WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.840 Nancy: Welcome to immerse: the daily bible reading experience. 00:00:02.920 --> 00:00:04.410 Day 200 and 62 00:00:04.734 --> 00:00:08.724 therefore, this is what the Lord God of heaven's armies says. 00:00:10.074 --> 00:00:14.874 Because the people are talking like this, my messages will flame out of your mouth 00:00:15.144 --> 00:00:17.394 and burn the people like kindling wood. 00:00:18.684 --> 00:00:23.724 Oh, Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you, says the Lord. 00:00:24.474 --> 00:00:29.604 It is a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know. 00:00:30.249 --> 00:00:34.389 Whose speech you cannot understand, their weapons are deadly. 00:00:34.599 --> 00:00:36.129 Their warriors are mighty. 00:00:36.699 --> 00:00:38.889 They will devour the food of your harvest. 00:00:39.249 --> 00:00:41.559 They will devour your sons and daughters. 00:00:42.009 --> 00:00:44.409 They will devour your flocks and herds. 00:00:44.829 --> 00:00:49.659 They will devour your grapes and figs, and they will destroy your fortified 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:52.329 towns, which you think are so safe. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:58.599 Yet, even in those days, I will not blot you out completely. 00:00:59.169 --> 00:01:00.009 Says the Lord. 00:01:00.729 --> 00:01:04.809 And when your people ask, why did the Lord our God do all this to us? 00:01:05.619 --> 00:01:06.879 You must reply. 00:01:07.929 --> 00:01:12.699 You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. 00:01:13.749 --> 00:01:17.380 Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own. 00:01:19.869 --> 00:01:23.529 Make this announcement to Israel and say this to Judah. 00:01:24.369 --> 00:01:29.229 Listen, you foolish and senseless people with eyes that do not see, 00:01:29.349 --> 00:01:32.139 and ears that do not hear have you? 00:01:32.139 --> 00:01:33.399 No respect for me. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.159 Why don't you tremble in my presence? 00:01:37.089 --> 00:01:42.429 I the Lord define the ocean's, sandy shoreline as an everlasting 00:01:42.429 --> 00:01:44.889 boundary that the waters cannot cross. 00:01:45.669 --> 00:01:49.569 The waves may toss and roar, but they can never pass the boundaries. 00:01:49.569 --> 00:01:49.899 I set. 00:01:51.399 --> 00:01:54.249 But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. 00:01:54.849 --> 00:01:57.219 They have turned away and abandoned me. 00:01:58.029 --> 00:02:02.979 They do not say from the heart, let us live in awe of the Lord our God, 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:07.569 for he gives us rain each spring and fall assuring us of a harvest. 00:02:07.574 --> 00:02:11.299 When the time is right, your wickedness has deprived you 00:02:11.409 --> 00:02:12.759 of these wonderful blessings. 00:02:13.149 --> 00:02:16.359 Your sin has robbed you of all these good things. 00:02:18.024 --> 00:02:22.194 Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims 00:02:22.374 --> 00:02:24.234 like a hunter hiding in a blind. 00:02:24.954 --> 00:02:30.144 They continually set traps to catch people like a cage filled with birds. 00:02:30.594 --> 00:02:36.084 Their homes are filled with evil plots, and now they're great and rich. 00:02:36.474 --> 00:02:40.854 They're fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. 00:02:41.574 --> 00:02:46.254 They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor. 00:02:47.304 --> 00:02:51.024 Should I not punish them for this, says the Lord. 00:02:51.894 --> 00:02:54.684 Should I not avenge myself against such a nation? 00:02:55.884 --> 00:02:58.944 A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land. 00:02:59.304 --> 00:03:06.024 The prophets give false prophecies and the priests rule with an iron hand worse. 00:03:06.024 --> 00:03:08.604 Yet my people like it that way. 00:03:09.564 --> 00:03:11.784 But what will you do when the end comes? 00:03:13.269 --> 00:03:14.529 Run for your lives. 00:03:14.529 --> 00:03:17.499 You people of Benjamin get out of Jerusalem. 00:03:17.949 --> 00:03:19.749 Sound the alarm in Tacoma. 00:03:20.079 --> 00:03:21.969 Send up a signal at Beth Hacker. 00:03:22.629 --> 00:03:27.399 A powerful army is coming from the north, coming with disaster and destruction. 00:03:28.269 --> 00:03:29.229 Oh Jerusalem. 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:33.909 You are my beautiful and delicate daughter, but I will destroy you. 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:38.379 Enemies will surround you like shepherds camped around the city. 00:03:39.069 --> 00:03:41.979 Each chooses a place for his troops to devour. 00:03:42.669 --> 00:03:46.089 They shout, prepare for battle attack at noon. 00:03:46.959 --> 00:03:48.369 No, it's too late. 00:03:48.549 --> 00:03:51.459 The day is fading and the evening shadows are falling. 00:03:52.209 --> 00:03:56.139 Well, then let's attack at night and destroy her palaces. 00:03:57.159 --> 00:03:59.379 This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says. 00:04:00.249 --> 00:04:02.319 Cut down the trees for battering rams. 00:04:02.679 --> 00:04:05.409 Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. 00:04:06.069 --> 00:04:08.559 This is the city to be punished for. 00:04:08.559 --> 00:04:10.209 She is wicked through and through. 00:04:10.869 --> 00:04:12.999 She spouts evil like a fountain. 00:04:13.479 --> 00:04:16.959 Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:20.019 I always see her sickness and sores. 00:04:20.679 --> 00:04:24.669 Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn from you in disgust. 00:04:25.179 --> 00:04:31.029 Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins, a land where no one lives. 00:04:32.049 --> 00:04:34.269 This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says. 00:04:35.409 --> 00:04:39.119 Even the few who remain in Israel will be picked over again. 00:04:40.179 --> 00:04:44.439 As when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:48.009 were missed, to whom can I give warning? 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:50.139 Who will listen when I speak? 00:04:50.919 --> 00:04:53.409 Their ears are closed and they cannot hear. 00:04:53.799 --> 00:04:55.539 They scorn the word of the Lord. 00:04:56.259 --> 00:04:57.609 They don't want to listen at all. 00:04:58.869 --> 00:05:01.629 So now I am filled with the Lord's fury. 00:05:02.379 --> 00:05:04.509 Yes, I am tired of holding it in. 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:10.479 I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings 00:05:10.479 --> 00:05:15.249 of young men on husbands and wives, and on those who are old and gray. 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:19.029 Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, as will 00:05:19.029 --> 00:05:20.619 their fields and their wives. 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:26.169 For I will raise my powerful fist against the people of this land, says 00:05:26.169 --> 00:05:29.259 the Lord from the least to the greatest. 00:05:29.469 --> 00:05:31.389 Their lives are ruled by greed. 00:05:31.974 --> 00:05:35.184 From prophets to priests, they're all frauds. 00:05:35.664 --> 00:05:39.264 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. 00:05:39.894 --> 00:05:43.404 They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. 00:05:44.334 --> 00:05:46.824 Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? 00:05:47.754 --> 00:05:48.564 Not at all. 00:05:49.314 --> 00:05:50.964 They don't even know how to blush. 00:05:51.684 --> 00:05:54.504 Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. 00:05:55.074 --> 00:05:59.034 They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord. 00:06:00.579 --> 00:06:02.019 This is what the Lord says. 00:06:02.859 --> 00:06:05.289 Stop at the crossroads and look around. 00:06:06.159 --> 00:06:10.029 Ask for the old godly way and walk in it. 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:14.559 Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:18.909 But you reply, no, that's not the road we want. 00:06:19.809 --> 00:06:25.419 I posted watchmen over you who said, listen for the sound of the alarm, but 00:06:25.419 --> 00:06:28.779 you replied, no, we won't pay attention. 00:06:29.859 --> 00:06:34.809 Therefore, listen to this all you nations take note of my people's situation. 00:06:35.499 --> 00:06:39.609 Listen, all the earth, I will bring disaster on my people. 00:06:40.359 --> 00:06:44.469 It is the fruit of their own schemes because they refuse to listen to me. 00:06:45.159 --> 00:06:46.719 They have rejected my word. 00:06:47.469 --> 00:06:50.769 There's no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba. 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:54.999 Keep your fragrance calamus imported from distant lands. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:57.609 I will not accept your burnt offerings. 00:06:58.404 --> 00:07:01.254 Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me. 00:07:02.334 --> 00:07:04.674 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. 00:07:05.724 --> 00:07:08.064 I will put obstacles in my people's path. 00:07:08.604 --> 00:07:11.364 Fathers and sons will both fall over them. 00:07:11.844 --> 00:07:14.214 Neighbors and friends will die together. 00:07:15.204 --> 00:07:16.584 This is what the Lord says. 00:07:17.574 --> 00:07:22.824 Look, a great army coming from the north, a great nation is rising 00:07:22.824 --> 00:07:24.654 against you from far off lands. 00:07:25.134 --> 00:07:27.384 They are armed with bows and spears. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.099 They are cruel and show no mercy. 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:32.589 They sound like a roaring sea. 00:07:32.949 --> 00:07:36.639 As they ride forward on horses, they are coming in battle 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.099 formation, planning to destroy you. 00:07:39.489 --> 00:07:40.839 Beautiful Jerusalem. 00:07:41.979 --> 00:07:45.999 We have heard reports about the enemy and we wr our hands in fright. 00:07:46.749 --> 00:07:50.469 Pangs of anguish have gripped us like those of a woman in labor. 00:07:51.249 --> 00:07:54.369 Don't go out to the fields, don't travel on the roads. 00:07:54.969 --> 00:07:59.019 The enemy's sword is everywhere and terrorizes us at every turn. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:01.539 Oh, my people. 00:08:01.749 --> 00:08:07.809 Dress yourselves in burlap and sit among the ashes, mourn and weep bitterly. 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:13.419 As for the loss of an only son, for suddenly the destroying 00:08:13.424 --> 00:08:14.799 armies will be upon you. 00:08:16.389 --> 00:08:20.589 Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of medals that you may 00:08:20.589 --> 00:08:22.419 determine the quality of my people. 00:08:23.424 --> 00:08:26.064 They're the worst kind of rebel, full of slander. 00:08:26.634 --> 00:08:30.924 They are as hard as bronze and iron and they lead others into corruption. 00:08:31.854 --> 00:08:36.684 The bellows fiercely fan the flames to burn out the corruption, but it does not 00:08:36.684 --> 00:08:39.714 purify them for the wickedness remains. 00:08:40.884 --> 00:08:47.334 I will label them rejected silver for I the Lord am discarding them. 00:08:48.804 --> 00:08:51.024 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:54.999 He said, go to the entrance of the Lord's temple and give 00:08:54.999 --> 00:08:56.379 this message to the people. 00:08:57.579 --> 00:09:00.579 Oh, Judah, listen to this message from the Lord. 00:09:00.999 --> 00:09:01.899 Listen to it. 00:09:02.379 --> 00:09:05.919 All of you who worship here, this is what the Lord of Heaven's 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.139 armies, the God of Israel says. 00:09:09.339 --> 00:09:14.619 Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your 00:09:14.619 --> 00:09:18.849 own land, but don't be fooled by those who promise you safety. 00:09:19.209 --> 00:09:22.839 Simply because the Lord's temple is here, they chant. 00:09:23.169 --> 00:09:26.469 The Lord's temple is here, the Lord's temple is here. 00:09:27.189 --> 00:09:31.599 But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds 00:09:31.749 --> 00:09:36.309 and start treating each other with justice only if you stop exploiting 00:09:36.309 --> 00:09:38.319 foreigners, orphans, and widows. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:43.029 Only if you stop your murdering and only if you stop harming 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:44.859 yourselves by worshiping idols. 00:09:45.819 --> 00:09:50.259 Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. 00:09:51.189 --> 00:09:53.709 Don't be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer 00:09:53.709 --> 00:09:55.029 because the temple is here. 00:09:55.959 --> 00:09:56.739 It's a lie. 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:03.429 Do you really think you can steal murder, commit adultery, lie and burn 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:08.679 incense to bail and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:11.019 stand before me in my temple and chant. 00:10:11.259 --> 00:10:12.099 We are safe. 00:10:13.074 --> 00:10:17.604 Only to go right back to all those evils again, don't you yourselves 00:10:17.604 --> 00:10:22.944 admit that this temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves. 00:10:23.844 --> 00:10:26.454 Surely I see all the evil going on there. 00:10:27.444 --> 00:10:29.244 I the Lord have spoken. 00:10:30.744 --> 00:10:35.694 Go now to the place that Shiloh, where I once put the tabernacle that bore my name. 00:10:36.474 --> 00:10:40.614 See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites. 00:10:41.469 --> 00:10:46.119 While you were doing these wicked things, says the Lord, I spoke to you about it 00:10:46.119 --> 00:10:48.459 repeatedly, but you would not listen. 00:10:49.029 --> 00:10:52.179 I called out to you but you refused to answer. 00:10:52.959 --> 00:10:58.239 So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this temple that bears my name, 00:10:58.719 --> 00:11:01.359 this temple that you trust in for help. 00:11:01.959 --> 00:11:04.569 This place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.519 And I will send you out of my sight into exile just as I did your 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.559 relatives, the people of Israel. 00:11:12.969 --> 00:11:14.649 Pray no more for these people. 00:11:14.654 --> 00:11:17.589 Jeremiah, do not weep or pray for them. 00:11:17.739 --> 00:11:21.609 And don't beg me to help them for I will not listen to you. 00:11:22.419 --> 00:11:25.179 Don't you see what they're doing throughout the towns of Judah 00:11:25.509 --> 00:11:27.159 and in the streets of Jerusalem? 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.379 No wonder I am so angry. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.629 Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. 00:11:35.349 --> 00:11:39.909 See how the women need dough and make cakes to offer to the queen 00:11:39.909 --> 00:11:44.439 of heaven, and they pour out liquid offerings to their other idle gods. 00:11:45.099 --> 00:11:46.749 Am I the one they are hurting? 00:11:47.229 --> 00:11:48.129 Asks the Lord. 00:11:49.029 --> 00:11:53.199 Most of all, they hurt themselves to their own shame. 00:11:54.609 --> 00:11:56.679 So this is what the sovereign Lord says. 00:11:57.654 --> 00:12:00.714 I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. 00:12:01.164 --> 00:12:06.264 It's people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the 00:12:06.264 --> 00:12:08.244 unquenchable fire of my anger. 00:12:09.384 --> 00:12:14.064 This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies, the God of Israel says, take 00:12:14.069 --> 00:12:18.114 your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves. 00:12:18.954 --> 00:12:23.124 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings 00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:24.804 and sacrifices I wanted from them. 00:12:26.004 --> 00:12:27.294 This is what I told them. 00:12:28.014 --> 00:12:32.814 Obey me and I will be your God and you will be my people. 00:12:33.744 --> 00:12:37.974 Do everything as I say, and all will be well, but my 00:12:37.979 --> 00:12:39.264 people would not listen to me. 00:12:39.864 --> 00:12:43.164 They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn 00:12:43.164 --> 00:12:44.604 desires of their evil hearts. 00:12:45.534 --> 00:12:47.754 They went backward instead of forward. 00:12:48.684 --> 00:12:53.424 From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to 00:12:53.424 --> 00:12:58.944 send my servants the prophets day in and day out, but my people have not 00:12:58.949 --> 00:13:01.494 listened to me or even tried to hear. 00:13:02.214 --> 00:13:05.664 They have been stubborn and sinful, even worse than their ancestors. 00:13:07.914 --> 00:13:11.334 Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. 00:13:12.264 --> 00:13:16.464 Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. 00:13:17.529 --> 00:13:21.759 Say to them, this is the nation whose people will not obey the Lord their 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:26.649 God, and who refuse to be taught truth has vanished from among them 00:13:27.369 --> 00:13:29.379 it is no longer heard on their lips. 00:13:30.189 --> 00:13:34.029 Shave your head in mourning and weep alone on the mountains. 00:13:34.309 --> 00:13:38.289 For the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation 00:13:38.469 --> 00:13:40.119 that has provoked his fury. 00:13:41.229 --> 00:13:45.219 The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes says the Lord. 00:13:45.849 --> 00:13:49.029 They have set up their abominable idols right in the temple that 00:13:49.029 --> 00:13:51.159 bears my name, defiling it. 00:13:51.969 --> 00:13:56.529 They have built pagan shrines at tophi, the garbage dump in the valley 00:13:56.529 --> 00:14:00.849 of Ben Heim, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. 00:14:01.809 --> 00:14:04.329 I have never commanded such a horrible deeded. 00:14:04.609 --> 00:14:07.929 It never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. 00:14:09.009 --> 00:14:12.939 So beware for the time is coming, says the Lord. 00:14:13.629 --> 00:14:17.799 When that garbage dump will no longer be called tophi or the Valley of Ben 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:23.169 Heim, but the valley of slaughter, they will bury the bodies in tophi 00:14:23.289 --> 00:14:25.179 until there is no more room for them. 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:30.549 The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and 00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:32.289 no one will be left to scare them away. 00:14:33.564 --> 00:14:37.344 I will put an end to the happiest singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. 00:14:37.884 --> 00:14:41.694 The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be 00:14:41.694 --> 00:14:43.104 heard in the towns of Judah. 00:14:43.764 --> 00:14:49.044 The land will lie in complete desolation in that day, says the Lord. 00:14:49.674 --> 00:14:54.204 The enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah and 00:14:54.204 --> 00:14:58.044 the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. 00:14:58.839 --> 00:15:01.479 They will spread out their bones on the ground before the 00:15:01.479 --> 00:15:04.449 sun, moon, and stars the gods. 00:15:04.449 --> 00:15:07.029 My people have loved, served and worshiped. 00:15:07.749 --> 00:15:11.379 Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried, but will be 00:15:11.379 --> 00:15:13.599 scattered on the ground like manure. 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:19.179 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather 00:15:19.179 --> 00:15:20.679 than live where I will send them. 00:15:21.609 --> 00:15:24.459 I the Lord of Heaven's armies have spoken. 00:15:26.079 --> 00:15:26.529 Jeremiah. 00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:30.219 Say to the people, this is what the Lord says. 00:15:31.089 --> 00:15:34.179 When people fall down, don't they get up again? 00:15:34.989 --> 00:15:38.229 When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back? 00:15:39.189 --> 00:15:42.369 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? 00:15:42.939 --> 00:15:45.969 Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? 00:15:46.989 --> 00:15:50.169 They clinging tightly to their lies and will not turn around. 00:15:50.889 --> 00:15:54.129 I listen to their conversations and don't hear a word of truth. 00:15:54.669 --> 00:15:56.619 Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? 00:15:57.144 --> 00:16:00.144 Does anyone say what a terrible thing I have done? 00:16:01.344 --> 00:16:01.914 No. 00:16:02.664 --> 00:16:07.644 All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse scalloping into battle. 00:16:08.514 --> 00:16:13.824 Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the 00:16:13.824 --> 00:16:16.284 turtle dove, the swallow and the crane. 00:16:16.914 --> 00:16:21.414 They all return at the proper time each year, but not my people. 00:16:22.404 --> 00:16:24.264 They do not know the Lord's laws. 00:16:25.809 --> 00:16:29.949 How can you say we are wise because we have the word of the Lord. 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:35.409 When your teachers have twisted it by writing lies, these wise 00:16:35.409 --> 00:16:38.889 teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness. 00:16:39.429 --> 00:16:41.649 For they have rejected the word of the Lord. 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:43.449 Are they so wise? 00:16:43.449 --> 00:16:49.149 After all, I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.309 from the least to the greatest. 00:16:51.669 --> 00:16:53.499 Their lives are ruled by greed. 00:16:53.499 --> 00:16:53.559 I. 00:16:54.444 --> 00:16:54.954 Yes. 00:16:55.404 --> 00:16:57.924 Even my prophets and priests are like that. 00:16:58.584 --> 00:16:59.904 They are all frauds. 00:17:00.594 --> 00:17:04.284 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. 00:17:04.824 --> 00:17:08.244 They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. 00:17:08.994 --> 00:17:11.394 Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? 00:17:12.174 --> 00:17:12.744 Not at all. 00:17:13.314 --> 00:17:15.084 They don't even know how to blush. 00:17:16.104 --> 00:17:18.714 Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. 00:17:19.044 --> 00:17:22.344 They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord. 00:17:22.914 --> 00:17:24.654 I will surely consume them. 00:17:25.254 --> 00:17:28.044 There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes. 00:17:28.344 --> 00:17:30.264 Their fruit trees will all die. 00:17:31.194 --> 00:17:33.354 Whatever I gave them will soon be gone. 00:17:34.464 --> 00:17:36.444 I the Lord have spoken. 00:17:37.764 --> 00:17:41.244 Then the people will say, why should we wait here to die? 00:17:41.874 --> 00:17:45.474 Come let's go to the fortified towns and die there. 00:17:46.194 --> 00:17:50.004 For the Lord, our God has decreed our destruction and has given us 00:17:50.004 --> 00:17:53.334 a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the Lord. 00:17:53.844 --> 00:17:56.604 We hoped for peace, but no peace came. 00:17:57.234 --> 00:18:00.744 We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror. 00:18:02.274 --> 00:18:05.754 The snorting of the enemy's war horses can be heard all the way 00:18:05.754 --> 00:18:07.374 from the land of Dan in the north. 00:18:08.094 --> 00:18:11.364 The naying of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. 00:18:12.144 --> 00:18:16.974 They're coming to devour the land and everything in it, cities and people alike. 00:18:17.964 --> 00:18:21.594 I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:22.614 You cannot charm. 00:18:23.274 --> 00:18:26.184 They will bite you and you will die. 00:18:27.234 --> 00:18:28.914 I the Lord have spoken. 00:18:29.254 --> 00:18:31.794 My grief is beyond healing. 00:18:32.424 --> 00:18:33.714 My heart is broken. 00:18:34.464 --> 00:18:36.294 Listen to the weeping of my people. 00:18:37.044 --> 00:18:39.114 It can be heard all across the land. 00:18:39.909 --> 00:18:42.129 Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem? 00:18:42.369 --> 00:18:45.999 The people ask, is her king no longer there? 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:50.739 Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:53.169 and their worthless foreign gods? 00:18:53.529 --> 00:18:54.339 Says the Lord. 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:58.419 The harvest is finished and the summer is gone. 00:18:58.719 --> 00:18:59.619 The people cry. 00:19:00.399 --> 00:19:01.719 Yet we are not saved. 00:19:03.009 --> 00:19:05.289 I hurt with the hurt of my people. 00:19:05.979 --> 00:19:08.919 I mourn and am overcome with grief. 00:19:10.074 --> 00:19:12.054 Is there no medicine in Gilead? 00:19:12.594 --> 00:19:14.214 Is there no physician there? 00:19:15.114 --> 00:19:17.694 Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? 00:19:18.744 --> 00:19:23.484 If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears. 00:19:23.814 --> 00:19:27.594 I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. 00:19:28.674 --> 00:19:33.234 Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a traveler's shack in 00:19:33.234 --> 00:19:36.204 the desert for they're all adulterers. 00:19:36.744 --> 00:19:38.514 A pack of treacherous liars. 00:19:39.564 --> 00:19:43.284 My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. 00:19:43.764 --> 00:19:45.714 They refuse to stand up for the truth. 00:19:46.284 --> 00:19:48.084 They only go from bad to worse. 00:19:48.924 --> 00:19:51.324 They do not know me, says the Lord. 00:19:52.794 --> 00:19:53.814 Beware of your neighbor. 00:19:54.204 --> 00:19:55.584 Don't even trust your brother. 00:19:56.064 --> 00:20:00.384 For brother takes advantage of brother and friend, slander's friend. 00:20:01.074 --> 00:20:03.144 They all fool and defraud each other. 00:20:03.264 --> 00:20:04.584 No one tells the truth. 00:20:05.304 --> 00:20:07.794 With practiced tongues they tell lies. 00:20:08.004 --> 00:20:10.254 They wear themselves out with all their sinning. 00:20:10.854 --> 00:20:16.644 They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me, says the Lord. 00:20:17.724 --> 00:20:21.294 Therefore, this is what the Lord of heaven's armies says. 00:20:22.434 --> 00:20:27.564 See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. 00:20:28.584 --> 00:20:30.354 What else can I do with my people? 00:20:31.029 --> 00:20:34.119 For their tongues, shoot lies like poisoned arrows. 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:37.809 They speak friendly words to their neighbors while scheming 00:20:37.809 --> 00:20:39.099 in their heart to kill them. 00:20:40.059 --> 00:20:41.949 Should I not punish them for this? 00:20:42.249 --> 00:20:43.029 Says the Lord. 00:20:43.479 --> 00:20:48.999 Should I not avenge myself against such a nation, I will weep for the mountains 00:20:49.149 --> 00:20:54.249 and wail for the wilderness pastures for they are desolate and empty of life. 00:20:54.909 --> 00:20:56.349 The lowing of cattle is herd. 00:20:56.349 --> 00:20:59.799 No more the birds and wild animals have all fled. 00:21:01.074 --> 00:21:04.494 I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins, says the Lord. 00:21:05.304 --> 00:21:07.404 It will be a place haunted by jackals. 00:21:08.004 --> 00:21:12.114 The towns of Judah will be ghost towns with no one living in them. 00:21:13.554 --> 00:21:17.544 Who is wise enough to understand all this, who has been instructed by the 00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:19.644 Lord and can explain it to others. 00:21:20.334 --> 00:21:24.714 Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it? 00:21:25.584 --> 00:21:26.634 The Lord replies. 00:21:27.564 --> 00:21:31.404 This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions. 00:21:32.154 --> 00:21:34.224 They have refused to obey what I said. 00:21:34.944 --> 00:21:39.804 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images 00:21:39.804 --> 00:21:42.234 of Baal as their ancestors taught them. 00:21:43.404 --> 00:21:47.574 So now this is what the Lord of Heaven's armies, the God of Israel 00:21:47.574 --> 00:21:54.304 says, look, I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. 00:21:55.179 --> 00:21:58.569 I will scatter them around the world in places they and 00:21:58.569 --> 00:22:00.339 their ancestors never heard of. 00:22:00.909 --> 00:22:05.019 And even there, I will chase them with the sword until I 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:06.699 have destroyed them completely. 00:22:07.749 --> 00:22:10.059 This is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says. 00:22:11.139 --> 00:22:14.319 Consider all this and call for the mourners. 00:22:14.919 --> 00:22:18.429 Send for the women who mourn at funerals quick. 00:22:18.789 --> 00:22:20.049 Begin your weeping. 00:22:20.409 --> 00:22:22.599 Let the tears flow from your eyes. 00:22:23.124 --> 00:22:26.064 Hear the people of Jerusalem crying in despair. 00:22:26.424 --> 00:22:27.384 We are ruined. 00:22:27.864 --> 00:22:29.784 We are completely humiliated. 00:22:30.594 --> 00:22:34.104 We must leave our land because our homes have been torn down. 00:22:34.944 --> 00:22:37.464 Listen you women to the words of the Lord. 00:22:38.004 --> 00:22:40.194 Open your ears to what he has to say. 00:22:40.824 --> 00:22:43.884 Teach your daughters to teach one another. 00:22:43.884 --> 00:22:48.054 How to lament for death has crept in through our windows 00:22:48.204 --> 00:22:49.674 and has entered our mansions. 00:22:50.274 --> 00:22:52.524 It has killed off the flower of our youth. 00:22:53.124 --> 00:22:56.994 Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no 00:22:56.994 --> 00:22:58.584 longer gather in the squares. 00:22:59.604 --> 00:23:01.104 This is what the Lord says. 00:23:02.274 --> 00:23:05.364 Bodies will be scattered across the fields like clumps of 00:23:05.364 --> 00:23:07.854 manure, like bundles of grain. 00:23:07.854 --> 00:23:11.484 After the harvest, no one will be left to bury them. 00:23:13.284 --> 00:23:14.934 This is what the Lord says. 00:23:15.699 --> 00:23:20.049 Don't let the wise boast in their wisdom or the powerful boast in 00:23:20.049 --> 00:23:24.969 their power, or the rich boast in their riches, but those who wish to 00:23:24.969 --> 00:23:27.879 boast should boast in this alone. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:33.849 That they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates 00:23:33.849 --> 00:23:38.319 unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, 00:23:38.889 --> 00:23:41.289 and that I delight in these things. 00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:44.049 I the Lord have spoken. 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:49.569 A time is coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all those who are 00:23:49.569 --> 00:23:52.749 circumcised in body but not in spirit. 00:23:53.679 --> 00:23:59.529 The Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live 00:23:59.534 --> 00:24:01.299 in the desert in remote places. 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:07.539 And yes, even the people of Judah and like all these pagan nations, the people 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:10.749 of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts. 00:24:11.844 --> 00:24:14.754 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you. 00:24:14.754 --> 00:24:15.534 O Israel. 00:24:16.074 --> 00:24:17.604 This is what the Lord says. 00:24:18.894 --> 00:24:23.484 Do not act like the other nations who try to read their future in the stars. 00:24:24.054 --> 00:24:26.094 Do not be afraid of their predictions. 00:24:26.364 --> 00:24:31.614 Even though other nations are terrified by them, their ways are futile and foolish. 00:24:32.274 --> 00:24:35.544 They cut down a tree and a craftsman carves an idol. 00:24:36.399 --> 00:24:40.209 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with 00:24:40.209 --> 00:24:42.579 hammer and nails so it won't fall over. 00:24:43.689 --> 00:24:47.559 Their gods are like helpless, scarecrows in a cucumber field. 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.989 They cannot speak and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. 00:24:53.289 --> 00:24:57.609 Do not be afraid of such gods for they can neither harm 00:24:57.609 --> 00:25:01.689 you, nor do you any good Lord. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:03.429 There is no one like you. 00:25:04.209 --> 00:25:07.569 For you are great and your name is full of power. 00:25:08.529 --> 00:25:09.939 Who would not fear you? 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:11.319 Oh, king of Nations. 00:25:12.249 --> 00:25:17.559 That title belongs to you alone among all the wise people of the earth and 00:25:17.559 --> 00:25:19.119 in all the kingdoms of the world. 00:25:19.419 --> 00:25:20.889 There is no one like you. 00:25:22.539 --> 00:25:25.179 People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:27.609 The things they worship are made of wood. 00:25:28.479 --> 00:25:32.649 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold, from ufa. 00:25:33.489 --> 00:25:37.539 They give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. 00:25:38.289 --> 00:25:43.329 Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes made by expert tailors. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:46.659 But the Lord is the only true God. 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:50.379 He is the living God and the everlasting king. 00:25:51.309 --> 00:25:53.829 The whole earth trembles at his anger. 00:25:54.669 --> 00:25:56.949 The nations cannot stand up to his wrath. 00:25:58.029 --> 00:26:02.649 Say this to those who worship other gods, your so-called Gods. 00:26:03.159 --> 00:26:06.819 Who did not make the heavens and earth will vanish from the 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:08.679 earth and from under the heavens. 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:15.129 But the Lord made the earth by his power and he preserves it by his wisdom. 00:26:15.849 --> 00:26:18.789 With his own understanding, he stretched out the heavens. 00:26:19.449 --> 00:26:23.649 When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. 00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:27.039 He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. 00:26:27.399 --> 00:26:32.049 He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. 00:26:32.679 --> 00:26:36.609 The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge. 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:41.139 The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make for their 00:26:41.139 --> 00:26:43.539 carefully shaped works are a fraud. 00:26:44.409 --> 00:26:46.839 These idols have no breath or power. 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.849 Idols are worthless. 00:26:49.389 --> 00:26:51.009 They are ridiculous Lies. 00:26:51.699 --> 00:26:54.759 On the day of reckoning, they will all be destroyed. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.149 But the God of Israel is no idol. 00:26:59.379 --> 00:27:02.079 He is the creator of everything that exists. 00:27:02.679 --> 00:27:05.739 Including Israel, his own special possession. 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:09.369 The Lord of Heaven's armies is his name. 00:27:10.749 --> 00:27:12.549 Pack your bags and prepare to leave. 00:27:12.999 --> 00:27:16.899 The siege is about to begin for this is what the Lord says. 00:27:17.829 --> 00:27:21.549 Suddenly I will fling out all you who live in this land. 00:27:22.029 --> 00:27:26.769 I will pour great troubles upon you and at last you will feel my anger. 00:27:27.999 --> 00:27:31.059 My wound is severe and my grief is great. 00:27:31.569 --> 00:27:35.109 My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. 00:27:35.919 --> 00:27:40.059 My home is gone and no one is left to help me rebuild it. 00:27:40.929 --> 00:27:44.469 My children have been taken away and I will never see them again. 00:27:45.369 --> 00:27:48.039 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. 00:27:48.549 --> 00:27:50.799 They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. 00:27:51.669 --> 00:27:55.809 Therefore, they fail completely and their flocks are scattered. 00:27:56.844 --> 00:28:02.184 Listen, hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from 00:28:02.184 --> 00:28:07.974 the north, the towns of Judah will be destroyed and become a haunt for jackals. 00:28:08.994 --> 00:28:12.414 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. 00:28:13.074 --> 00:28:15.234 We are not able to plan our own course. 00:28:15.804 --> 00:28:19.434 So correct me Lord, but please be gentle. 00:28:20.484 --> 00:28:22.884 Do not correct me in anger for I would die. 00:28:24.459 --> 00:28:29.169 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you on the peoples 00:28:29.169 --> 00:28:33.969 that do not call upon your name for they have devoured your people Israel. 00:28:34.449 --> 00:28:39.369 They have devoured and consumed them making the land a desolate wilderness. 00:28:41.439 --> 00:28:44.289 This concludes today's immerse reading experience. 00:28:44.409 --> 00:28:45.349 Thank you for joining us.