height of all beauty,
to degrade all the honored of the earth.
¹⁰ Cross to your own land,
ship of Tarshish;
the harbor is no more.
¹¹ His hand he stretches out over the sea,
he shakes kingdoms;
The Lord commanded the destruction
of Canaan’s strongholds:
¹² Crushed, you shall exult no more,
virgin daughter Sidon.
Arise, pass over to the Kittim,
even there you shall find no rest.
¹³ Look at the land of the Chaldeans,
the people that has ceased to be.
Assyria founded it for ships,
raised its towers,
Only to tear down its palaces,
and turn it into a ruin.
¹⁴ Lament, ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is destroyed.
¹⁵ On that day, Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years, the lifetime of one king. At the end of seventy years, the song about the prostitute will be Tyre’s song:
¹⁶ Take a harp, go about the city,
forgotten prostitute;
Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.
¹⁷ At the end of the seventy years the Lord shall visit Tyre. She shall return to her hire and serve as prostitute with all the world’s kingdoms on the face of the earth. ¹⁸ But her merchandise and her hire shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall not be stored up or laid away; instead, her merchandise shall belong to those who dwell before the Lord, to eat their fill and clothe themselves in choice attire.
¹ See! The Lord is about to empty the earth and lay it waste;
he will twist its surface,
and scatter its inhabitants:
² People and priest shall fare alike:
servant and master,
Maid and mistress,
buyer and seller,
Lender and borrower,
creditor and debtor.
³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste, utterly stripped,
for the Lord has decreed this word.
⁴ The earth mourns and fades,
the world languishes and fades;
both heaven and earth languish.
⁵ The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants,
for they have transgressed laws, violated statutes,
broken the ancient covenant.
⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants pay for their guilt;
Therefore they who dwell on earth have dwindled,
and only a few are left.
⁷ The new wine mourns, the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted groan.
⁸ Stilled are the cheerful timbrels,
ended the shouts of the jubilant,
stilled the cheerful harp.
⁹ They no longer drink wine and sing;
strong brew is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰ Broken down is the city of chaos,
every house is shut against entry.
¹¹ In the streets they cry out for lack of wine;
all joy has grown dim,
cheer is exiled from the land.
¹² In the city nothing remains but desolation,
gates battered into ruins.
¹³ For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth,
among the peoples,
As when an olive tree has been beaten,
as with a gleaning when the vintage is done.
¹⁴ These shall lift up their voice,
they shall sing for joy in the majesty of the Lord,
they shall shout from the western sea:
¹⁵ “Therefore, in the east
give glory to the Lord!
In the coastlands of the sea,
to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel!”
¹⁶ From the end of the earth we hear songs:
“Splendor to the Just One!”
But I said, “I am wasted, wasted away.
Woe is me! The traitors betray;
with treachery have the traitors betrayed!
¹⁷ Terror, pit, and trap
for you, inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸ One who flees at the sound of terror
will fall into the pit;
One who climbs out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
For the windows on high are open
and the foundations of the earth shake.
¹⁹ The earth will burst asunder,
the earth will be shaken apart,
the earth will be convulsed.
²⁰ The earth will reel like a drunkard,
sway like a hut;
Its rebellion will weigh it down;
it will fall, never to rise again.”
²¹ On that day the Lord will punish
the host of the heavens in the heavens,
and the kings of the earth on the earth.
²² They will be gathered together
like prisoners into a pit;
They will be shut up in a dungeon,
and after many days they will be punished.
²³ Then the moon will blush
and the sun be ashamed,
For the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
glorious in the sight of the elders.
¹ O Lord, you are my God,
I extol you, I praise your name;
For you have carried out your wonderful plans of old,
faithful and true.
² For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin,
The castle of the insolent, a city no more,
not ever to be rebuilt.
³ Therefore a strong people will honor you,
ruthless nations will fear you.
⁴ For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress;
Shelter from the rain,
shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rain,
⁵ the roar of strangers like heat in the desert,
You subdued the heat with the shade of a cloud,
the rain of the tyrants was vanquished.
⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
⁷ On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations.
⁸ He will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ On that day it will be said:
“Indeed, this is our God; we looked to him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord to whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
¹⁰ For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
but Moab will be trodden down
as straw is trodden down in the mire.
¹¹ He will spread out his hands in its midst,
as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim;
His pride will be brought low
despite his strokes.
¹² The high-walled fortress he will raze,
bringing it low, leveling it to the ground, to the very dust.
¹ On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah:
“A strong city have we;
he sets up victory as our walls and ramparts.
² Open up the gates
that a righteous nation may enter,
one that keeps faith.
³ With firm purpose you maintain peace;
in peace, because of our trust in you.”
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever!
For the Lord is an eternal Rock.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
the lofty city he brings down,
Brings it down to the ground,
levels it to the dust.
⁶ The feet of the needy trample on it—
the feet of the poor.
⁷ The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
⁸ The course of your judgments, Lord, we await;
your name and your memory are the desire of our souls.
⁹ My soul yearns for you at night,
yes, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn;
When your judgment comes upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn justice.
¹⁰ The wicked, when spared, do not learn justice;
in an upright land they act perversely,
and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ Lord, your hand is raised high,
but they do not perceive it;
Let them be put to shame when they see your zeal for your people:
let the fire prepared for your enemies consume them.
¹² Lord, you will decree peace for us,
for you have accomplished all we have done.
¹³ Lord, our God, lords other than you have ruled us;
only because of you can we call upon your name.
¹⁴ Dead they are, they cannot live,
shades that cannot rise;
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them,
and wiped out all memory of them.
¹⁵ You have increased the nation, Lord,
you have increased the nation, have added to your glory,
you have extended far all the boundaries of the land.
¹⁶ Lord, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your discipline.
¹⁷ As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in pain,
so were we before you, Lord.
¹⁸ We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth only to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
no inhabitants for the world were born.
¹⁹ But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise!
Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and you cause the land of shades to give birth.
²⁰ Go, my people, enter your chambers,
and close the doors behind you;
Hide yourselves for a brief moment,
until the wrath is past.
²¹ See, the Lord goes forth from his place,
to punish the wickedness of the earth’s inhabitants;
The earth will reveal the blood shed upon it,
and no longer conceal the slain.
¹ On that day,
The Lord will punish with his sword
that is cruel, great, and strong,
Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan the coiled serpent;
he will slay the dragon in the sea.
² On that day—
The pleasant vineyard, sing about it!
³ I, the Lord, am its keeper,
I water it every moment;
Lest anyone harm it,
night and day I guard it.
⁴ I am not angry.
But if I were to find briers and thorns,
In battle I would march against it;
I would burn it all.
⁵ But if it holds fast to my refuge,
it shall have peace with me;
it shall have peace with me.
⁶ In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall sprout and blossom,
covering all the world with fruit.
⁷ Was he smitten as his smiter was smitten?
Was he slain as his slayer was slain?
⁸ Driving out and expelling, he struggled against it,
carrying it off with his cruel wind on a day of storm.
⁹ This, then, shall be the expiation of Jacob’s guilt,
this the result of removing his sin:
He shall pulverize all the stones of the altars
like pieces of chalk;
no asherahs or incense altars shall stand.
¹⁰ For the fortified city shall be desolate,
an abandoned pasture, a forsaken wilderness;
There calves shall graze, there they shall lie down,
and consume its branches.
¹¹ When its boughs wither, they shall be broken off;
and women shall come to kindle fires with them.
For this is not an understanding people;
therefore their maker shall not spare them;
their creator shall not be gracious to them.
¹² On that day,
The Lord shall beat out grain
from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,
and you shall be gleaned one by one, children of Israel.
¹³ On that day,
A great trumpet shall blow,
and the lost in the land of Assyria
and the outcasts in the land of Egypt
Shall come and worship the Lord
on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.
¹ The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.
² A stern vision is told to me;
the plunderer plunders,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam,
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in travail;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear,
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
⁴ My mind reels, horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵ They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes,
oil the shield!
⁶ For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
let him announce what he sees.
⁷ When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on asses, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
⁸ Then he who saw cried:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
⁹ And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
And he answered,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
and all the images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
¹⁰ O my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
¹¹ The oracle concerning Dumah.
One is calling to me from Se′ir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
¹² The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”
¹³ The oracle concerning Arabia.
In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,
O caravans of De′danites.
¹⁴ To the thirsty bring water,
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
¹⁵ For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
¹⁶ For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end; ¹⁷ and the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.”
¹ The oracle concerning the valley of vision.
What do you mean that you have gone up,
all of you, to the housetops,
² you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
³ All your rulers have fled together,
without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
though they had fled far away.
⁴ Therefore I said:
“Look away from me,
let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
for the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
⁵ For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
⁶ And Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
⁸ He has taken away the covering of Judah.
⁹ and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many, and you collected the waters of the lower pool, ¹⁰ and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. ¹¹ You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or have regard for him who planned it long ago.
¹² In that day the Lord God of hosts
called to weeping and mourning,
to baldness and girding with sackcloth;
¹³ and behold, joy and gladness,
slaying oxen and killing sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
¹⁴ The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you
till you die,”
says the Lord God of hosts.
¹⁵ Thus says the Lord God of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: ¹⁶ What have you to do here and whom have you here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself, you who hew a tomb on the height, and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock? ¹⁷ Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you, ¹⁸ and whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there shall be your splendid chariots, you shame of your master’s house. ¹⁹ I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. ²⁰ In that day I will call my servant Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, ²¹ and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. ²⁴ And they will hang on him the whole weight of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. ²⁵ In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a sure place will give way; and it will be cut down and fall, and the burden that was upon it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.”
¹ The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, without house or haven!
From the land of Cyprus
it is revealed to them.
² Be still, O inhabitants of the coast,
O merchants of Sidon;
your messengers passed over the sea
³ and were on many waters;
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.
⁴ Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither travailed nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up virgins.”
⁵ When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
⁶ Pass over to Tarshish,
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
⁷ Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle afar?
⁸ Who has purposed this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
⁹ The Lord of hosts has purposed it,
to defile the pride of all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
¹⁰ Overflow your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint any more.
¹¹ He has stretched out his hand over the sea,
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
¹² And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, pass over to Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
¹³ Behold the land of the Chalde′ans! This is the people; it was not Assyria. They destined Tyre for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they razed her palaces, they made her a ruin.
¹⁴ Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
¹⁵ In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
¹⁶ “Take a harp,
go about the city,
O forgotten harlot!
Make sweet melody,
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
¹⁷ At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her hire, and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. ¹⁸ Her merchandise and her hire will be dedicated to the Lord; it will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
¹ Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
² And it shall be, as with the people,
so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
⁴ The earth mourns and withers,
the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
⁵ The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
⁷ The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸ The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹ No more do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰ The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹ There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹² Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
¹³ For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth
among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the vintage is done.
¹⁴ They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.
¹⁵ Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea, to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
¹⁶ From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.
But I say, “I pine away,
I pine away. Woe is me!
For the treacherous deal treacherously,
the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
¹⁷ Terror, and the pit, and the snare
are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
¹⁸ He who flees at the sound of the terror
shall fall into the pit;
and he who climbs out of the pit
shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble.
¹⁹ The earth is utterly broken,
the earth is rent asunder,
the earth is violently shaken.
²⁰ The earth staggers like a drunken man,
it sways like a hut;
its transgression lies heavy upon it,
and it falls, and will not rise again.
²¹ On that day the Lord will punish
the host of heaven, in heaven,
and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
²² They will be gathered together
as prisoners in a pit;
they will be shut up in a prison,
and after many days they will be punished.
²³ Then the moon will be confounded,
and the sun ashamed;
for the Lord of hosts will reign
on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
and before his elders he will manifest his glory.
¹ O Lord, thou art my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;
for thou hast done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
² For thou hast made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
³ Therefore strong peoples will glorify thee;
cities of ruthless nations will fear thee.
⁴ For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
⁵ like heat in a dry place.
Thou dost subdue the noise of the aliens;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. ⁷ And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
¹⁰ For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit. ¹¹ And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim; but the Lord will lay low his pride together with the skill of his hands. ¹² And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down, lay low, and cast to the ground, even to the dust.
¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
² Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith
may enter in.
³ Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.
⁴ Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord God
is an everlasting rock.
⁵ For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
⁶ The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”
⁷ The way of the righteous is level;
thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous.
⁸ In the path of thy judgments,
O Lord, we wait for thee;
thy memorial name
is the desire of our soul.
⁹ My soul yearns for thee in the night,
my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee.
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
¹⁰ If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals perversely
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹ O Lord, thy hand is lifted up,
but they see it not.
Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed.
Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.
¹² O Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us,
thou hast wrought for us all our works.
¹³ O Lord our God,
other lords besides thee have ruled over us,
but thy name alone we acknowledge.
¹⁴ They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end thou hast visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
¹⁵ But thou hast increased the nation, O Lord,
thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified;
thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.
¹⁶ O Lord, in distress they sought thee,
they poured out a prayer
when thy chastening was upon them.
¹⁷ Like a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
when she is near her time,
so were we because of thee, O Lord;
¹⁸ we were with child, we writhed,
we have as it were brought forth wind.
We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
¹⁹ Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
²⁰ Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the wrath is past.
²¹ For behold, the Lord is coming forth out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her,
and will no more cover her slain.
¹ In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Levi′athan the fleeing serpent, Levi′athan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
² In that day:
“A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!
³ I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest any one harm it,
I guard it night and day;
⁴ I have no wrath.
Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would set out against them,
I would burn them up together.
⁵ Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
⁶ In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots,
and fill the whole world with fruit.
⁷ Has he smitten them as he smote those who smote them?
Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?
⁸ Measure by measure, by exile thou didst contend with them;
he removed them with his fierce blast in the day of the east wind.
⁹ Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no Ashe′rim or incense altars will remain standing.
¹⁰ For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes,
there he lies down, and strips its branches.
¹¹ When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
For this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them,
he that formed them will show them no favor.
¹² In that day from the river Euphra′tes to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel. ¹³ And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Discussion points#
The fall of Babylon#
The fall of Babylon, John Martin (1835)#
The fall of Babylon is predicted in Isaiah and Jeremiah, and later referenced in Revelation, among other places:
¹ Oracle on the wastelands by the sea:
Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negeb,
it comes from the desert,
from the fearful land.
² A harsh vision has been announced to me:
“The traitor betrays,
the despoiler spoils.
Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media;
put an end to all its groaning!”
³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish,
pangs have seized me like those of a woman in labor;
I am too bewildered to hear,
too dismayed to look.
⁴ My mind reels,
shuddering assails me;
The twilight I yearned for
he has turned into dread.
⁵ They set the table,
spread out the rugs;
they eat, they drink.
Rise up, O princes,
oil the shield!
⁶ Flee from Babylon;
each of you save your own life,
do not perish because of her guilt;
This is a time of retribution from the Lord,
⁷ who pays out her due.
Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the Lord
making the whole earth drunk;
The nations drank its wine,
thus they have gone mad.
⁸ Babylon suddenly falls and is broken:
wail over her!
Bring balm for her wounds,
in case she can be healed.
⁹ “We have tried to heal Babylon,
but she cannot be healed.
Leave her, each of us must go to our own land.”
The judgment against her reaches the heavens,
it touches the clouds.
¹⁰ The Lord has brought forth our vindication;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord, our God, has done.
¹¹ Sharpen the arrows,
fill the quivers;
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
for his resolve is Babylon’s destruction.
Yes, it is retribution from the Lord,
retribution for his temple.
¹² Over the walls of Babylon raise a signal,
reinforce the watch;
Post sentries,
arrange ambushes!
For the Lord has both planned and carried out
what he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
⁶ Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with everlasting good news to announce to those who dwell on earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for his time has come to sit in judgment. Worship him who made heaven and earth and sea and springs of water.”
⁸ A second angel followed, saying:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great,
that made all the nations drink
the wine of her licentious passion.”
⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice, “Anyone who worships the beast or its image, or accepts its mark on forehead or hand, ¹⁰ will also drink the wine of God’s fury, poured full strength into the cup of his wrath, and will be tormented in burning sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb. ¹¹ The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever, and there will be no relief day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or accept the mark of its name.”
¹ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor. ² He cried out in a mighty voice:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
[a cage for every unclean] and disgusting [beast].
³ For all the nations have drunk
the wine of her licentious passion.
The kings of the earth had intercourse with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her drive for luxury.”
¹ The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,
it comes from the desert,
from a terrible land.
² A stern vision is told to me;
the plunderer plunders,
and the destroyer destroys.
Go up, O Elam,
lay siege, O Media;
all the sighing she has caused
I bring to an end.
³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;
pangs have seized me,
like the pangs of a woman in travail;
I am bowed down so that I cannot hear,
I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
⁴ My mind reels, horror has appalled me;
the twilight I longed for
has been turned for me into trembling.
⁵ They prepare the table,
they spread the rugs,
they eat, they drink.
Arise, O princes,
oil the shield!
⁶ “Flee from the midst of Babylon,
let every man save his life!
Be not cut off in her punishment,
for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance,
the requital he is rendering her.
⁷ Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,
making all the earth drunken;
the nations drank of her wine,
therefore the nations went mad.
⁸ Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken;
wail for her!
Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
⁹ We would have healed Babylon,
but she was not healed.
Forsake her, and let us go
each to his own country;
for her judgment has reached up to heaven
and has been lifted up even to the skies.
¹⁰ The Lord has brought forth our vindication;
come, let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
¹¹ “Sharpen the arrows!
Take up the shields!
The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.
¹² Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon;
make the watch strong;
set up watchmen;
prepare the ambushes;
for the Lord has both planned and done
what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
⁶ Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; ⁷ and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water.”
⁸ Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion.”
⁹ And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If any one worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also shall drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
¹ After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendor. ² And he called out with a mighty voice,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
It has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
a haunt of every foul and hateful bird;
³ for all nations have drunk the wine of her impure passion,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich with the wealth of her wantonness.”
This is the first use of imagery of watchman in Isaiah, though it will also occur later:
⁶ For thus my Lord said to me:
Go, station a watchman,
let him tell what he sees.
⁷ If he sees a chariot,
a pair of horses,
Someone riding a donkey,
someone riding a camel,
Then let him pay heed,
very close heed.
⁸ Then the watchman cried,
“On the watchtower, my Lord,
I stand constantly by day;
And I stay at my post
through all the watches of the night.
⁹ Here he comes—
a single chariot,
a pair of horses—
He calls out and says,
‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon!
All the images of her gods
are smashed to the ground!’”
¹¹ Oracle on Dumah:
They call to me from Seir,
“Watchman, how much longer the night?
Watchman, how much longer the night?”
¹² The watchman replies,
“Morning has come, and again night.
If you will ask, ask; come back again.”
⁶ For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman,
let him announce what he sees.
⁷ When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
riders on asses, riders on camels,
let him listen diligently,
very diligently.”
⁸ Then he who saw cried:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.
⁹ And behold, here come riders,
horsemen in pairs!”
And he answered,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
and all the images of her gods
he has shattered to the ground.”
¹¹ The oracle concerning Dumah.
One is calling to me from Se′ir,
“Watchman, what of the night?
Watchman, what of the night?”
¹² The watchman says:
“Morning comes, and also the night.
If you will inquire, inquire;
come back again.”
Other prophets are explicitly called out as spiritual watchmen:
¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: When I bring the sword against a land, if the people of that land select one of their number as a sentinel for them, ³ and the sentinel sees the sword coming against the land, he should blow the trumpet to warn the people. ⁴ If they hear the trumpet but do not take the warning and a sword attacks and kills them, their blood will be on their own heads. ⁵ They heard the trumpet blast but ignored the warning; their blood is on them. If they had heeded the warning, they could have escaped with their lives. ⁶ If, however, the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the sword attacks and takes someone’s life, his life will be taken for his own sin, but I will hold the sentinel responsible for his blood.
⁷ You, son of man—I have appointed you as a sentinel for the house of Israel; when you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them for me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, “You wicked, you must die,” and you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. ⁹ If, however, you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you shall save your life.
⁷ They have come, the days of punishment!
they have come, the days of recompense!
Let Israel know it!
“The prophet is a fool,
the man of the spirit is mad!”
Because your iniquity is great,
great, too, is your hostility.
⁸ The watchman of Ephraim, the people of my God, is the prophet;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
hostility in the house of his God.
¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman; ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people; ⁴ then if any one who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
⁷ “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸ If I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
⁷ The days of punishment have come,
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool,
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
⁸ The prophet is the watchman of E′phraim,
the people of my God,
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
Mercy to kinsman#
Last week, we saw that the Moabite people should be given mercy:
¹ Send them forth, hugging the earth like reptiles,
from Sela across the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.
² Like flushed birds,
like scattered nestlings,
Are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
³ Offer counsel, take their part;
at high noon make your shade like the night;
Hide the outcasts,
do not betray the fugitives.
⁴ Let the outcasts of Moab live with you,
be their shelter from the destroyer.
When there is an end to the oppressor,
when destruction has ceased,
and the marauders have vanished from the land,
⁵ A throne shall be set up in mercy,
and on it shall sit in fidelity,
in David’s tent,
A judge upholding right,
prompt to do justice.
¹ They have sent lambs
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, by way of the desert,
to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
² Like fluttering birds,
like scattered nestlings,
so are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
³ “Give counsel,
grant justice;
make your shade like night
at the height of noon;
hide the outcasts,
betray not the fugitive;
⁴ let the outcasts of Moab
sojourn among you;
be a refuge to them
from the destroyer.
When the oppressor is no more,
and destruction has ceased,
and he who tramples under foot
has vanished from the land,
⁵ then a throne will be established in steadfast love
and on it will sit in faithfulness
in the tent of David
one who judges and seeks justice
and is swift to do righteousness.”
In these chapters, we see also an extension to the Dedanites:
¹³ Oracle: in the steppe:
In the thicket in the steppe you will spend the night,
caravans of Dedanites.
¹⁴ Meet the thirsty, bring them water,
inhabitants of the land of Tema,
greet the fugitives with bread.
¹⁵ For they have fled from the sword,
from the drawn sword;
From the taut bow,
from the thick of battle.
¹ Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. ⁴ The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were descendants of Keturah.
⁵ Abraham gave everything that he owned to his son Isaac. ⁶ To the sons of his concubines, however, he gave gifts while he was still living, as he sent them away eastward, to the land of Kedem, away from his son Isaac.
¹³ The oracle concerning Arabia.
In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,
O caravans of De′danites.
¹⁴ To the thirsty bring water,
meet the fugitive with bread,
O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
¹⁵ For they have fled from the swords,
from the drawn sword,
from the bent bow,
and from the press of battle.
¹ Abraham took another wife, whose name was Ketu′rah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Mid′ian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshu′rim, Letu′shim, and Le-um′mim. ⁴ The sons of Mid′ian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abi′da, and Elda′ah. All these were the children of Ketu′rah. ⁵ Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. ⁶ But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
Human plans versus divine plans#
Amid the futility of human plans, we have this imagery that recurs in the Book of Wisdom and later in the NT:
⁵ It is a day of panic, rout and confusion,
from the Lord, the God of hosts, in the Valley of Vision
Walls crash;
a cry for help to the mountains.
⁶ Elam takes up the quiver,
Aram mounts the horses
and Kir uncovers the shields.
⁷ Your choice valleys are filled with chariots,
horses are posted at the gates—
⁸ and shelter over Judah is removed.
⁹ you saw that the breaches in the City of David were many; you collected the water of the lower pool. ¹⁰ You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, tearing some down to strengthen the wall; ¹¹ you made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to the city’s Maker, nor consider the one who fashioned it long ago.
¹² On that day the Lord,
the God of hosts, called
For weeping and mourning,
for shaving the head and wearing sackcloth.
¹³ But look! instead, there was celebration and joy,
slaughtering cattle and butchering sheep,
Eating meat and drinking wine:
“Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
¹ For, not thinking rightly, they said among themselves:
“Brief and troubled is our lifetime;
there is no remedy for our dying,
nor is anyone known to have come back from Hades.
² For by mere chance were we born,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been;
Because the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason a spark from the beating of our hearts,
³ And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes
and our spirit will be poured abroad like empty air.
⁴ Even our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will recall our deeds.
So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and will be dispersed like a mist
Pursued by the sun’s rays
and overpowered by its heat.
⁵ For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow;
and our dying cannot be deferred
because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns.
⁶ Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are here,
and make use of creation with youthful zest.
⁷ Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no springtime blossom pass us by;
⁸ let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
⁹ Let no meadow be free from our wantonness;
everywhere let us leave tokens of our merriment,
for this is our portion, and this our lot.
¹⁰ Let us oppress the righteous poor;
let us neither spare the widow
nor revere the aged for hair grown white with time.
¹¹ But let our strength be our norm of righteousness;
for weakness proves itself useless.
⁵ For the Lord God of hosts has a day
of tumult and trampling and confusion
in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
and a shouting to the mountains.
⁶ And Elam bore the quiver
with chariots and horsemen,
and Kir uncovered the shield.
⁷ Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
⁸ He has taken away the covering of Judah.
⁹ and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many, and you collected the waters of the lower pool, ¹⁰ and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. ¹¹ You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or have regard for him who planned it long ago.
¹² In that day the Lord God of hosts
called to weeping and mourning,
to baldness and girding with sackcloth;
¹³ and behold, joy and gladness,
slaying oxen and killing sheep,
eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
¹ For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
² Because we were born by mere chance,
and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been;
because the breath in our nostrils is smoke,
and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts.
³ When it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes,
and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.
⁴ Our name will be forgotten in time,
and no one will remember our works;
our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud,
and be scattered like mist
that is chased by the rays of the sun
and overcome by its heat.
⁵ For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow,
and there is no return from our death,
because it is sealed up and no one turns back.
⁶ “Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist,
and make use of the creation to the full as in youth.
⁷ Let us take our fill of costly wine and perfumes,
and let no flower of spring pass by us.
⁸ Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither.
⁹ Let none of us fail to share in our revelry,
everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment,
because this is our portion, and this our lot.
¹⁰ Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
¹¹ But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
How does the book of Wisdom quote recontextualize and elevate the reference beyond mere disobedience of God’s call?
This parable is also referenced in the New Testament:
¹² But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. ¹⁵ Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
²⁹ Otherwise, what will people accomplish by having themselves baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they having themselves baptized for them?
³⁰ Moreover, why are we endangering ourselves all the time? ³¹ Every day I face death; I swear it by the pride in you [brothers] that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If at Ephesus I fought with beasts, so to speak, what benefit was it to me? If the dead are not raised:
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
³³ Do not be led astray:
“Bad company corrupts good morals.”
³⁴ Become sober as you ought and stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God; I say this to your shame.
¹² Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ¹⁴ if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰ Why am I in peril every hour? ³¹ I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! ³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” ³⁴ Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
except, baptism for the dead? What?
1. Several late interpreters understand a metaphorical baptism, and that to be baptized for the dead, is to undertake self-denials, mortifications, and works of penance, in hopes of a happy resurrection; and this exposition agrees with what follows, of being exposed to dangers every hour, of dying daily, &c. But if this had been the apostle’s meaning, he would rather have said, Who baptize themselves. Besides, this exposition is not so much as mentioned in any of the ancient interpreters.
1. Some think that Saint Paul tells the Corinthians that they ought not to question the resurrection of the dead, who had a custom among them, if any one died without baptism, to baptize another that was living for him; and this they did, fancying that such a baptism would be profitable to the dead person, in order to a happy resurrection. Tertullian mentions this custom in one or two places, and also Saint Chrysostom on this place. But it does not seem probable that Saint Paul would bring any argument of the resurrection from a custom which he himself could not approve, nor was ever approved in the Church.
1. Saint Chrysostom and the Greek interpreters, who generally follow him, expound these words, who are baptized for the dead, as if it were the same as to say, who receive baptism with hopes that they themselves, and all the dead, will rise again; and therefore make a profession, when they are baptized, that they believe the resurrection. So that Saint Paul here brings this proof among others, that they who have been made Christians, and continue Christians, cannot call in question the resurrection, which they professed to believe in their creed at their baptism, the creed being always repeated before they were baptized.
1. Others, by being baptized for the dead, understand those who begged and called for baptism when they were in danger of death, and would by no means go out of this world without being baptized, hoping thereby to have a happy resurrection of their bodies; so that to be baptized for the dead is the same as on the account of the state of the dead, which they were entering into.
Keys to the kingdom#
²¹ I will clothe him with your robe,
gird him with your sash,
confer on him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
²² I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder;
what he opens, no one will shut,
what he shuts, no one will open.
²³ I will fix him as a peg in a firm place,
a seat of honor for his ancestral house;
²⁴ On him shall hang all the glory of his ancestral house:
descendants and offspring,
all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs.
⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write this:
“‘The holy one, the true,
who holds the key of David,
who opens and no one shall close,
who closes and no one shall open,
says this:
¹³ When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. ¹⁸ And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
²¹ and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. ²² And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. ²³ And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. ²⁴ And they will hang on him the whole weight of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.
⁷ “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.
¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare′a Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli′jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Apocalypse now#
We have predictions of destruction next to predictions of a future banquet:
¹ See! The Lord is about to empty the earth and lay it waste;
he will twist its surface,
and scatter its inhabitants:
² People and priest shall fare alike:
servant and master,
Maid and mistress,
buyer and seller,
Lender and borrower,
creditor and debtor.
³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste, utterly stripped,
for the Lord has decreed this word.
⁴ The earth mourns and fades,
the world languishes and fades;
both heaven and earth languish.
⁵ The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants,
for they have transgressed laws, violated statutes,
broken the ancient covenant.
⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants pay for their guilt;
Therefore they who dwell on earth have dwindled,
and only a few are left.
⁴ For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress;
Shelter from the rain,
shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rain,
⁵ the roar of strangers like heat in the desert,
You subdued the heat with the shade of a cloud,
the rain of the tyrants was vanquished.
⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
⁷ On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations.
⁸ He will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ On that day it will be said:
“Indeed, this is our God; we looked to him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord to whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
¹ Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
² And it shall be, as with the people,
so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
³ The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
for the Lord has spoken this word.
⁴ The earth mourns and withers,
the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
⁵ The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,
and few men are left.
⁴ For thou hast been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the blast of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
⁵ like heat in a dry place.
Thou dost subdue the noise of the aliens;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
⁶ On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. ⁷ And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. ⁸ He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
⁹ It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
To what edoe sthe “veil the veils all peoples, the web that is woven” refer to?
This reference to the kingdom of God as a heavenly banquet is alluded to throughout elsewhere:
¹⁵ One of his fellow guests on hearing this said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. ¹⁷ When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²² The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ ²³ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. ²⁴ For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
¹¹ I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
¹ Jesus again in reply spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. ³ He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. ⁴ A second time he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’ ⁵ Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. ⁶ The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. ⁹ Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ ¹⁰ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. ¹² He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence. ¹³ Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ ¹⁴ Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
⁶ Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said:
“Alleluia!
The Lord has established his reign,
[our] God, the almighty.
⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb has come,
his bride has made herself ready.
⁸ She was allowed to wear
a bright, clean linen garment.”
(The linen represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.)
⁹ Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These words are true; they come from God.”
¹⁵ When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ¹⁶ But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet, and invited many; ¹⁷ and at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for all is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it; I pray you, have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them; I pray you, have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported this to his master. Then the householder in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and maimed and blind and lame.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
¹¹ I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹² while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”
¹ And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, ³ and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ ⁵ But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; ¹² and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
⁶ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying,
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
⁷ Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
⁸ it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
⁹ And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”
How do these parables both extend and limit those to whom the heavenly banquet is extended?
Bodily resurrection: perhaps?#
Verse 19 in Chapter 26 is the result of some seriously complicated translation effort:
¹⁷ As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in pain,
so were we before you, Lord.
¹⁸ We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth only to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
no inhabitants for the world were born.
¹⁹ But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise!
Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and you cause the land of shades to give birth.
¹⁷ Like a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
when she is near her time,
so were we because of thee, O Lord;
¹⁸ we were with child, we writhed,
we have as it were brought forth wind.
We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
¹⁹ Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
Ezekiel uses this type of language to describe a metaphorical renewal of Israel post-exile:
¹ The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the broad valley. It was filled with bones. ² He made me walk among them in every direction. So many lay on the surface of the valley! How dry they were! ³ He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come back to life? “Lord God,” I answered, “you alone know that.” ⁴ Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Listen! I will make breath enter you so you may come to life. ⁶ I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put breath into you so you may come to life. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
¹¹ He said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel! They are saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” ¹² Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am going to open your graves; I will make you come up out of your graves, my people, and bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! ¹⁴ I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken; I will do it—oracle of the Lord.
¹ The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, thou knowest.” ⁴ Again he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done it, says the Lord.”
There is definitely unclear translation happening.
Hebrew
Translation
יִֽחְיוּ
shall live (plural)
מֵתֶיךָ
thy dead (plural)
_
together with
_
men
נְבֵלָתִי
my dead body (singular)
יְקוּמוּן
shall they arise
Greek
Translation (?)
ἀναστήσονται
arise (plural)
οἱ
these
νεκροί
dead (plural)
καὶ
and
ἐγερθήσονται
rise (plural)
οἱ
these
ἐν
in
τοῖς
which
μνημείοις
sepulchres (plural)
καὶ
and
εὐφρανθήσονται
rejoice
…
…
The King James version retains some of this: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”
What are we to make of the singular my dead body?
Vineyard revival#
² On that day—
The pleasant vineyard, sing about it!
³ I, the Lord, am its keeper,
I water it every moment;
Lest anyone harm it,
night and day I guard it.
⁴ I am not angry.
But if I were to find briers and thorns,
In battle I would march against it;
I would burn it all.
⁵ But if it holds fast to my refuge,
it shall have peace with me;
it shall have peace with me.
⁶ In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall sprout and blossom,
covering all the world with fruit.
¹ Now let me sing of my friend,
my beloved’s song about his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
² He spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
Within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he waited for the crop of grapes,
but it yielded rotten grapes.
³ Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem, people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
⁴ What more could be done for my vineyard
that I did not do?
Why, when I waited for the crop of grapes,
did it yield rotten grapes?
⁵ Now, I will let you know
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
Take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!
⁶ Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but will be overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to rain upon it.
⁷ The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
the people of Judah, his cherished plant;
He waited for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry!
² In that day:
“A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!
³ I, the Lord, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest any one harm it,
I guard it night and day;
⁴ I have no wrath.
Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
I would set out against them,
I would burn them up together.
⁵ Or let them lay hold of my protection,
let them make peace with me,
let them make peace with me.”
⁶ In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots,
and fill the whole world with fruit.
¹ Let me sing for my beloved
a love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
² He digged it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
³ And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, between me
and my vineyard.
⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
⁵ And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but behold, a cry!
How do these two Song of the Vineyard’s compare? What do we learn from the combination ofthese two?
“The city”#
² You who were full of noise,
tumultuous city,
exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword,
nor killed in battle.
⁷ The new wine mourns, the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted groan.
⁸ Stilled are the cheerful timbrels,
ended the shouts of the jubilant,
stilled the cheerful harp.
⁹ They no longer drink wine and sing;
strong brew is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰ Broken down is the city of chaos,
every house is shut against entry.
¹¹ In the streets they cry out for lack of wine;
all joy has grown dim,
cheer is exiled from the land.
¹² In the city nothing remains but desolation,
gates battered into ruins.
¹ O Lord, you are my God,
I extol you, I praise your name;
For you have carried out your wonderful plans of old,
faithful and true.
² For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin,
The castle of the insolent, a city no more,
not ever to be rebuilt.
¹ On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah:
“A strong city have we;
he sets up victory as our walls and ramparts.
² Open up the gates
that a righteous nation may enter,
one that keeps faith.
³ With firm purpose you maintain peace;
in peace, because of our trust in you.”
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever!
For the Lord is an eternal Rock.
⁵ He humbles those who dwell on high,
the lofty city he brings down,
Brings it down to the ground,
levels it to the dust.
⁶ The feet of the needy trample on it—
the feet of the poor.
⁷ The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.
¹⁰ For the fortified city shall be desolate,
an abandoned pasture, a forsaken wilderness;
There calves shall graze, there they shall lie down,
and consume its branches.
¹¹ When its boughs wither, they shall be broken off;
and women shall come to kindle fires with them.
For this is not an understanding people;
therefore their maker shall not spare them;
their creator shall not be gracious to them.
² you who are full of shoutings,
tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword
or dead in battle.
⁷ The wine mourns,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
⁸ The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
⁹ No more do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
¹⁰ The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that none can enter.
¹¹ There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
¹² Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
¹ O Lord, thou art my God;
I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;
for thou hast done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
² For thou hast made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
¹ In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
² Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith
may enter in.
³ Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.
⁴ Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord God
is an everlasting rock.
⁵ For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
⁶ The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”
⁷ The way of the righteous is level;
thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous.
¹⁰ For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes,
there he lies down, and strips its branches.
¹¹ When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
For this is a people without discernment;
therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them,
he that formed them will show them no favor.
The harvest and the threshing floor#
Harvest imagery is also present, which is prescient this week:
¹⁰ To you, who have been threshed,
beaten on my threshing floor,
What I have heard
from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
I have announced to you.
¹² On that day,
The Lord shall beat out grain
from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,
and you shall be gleaned one by one, children of Israel.
²⁴ He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. ²⁶ When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. ²⁷ The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ ²⁸ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ²⁹ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
¹⁰ O my threshed and winnowed one,
what I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel, I announce to you.
¹² In that day from the river Euphra′tes to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel.
²⁴ Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”