Day 234 of My 3rd Bible Study Journey - 22 August 2023 reflections
Day 234, 22 August 2023
1) Jeremiah 51,52
Jeremiah 51
The Destruction of Babylon
1 (Jer 4:11-12; Hos 13:15) Thus says the Lord:
I will raise up against Babylon,
and against those who dwell in Leb Kamai,
the spirit of a destroyer.
2 (Jer 15:7; Mt 3:12) And I will send foreigners to Babylon
that they may winnow her and empty her land.
For in the day of trouble
they will be against her all around.
3 (Jer 46:4; 50:14) Let not him who bends his bow bend it,
and let him not rise up in his scale-armor,
and do not spare her young men;
utterly destroy all her host.
4 (Jer 49:26; Isa 13:15) Thus the slain will fall
in the land of the Chaldeans,
and those who are thrust through in her streets.
5 (Hos 4:1; Jer 33:24-26) For Israel has not been forsaken, nor Judah,
by his God, the Lord of Hosts,
though their land was filled with sin
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 (Jer 50:8; 50:15; 50:28) Flee out of the midst of Babylon,
and each of you deliver his soul!
Do not be cut off in her punishment,
for this is the time of the vengeance of the Lord;
He will render to her a recompense.
7 (Rev 14:8; 17:4; 17:2) Babylon has been a golden cup
in the hand of the Lord,
that made all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
therefore the nations are mad.
8 (Isa 21:9; Jer 46:11) Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed.
Howl for her.
Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9 (Isa 13:14; Jer 50:16) We applied healing to Babylon,
but she is not healed.
Forsake her, and let us each go into his own country;
for her judgment reaches to heaven
and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 (Jer 50:28; Ps 37:6) The Lord has brought forth our righteousness.
Come, and let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11 (Jer 46:4; 50:45) Sharpen the arrows.
Gather the shields.
The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.
For His device is against Babylon, to destroy it;
because it is the vengeance of the Lord,
the vengeance of His temple.
12 (Isa 13:2; Jer 51:11) Set up the standard against the walls of Babylon,
make the watch strong,
set up the watchmen,
prepare the ambushes.
For the Lord has both devised and done
that which He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 (Rev 17:1; Isa 45:3) O you who dwell by many waters,
abundant in treasures,
your end has come,
and the measure of your end.
14 (Jer 49:13; 50:15) The Lord of Hosts has sworn by Himself,
saying: Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,
and they will lift up shouts of victory against you.
[1] Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and
against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a
destroying wind;
[2] And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty
her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
[3] Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him
that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men;
destroy ye utterly all her host.
[4] Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that
are thrust through in her streets.
[5] For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of
hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
[6] Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not
cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he
will render unto her a recompence.
[7] Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the
earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations
are mad.
[8] Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for
her pain, if so she may be healed.
[9] We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and
let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto
heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
[10] The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare
in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
[11] Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the
spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to
destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his
temple.
[12] Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong,
set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised
and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
[13] O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end
is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
[14] The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill
thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against
thee.
15 (Job 9:8; Jer 10:12-16) He has made the earth by His power;
He has established the world by His wisdom,
and has stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
16 (Ps 135:7; 18:13; Jnh 1:4) When He utters His voice,
there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and He causes the clouds to ascend from the remote parts of the earth;
He makes lightning with rain,
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.
17 (Jer 10:14; Hab 2:18-19) Every man is ignorant by His knowledge;
every founder is humiliated by the graven image,
for his molded image is falsehood,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are vanity, the work of errors;
in the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 (Jer 10:16; Ps 73:26) The portion of Jacob is not like them,
for He is the former of all things,
and Israel is the rod of His inheritance.
The Lord of Hosts is His name.
20 (Isa 10:5; 41:15-16) He says: You are My battle-ax
and weapon of war:
for with you I will break in pieces the nations,
and with you I will destroy kingdoms;
21 (Ex 15:1) and with you I will break in pieces the horse and his rider;
and with you I will break in pieces the chariot and his rider.
22 (2Ch 36:17; Isa 13:18) With you also I will break in pieces man and woman;
and with you I will break in pieces old and young;
and with you I will break in pieces the young man and the young woman.
23 I will also break in pieces with you the shepherd and his flock;
and with you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen;
and with you I will break in pieces captains and rulers.
24 (Jer 50:15) I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea
all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says the Lord.
25 (Rev 8:8; Zec 4:7; Isa 13:2) I am against you, O destroying mountain,
says the Lord,
who destroys all the earth.
And I will stretch out My hand against you,
and roll you down from the rocks,
and will make you a burned mountain.
26 (Isa 13:19-22; Jer 50:12-13) They will not take of you
a stone for a corner,
or a stone for foundations,
but you will be desolate forever,
says the Lord.
27 (Ge 8:4; 10:3) Set up a standard in the land,
blow the trumpet among the nations,
prepare the nations against her,
call together against her the kingdoms
of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
appoint a captain against her.
Cause the horses to come up as the rough locusts.
28 (Jer 51:11) Prepare against her the nations,
the kings of the Medes,
the captains, and all the rulers,
and every land of their dominion.
29 (Jer 8:16; 51:43) So the land trembles and sorrows,
for the purposes of the Lord will be performed against Babylon,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant.
30 (Na 3:13; La 2:9; Isa 13:7-8) The mighty men of Babylon
have ceased fighting;
they have remained in their strongholds.
Their might has failed;
they became as women.
They have burned her dwelling places;
the bars of her gates are broken.
31 (2Sa 18:19-31; 2Ch 30:6) One courier will run to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to show the king of Babylon
that his city has been captured from end to end,
32 and the passages have been seized,
and they have burned the reeds with fire,
and the men of war are terrified.
33 (Isa 21:10; Hos 6:11) For thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel:
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor,
it is time to thresh her;
yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.
34 (Jer 50:17; 51:44) "Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
has devoured me and crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel.
He has swallowed me up like a dragon;
he has filled his belly with my delicacies,
he has cast me out.
35 May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,"
the inhabitant of Zion will say;
and, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,"
Jerusalem will say.
36 (Jer 50:38; Ps 140:12) Therefore thus says the Lord:
I will plead your cause,
and take vengeance for you.
And I will dry up her sea,
and make her springs dry.
37 (Rev 18:2; Jer 18:16) Babylon will become heaps,
a dwelling place for jackals,
an astonishment, and a hissing,
without an inhabitant.
38 (Jer 2:15) They will roar together like young lions;
they will growl as lions' whelps.
39 (Jer 51:57; 25:27) When they become heated up,
I will make their feasts,
and I will make them drunk,
that they may rejoice,
and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake,
says the Lord.
40 (Jer 50:27) I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams with male goats.
41 (Jer 25:26; Isa 13:19) How Sheshak has been captured!
And how the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an astonishment
among the nations!
42 (Isa 8:7-8; Da 9:26) The sea has come up over Babylon;
she has been covered with the multitude of the waves.
43 (Isa 13:20; Jer 2:6) Her cities have become a desolation,
a dry land and a wilderness,
a land in which no man dwells,
through which no son of man passes.
44 (Jer 51:34; 51:58) I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and I will bring forth from his mouth what he has swallowed up;
and the nations will not flow together any more to him.
Indeed, the wall of Babylon will fall.
45 (Jer 51:6; Isa 48:20) My people, go out of her midst,
and deliver every man his soul
from the fierce anger of the Lord,
46 (2Ki 19:7; Isa 13:3-5) lest your heart grows faint, and you are afraid
for the report that will be heard in the land-
for the report will come one year, and after that in another year will come
another report,
and violence will be in the land,
ruler against ruler-
47 (Jer 50:2; Isa 46:1-2) therefore the days are coming
when I will punish the graven images of Babylon;
and her whole land will be humiliated,
and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 (Isa 44:23; Rev 18:20) Then the heaven and the earth,
and all that is in it,
shall sing for joy over Babylon;
for the destroyers will come to her
from the north,
says the Lord.
49 (Jer 50:29; 51:24) As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
so at Babylon the slain of all the earth will fall.
50 (Jer 44:28; Dt 4:29-31) You who have escaped the sword,
go away, do not stand still.
Remember the Lord afar off,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 (La 1:10; Ps 44:13-16) We are humiliated
because we have heard reproach.
Shame has covered our faces,
for strangers have come into
the holy places of the house of the Lord.
52 (Jer 51:47; 50:38) Therefore, surely the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will punish her graven images,
and the mortally wounded shall groan
through all her land.
53 (Jer 49:16; Ge 11:4) Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
and though she should fortify the height of her strength,
yet from Me will destroyers come to her,
says the Lord.
54 (Jer 50:22; 48:3-5) A sound of an outcry comes from Babylon,
and great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans,
55 because the Lord has devastated Babylon,
and destroyed the great voice out of her.
When her waves roar like great waters,
a noise of their voice is uttered.
56 (Ps 46:9; 94:1-2) Because the destroyer is coming against her,
even upon Babylon, and her mighty men will be captured,
every one of their bows are broken.
For the Lord is a God of recompense;
He will completely repay.
57 (Jer 46:18; 25:27) I will make her officials drunk, and her wise men,
her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men;
and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake,
says the King whose name is the Lord of Hosts.
58 (Jer 51:64; Hab 2:13) Thus says the Lord of Hosts:
The broad wall of Babylon will be utterly broken,
and her high gates will be burned with fire;
and the peoples will labor in vain,
and the nations become exhausted only for fire.
[15] He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by
his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
[16] When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he
maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his
treasures.
[17] Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by
the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath
in them.
[18] They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation
they shall perish.
[19] The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all
things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his
name.
[20] Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break
in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
[21] And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with
thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
[22] With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will
I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the
young man and the maid;
[23] I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and
with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and
with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
[24] And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea
all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
[25] Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which
destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
[26] And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
[27] Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations,
prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of
Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the
horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
[28] Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the
captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his
dominion.
[29] And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD
shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant.
[30] The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in
their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have
burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
[31] One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another,
to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
[32] And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with
fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
[33] For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of
Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little
while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
[34] Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed
me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon,
he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
[35] The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the
inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall
Jerusalem say.
[36] Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take
vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
[37] And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an
astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
[38] They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lion's whelps.
[39] In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken,
that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the
LORD.
[40] I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he
goats.
[41] How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth
surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
[42] The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of
the waves thereof.
[43] Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land
wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
[44] And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his
mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
[45] My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his
soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
[46] And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be
heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in
another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against
ruler.
[47] Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the
graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all
her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
[48] Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for
Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the
LORD.
[49] As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall
fall the slain of all the earth.
[50] Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the
LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
[51] We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered
our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house.
[52] Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do
judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall
groan.
[53] Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify
the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith
the LORD.
[54] A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the
land of the Chaldeans:
[55] Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the
great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their
voice is uttered:
[56] Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty
men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of
recompences shall surely requite.
[57] And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and
her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and
not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
[58] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be
utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people
shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 (Jer 32:12; 36:4) The word which Jeremiah the prophet
commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah,
when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon
in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a quartermaster.
60 (Isa 30:8; Jer 30:2-3) So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll
all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words
that are written against Babylon.
61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, then see
that you read aloud all these words,
62 (Jer 50:3; 50:13) and say, 'O Lord, You have spoken against
this place to cut it off, that no one will remain in it,
neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever.'
63 (Jer 19:10-11; Rev 18:21) It will be that when you have made
an end of reading this scroll that you will bind a stone to it,
and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,
64 (Jer 51:58; Job 31:40) and say, 'Thus Babylon will sink
and not rise from the disaster that I will bring upon her,
and they will become weary.' "
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
[59] The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of
Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah
into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet
prince.
[60] So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon,
even all these words that are written against Babylon.
[61] And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt
see, and shalt read all these words;
[62] Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to
cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it
shall be desolate for ever.
[63] And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that
thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:
[64] And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from
the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are
the words of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 52
The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed
2Ki 24:18-20; 25:1-21; 2Ch 36:11-20; Jer 39:1-10
1 (2Ki 24:18; Jos 10:29) Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 (1Ki 14:22) He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all
that Jehoiakim had done.
3 (2Ch 36:13; Isa 3:4-5) Through the anger of the Lord this came to pass in
Jerusalem and Judah until He had cast them out from His presence.
Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah 52
[1] Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
[2] And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all
that Jehoiakim had done.
[3] For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and
Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled
against the king of Babylon.
4 (Jer 39:1; Eze 24:1-2) In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,
he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it;
they built a siege wall all around it.
5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
[4] And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he
and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts
against it round about.
[5] So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 (Isa 3:1; 2Ki 25:3) In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month,
the famine was so severe in the city that there was no bread for the people
of the land.
7 (2Ki 25:4; Jer 39:4-7) Then the city was breached, and all the men of war
fled and went out of the city by night by way of the gate between
the two walls, which was by the king's garden, though the Chaldeans
were all around the city, and they went by way of the Arabah.
8 (Jer 21:7; 32:4) But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king
and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,
and all his army was scattered from him.
9 (Nu 13:21; Jer 39:5) Then they took the king and carried him up
to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath
where he passed sentence on him.
10 (Jer 22:30; 2Ki 25:7) The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah
before his eyes; he also slew all the officials of Judah in Riblah.
11 (Eze 12:13) Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babylon
bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison
until the day of his death.
[6] And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was
sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
[7] Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth
out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which
was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:)
and they went by the way of the plain.
[8] But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
[9] Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to
Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
[10] And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he
slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
[11] Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him
in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of
his death.
The Temple Burned
12 (2Ki 25:8; Jer 39:9; 52:29) Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day
of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon came into
Jerusalem,
13 (2Ch 36:19; Ps 79:1) and burned the house of the Lord,
and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem.
Even all the large houses, he burned with fire.
14 (Ne 1:3; 2Ki 25:10) And all the army of the Chaldeans who were
with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem
all around.
15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
some of the poorest of the people, and the rest of the people
who remained in the city, and those who fell away, who fell
to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
16 (2Ki 25:12) But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left
some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 (Jer 27:19-22; 2Ch 4:12-15) Also the pillars of bronze
that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands,
and the bronze sea that was in the house of the Lord,
the Chaldeans broke and carried all their bronze to Babylon.
18 (Ex 27:3; Nu 4:14) The cauldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers,
and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with
which they ministered, they took away.
19 (1Ki 7:49-50) The captain of the guard also took away the basins,
and the fire pans, and the bowls, and the cauldrons, and the lampstands,
and the spoons, and the cups, what was of fine gold,
and what was of fine silver.
20 (1Ki 7:47; 2Ki 25:16) The two pillars, one sea, and twelve bronze bulls
that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made
in the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
21 (2Ki 25:17) Concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar
was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference a
nd in thickness it was four fingers,
[About 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference,
or 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference.]
and hollow.
22 A capital of bronze was upon it, and the height of one capital was five
cubits, [About 7 1/2 feet, or 2.3 meters.] with network and pomegranates
upon the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also
and the pomegranates were like these.
23 (1Ki 7:20) There were 96 pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates
were a hundred upon the network all around.
The Babylonian Exile
24 (2Ki 25:18; 1Ch 6:14; Jer 21:1) The captain of the guard took Seraiah
the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,
and the three officers of the temple.
25 (Est 1:14; 2Ki 25:19) He also took out of the city one official
who had charge of the men of war, and seven men of the advisers
of the king who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander
of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men
of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.
26 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them
and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
27 (Isa 6:11-12; 27:10) The king of Babylon struck them
and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath.
Thus Judah was carried away captive out of its own land.
[12] Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the
nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan,
captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
[13] And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the
houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
[14] And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the
guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
[15] Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain
of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in
the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and
the rest of the multitude.
[16] But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of
the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
[17] Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the
bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans
brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
[18] The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls,
and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took
they away.
[19] And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and
the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in
gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard
away.
[20] The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the
bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of
all these vessels was without weight.
[21] And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen
cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness
thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
[22] And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was
five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about,
all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto
these.
[23] And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the
pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
[24] And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and
Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
[25] He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men
of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which were
found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the
people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were
found in the midst of the city.
[26] So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought
them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
[27] And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in
the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own
land.
28 (2Ki 24:2-3; 24:12-16) These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar
carried away captive:
in the seventh year three thousand and twenty-three Jews.
29 (Jer 52:12) In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar
he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons.
30 In the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
of the Jews 745.
All the persons were 4600 .
[28] This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the
seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
[29] In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from
Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
[30] In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the
captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty
and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
Jehoiachin Released
2Ki 25:27-30
31 (Ge 40:13; 40:20) In the 37th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin,
king of Judah, in the 12th month, on the 25th day of the month,
Awel-Marduk, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign lifted up
the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison,
32 and spoke kindly to him, and set his throne
above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
33 (2Sa 9:7; Ge 41:14) Therefore Jehoiachin changed his prison garments
and continually ate meals before him all the days of his life.
34 (2Sa 9:10) For his allowance, there was a continual allowance
given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion all the days
of his life until the day of his death.
[31] And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth
day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of
his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him
forth out of prison,
[32] And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the
kings that were with him in Babylon,
[33] And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread
before him all the days of his life.
[34] And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of
Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his
life.
2) Our Daily Bread for 22 August 2023 titled God's Eternal Church
Ephesians 2:14-22 , Matthew 16:18
14 (Gal 3:28; Mic 5:5) For He is our peace, who has made both groups one
and has broken down the barrier of the dividing wall,
15 (Col 2:14; 2:20) by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, that is,
the law of the commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself
He might make the two into one new man, thus making peace,
16 (Eph 2:15; Col 1:20-22) and that He might reconcile both to God
into one body through the cross, thereby slaying the enmity.
17 (Ps 148:14; Dt 4:7) And He came and preached peace to you who were
far away and peace to those who were near.
18 (1Co 12:13; Eph 3:12) For through Him we both have access by one
Spirit to the Father.
19 (Gal 6:10; Php 3:20) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers
and foreigners, but are fellow citizens with the saints and members
of the household of God,
20 (Mt 16:18; Isa 28:16; Rev 21:14) having been built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone,
21 (1Co 3:16-17) in whom the entire building, tightly framed together,
grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 (1Co 3:16) in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling
place of God through the Spirit.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us;
[15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so
making peace;
[16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:
[17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them
that were nigh.
[18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
[19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
[20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord:
[22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit.
18 (Jn 1:42; Job 38:17) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
"Is church over?" asked a young mother arriving at our church with two
children in tow just as the Sunday service was ending. But a greeter told her
that a church nearby offered two Sunday services and the second would start
soon. Would she like a ride there? The young mother said yes and seemed
grateful to travel the few blocks to the other church. Reflecting later, the
greeter came to this conclusion: "Is church over? Never. God's church goes
on forever."
The church isn't a fragile "building." It's the faithful family of God who
are "members of his household," wrote Paul, "built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In
him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling
in which God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Jesus Himself established His church for eternity. He declared that despite
challenges or troubles facing His church, "the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18 kjv).
Through this empowering lens, we can see our local churches-all of us-as a
part of God's universal church, being built "in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, for ever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:21).
By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What about your local church makes you grateful?
How can you help God's universal church grow?
As a part of Your church, dear Jesus, keep building me in You.
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 5 Rejoice in Grace - Day 3 The song of Exaltation
Exodus 15:2
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
2 The LORD is my strength and song,
And he is become my salvation:
He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation;
My father's God, and I will exalt him.
The world is full of music that communicates human emotion:
love, joy, sadness, separation.
A love song makes us misty-eyed; a song of protest arouses anger; a song
describing loss stimulates feelings of hurt and abandonment.
Music is a powerful force to sway the human spirit.
Exodus 15:2 indicates that God should be the source of the songs in our hearts.
Human emotions vacillate; human relationships disappoint,
but God is our "strength" and our "song".
To exalt the Lord includes many different type of "songs".
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket," one woman complained.
"How can I sing to the Lord anything that will be pleasing to him?"
But the Lord does not delight in the professionalism of our songs,
but in the motivation of our hearts. We can "sing to the Lord"
when we enjoy a Bach organ piece played for his glory.
We can exalt him in the words of Scripture - either remembered or sung.
We can worship him by enjoying the songs of others.
The key to making the Lord our song is exaltation. When our thoughts
lift him up in praise, we are singing a song of exaltation to the Lord.
When God is exalted in our songs, in our hearts, and in our thoughts,
that focus gives strength to our lives. We can face the difficulties
that are an inevitable part of experience,
because God is our "strength and our song".
Application
a) What is the difference between a song that is professionally performed
and one that exalts the Lord?
b) What practical steps can I take to make
my daily life a "song of praise" to God?
4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland
Romans 13:7-8
7 (Mt 17:25; 22:21) Render to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes
are due, respect to whom respect is due, fear to whom fear is due,
and honor to whom honour is due.
8 (Ro 13:10; Mt 7:12) Owe no one anything, except to love one another,
for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
God's Eternal Faithfulness
Ps 117
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations! Exalt Him, all you peoples!
2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
1 O praise the LORD,
All ye nations: Praise him, all ye people.
2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.
Praise ye the LORD.
Remember God's promises when You pray
The Lord's prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 (Mt 3:2; 4:17) Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 (Pr 30:8; Isa 33:16) Give us this day our daily bread.
12 (Ex 34:7; Ps 32:1) And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 (1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
New Brunswick
Total population 753900
Muslim population (est.) 4543
Moncton, followed by Fredericton and Saint John, each have a growing Muslim
population in New Brunswick, In 2007, the building that was formerly a Baptist
church was converted into Moncton's 1st mosque. The University of Moncton
also has a Muslim student association hosting prayer services, fellowship
getherings, and outreaches on campus.
Fredericton also has one mosque and a Muslim student association serving the
campuses of the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University.
Fredericton's Muslim population consists in 2014 of about 50 families,
and between 300 to 400 university students.
Saint John is home to the 1st Muslim Association for the province,
which also helped foster the Islamic associations of Fredericton and Moncton.
a 'musalla', or prayer location that is not officially structured as a mosque,
has been established in the Uptown area with the intention of seeing it grow
into a 2nd official place of Muslim worship. Demand for this new location has
been primarily for university students moving into the area.
Pray for Muslims and New Brunswick
- that the eyes of pastors, believers and entire congregations will be opened
to see this growing body of Muslims, and their hearts will be opened
to sharing God's love in Jesus Christ with them
- that intentional ministries to Muslims will grow and flourish in these
areas of concentration
- that cooperative CNNMM Networks will form to really, encourage,
and equip believers to lovingly reach Muslims in this province.
Adding further
30 days of prayer for the Muslim World 24 April to 23 May 2020
Under the Keep Praying page
When the new moon is sighted it marks the beginning of t he new Islamic month
and Eid al-Fitr, the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", will start! After 30 days
of fasting, the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan is a joyful time that
usually lasts about 3 days. Muslims will buy new clothes, exchange gifts and,
of course, enjoy special foods. In Muslim-majority nations, the streets may be
decorated and festivals will be held.
For many Muslims, Eid-al-Fitr begins with communal prayers at daybreak and the
distribution of money (zakat) to the poor, which is one of the 5 pillars of
Islam.
You can greet Muslim friends during this time by saying "Eid Mubarak",
which means Blessed Eid!"
Ramadan is over for this year, but you can continue to pray for Muslims you
know, and Muslims around the world:
- Despite the unsettling developments in our world today that involve actions
in the name of Islam, there is at the same time a largely untold story about
unprecedented movement to Christ among Muslims. There have been more such
movements of thousands or more new disciples among Muslims in the last three
decades or so than in all the previous history of Christian Muslim
relationships! Pray for this momentum to continue.
Acts 2:12-17 : 17 12 They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other,
"What does this mean?"
13 (1Co 14:23) Others mocking said, "These men are full of new wine."
Peter's Speech at Pentecost
14 (Ac 1:26) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice
and said to them, "Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 (Isa 44:3; Ac 10:45) 'In the last days it shall be,' says God,
'that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.'
- Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to inspire you to have god's heart for
Muslims, to see them as He does, and to be the light that then to Jesus.
Matthew 5:14-15 : 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under
a basket, but on a candlestick. And it gives light to all who are in the
house."
Ideas for prayer
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
And
Thank you for praying through the
5 Days of Prayer for Sikhs.
"My name is Kam. I'm 29 years of age, and I grew up Sikh. As a teenager,
I struggled with depression, brokenness, and addiction to
cannabis. I didn't know how to stop or how to get help.
Then a friend invited me to church. As I spent time with Christians
and heard the message of the Gospel, I experienced the
love of Jesus Christ, and it was like nothing I'd known before.
One night I had a dream where I saw Him - a figure surrounded by
light who I knew was Jesus, the light of the world.
As I began to understand the gospel message, I encountered a reassuring and
confident solution to the problem of sin. I knew that I needed a solution
to my sin problem, and I gave my life to Christ.
Slowly, God began to heal my broken heart and my addiction.
Nine years have passed, and I am a devoted husband and a father
to two beautiful boys. I grow deeper in love with Jesus each day.
I ask you to continue praying with me, and others around the world, for Sikhs.
God is the only one who can draw people to Himself. He works in and through
the prayers of His people. I want Sikhs to know the freedom
and healing that is only available through Jesus Christ."
13 (Ro 14:17; 12:12) Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope,
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[13] Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that
ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
ROMANS 15:13
My paternal side is of Muslim heritage and will offer this section to further
call for Muslim converts to Christian and any other converts to Christianity
(Hindus, Jews, aboriginals Canadian, atheists, secular humanists, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
22 Day of the Month
a) Pray for the Province of Quebec
I) Pray for the leaders of Quebec,
that God's Spirit would influence
then to act justly,
serve with integrity
and honour high moral standards. ( 1 Tim 2:1 - 4
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone,
2 (Ezr 6:10) for kings and for all who are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty,
3(1Ti 1:1; Lk 1:47) for this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 (Eze 18:23; 18:32)who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
II) Pray for the churches of the province,
that they would be lighthouses
beaming forth the illuminating truth of God's Word.
III) Pray that the Lord would use
the Finding the Hope Campaign
and booklet to turn many hearts to Jesus
b) Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
(
2 Cor 10: 3 - 5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds,
5 casting down imaginations and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ;
)
Conclusion:
Pray to the Lord and pray a prayer of intersession for your nation.
Pray to the Lord: "As a part of Your church, dear Jesus,
keep building me in You."
Pray to the Lord and pray to give Him a Song of Praise.
Pray to the Lord and pray to owe no one.
Pray for Muslims and New Brunswick
- that the eyes of pastors, believers and entire congregations will be opened
to see this growing body of Muslims, and their hearts will be opened
to sharing God's love in Jesus Christ with them
- that intentional ministries to Muslims will grow and flourish in these
areas of concentration
- that cooperative CNNMM Networks will form to really, encourage,
and equip believers to lovingly reach Muslims in this province.
Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
Pray for the healing of Indonesian Christians who have witnessed the
martyrdom of other believers.
Pray to the Lord that to know the Holy Spirit.
and Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
Remember eternity starts now -
Pray for the direction you take to the Ever lasting loving God.
1) Jeremiah 51,52
Jeremiah 51
The Destruction of Babylon
1 (Jer 4:11-12; Hos 13:15) Thus says the Lord:
I will raise up against Babylon,
and against those who dwell in Leb Kamai,
the spirit of a destroyer.
2 (Jer 15:7; Mt 3:12) And I will send foreigners to Babylon
that they may winnow her and empty her land.
For in the day of trouble
they will be against her all around.
3 (Jer 46:4; 50:14) Let not him who bends his bow bend it,
and let him not rise up in his scale-armor,
and do not spare her young men;
utterly destroy all her host.
4 (Jer 49:26; Isa 13:15) Thus the slain will fall
in the land of the Chaldeans,
and those who are thrust through in her streets.
5 (Hos 4:1; Jer 33:24-26) For Israel has not been forsaken, nor Judah,
by his God, the Lord of Hosts,
though their land was filled with sin
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 (Jer 50:8; 50:15; 50:28) Flee out of the midst of Babylon,
and each of you deliver his soul!
Do not be cut off in her punishment,
for this is the time of the vengeance of the Lord;
He will render to her a recompense.
7 (Rev 14:8; 17:4; 17:2) Babylon has been a golden cup
in the hand of the Lord,
that made all the earth drunk.
The nations have drunk of her wine;
therefore the nations are mad.
8 (Isa 21:9; Jer 46:11) Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed.
Howl for her.
Take balm for her pain;
perhaps she may be healed.
9 (Isa 13:14; Jer 50:16) We applied healing to Babylon,
but she is not healed.
Forsake her, and let us each go into his own country;
for her judgment reaches to heaven
and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 (Jer 50:28; Ps 37:6) The Lord has brought forth our righteousness.
Come, and let us declare in Zion
the work of the Lord our God.
11 (Jer 46:4; 50:45) Sharpen the arrows.
Gather the shields.
The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes.
For His device is against Babylon, to destroy it;
because it is the vengeance of the Lord,
the vengeance of His temple.
12 (Isa 13:2; Jer 51:11) Set up the standard against the walls of Babylon,
make the watch strong,
set up the watchmen,
prepare the ambushes.
For the Lord has both devised and done
that which He spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 (Rev 17:1; Isa 45:3) O you who dwell by many waters,
abundant in treasures,
your end has come,
and the measure of your end.
14 (Jer 49:13; 50:15) The Lord of Hosts has sworn by Himself,
saying: Surely I will fill you with men, as with locusts,
and they will lift up shouts of victory against you.
[1] Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and
against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a
destroying wind;
[2] And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty
her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
[3] Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him
that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men;
destroy ye utterly all her host.
[4] Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that
are thrust through in her streets.
[5] For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of
hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
[6] Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not
cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he
will render unto her a recompence.
[7] Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the
earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations
are mad.
[8] Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for
her pain, if so she may be healed.
[9] We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and
let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto
heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
[10] The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare
in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
[11] Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the
spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to
destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his
temple.
[12] Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong,
set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised
and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
[13] O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end
is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
[14] The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill
thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against
thee.
15 (Job 9:8; Jer 10:12-16) He has made the earth by His power;
He has established the world by His wisdom,
and has stretched out the heaven by His understanding.
16 (Ps 135:7; 18:13; Jnh 1:4) When He utters His voice,
there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and He causes the clouds to ascend from the remote parts of the earth;
He makes lightning with rain,
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.
17 (Jer 10:14; Hab 2:18-19) Every man is ignorant by His knowledge;
every founder is humiliated by the graven image,
for his molded image is falsehood,
and there is no breath in them.
18 They are vanity, the work of errors;
in the time of their punishment they will perish.
19 (Jer 10:16; Ps 73:26) The portion of Jacob is not like them,
for He is the former of all things,
and Israel is the rod of His inheritance.
The Lord of Hosts is His name.
20 (Isa 10:5; 41:15-16) He says: You are My battle-ax
and weapon of war:
for with you I will break in pieces the nations,
and with you I will destroy kingdoms;
21 (Ex 15:1) and with you I will break in pieces the horse and his rider;
and with you I will break in pieces the chariot and his rider.
22 (2Ch 36:17; Isa 13:18) With you also I will break in pieces man and woman;
and with you I will break in pieces old and young;
and with you I will break in pieces the young man and the young woman.
23 I will also break in pieces with you the shepherd and his flock;
and with you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen;
and with you I will break in pieces captains and rulers.
24 (Jer 50:15) I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea
all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says the Lord.
25 (Rev 8:8; Zec 4:7; Isa 13:2) I am against you, O destroying mountain,
says the Lord,
who destroys all the earth.
And I will stretch out My hand against you,
and roll you down from the rocks,
and will make you a burned mountain.
26 (Isa 13:19-22; Jer 50:12-13) They will not take of you
a stone for a corner,
or a stone for foundations,
but you will be desolate forever,
says the Lord.
27 (Ge 8:4; 10:3) Set up a standard in the land,
blow the trumpet among the nations,
prepare the nations against her,
call together against her the kingdoms
of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz;
appoint a captain against her.
Cause the horses to come up as the rough locusts.
28 (Jer 51:11) Prepare against her the nations,
the kings of the Medes,
the captains, and all the rulers,
and every land of their dominion.
29 (Jer 8:16; 51:43) So the land trembles and sorrows,
for the purposes of the Lord will be performed against Babylon,
to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant.
30 (Na 3:13; La 2:9; Isa 13:7-8) The mighty men of Babylon
have ceased fighting;
they have remained in their strongholds.
Their might has failed;
they became as women.
They have burned her dwelling places;
the bars of her gates are broken.
31 (2Sa 18:19-31; 2Ch 30:6) One courier will run to meet another,
and one messenger to meet another,
to show the king of Babylon
that his city has been captured from end to end,
32 and the passages have been seized,
and they have burned the reeds with fire,
and the men of war are terrified.
33 (Isa 21:10; Hos 6:11) For thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel:
The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor,
it is time to thresh her;
yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come.
34 (Jer 50:17; 51:44) "Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
has devoured me and crushed me;
he has made me an empty vessel.
He has swallowed me up like a dragon;
he has filled his belly with my delicacies,
he has cast me out.
35 May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,"
the inhabitant of Zion will say;
and, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,"
Jerusalem will say.
36 (Jer 50:38; Ps 140:12) Therefore thus says the Lord:
I will plead your cause,
and take vengeance for you.
And I will dry up her sea,
and make her springs dry.
37 (Rev 18:2; Jer 18:16) Babylon will become heaps,
a dwelling place for jackals,
an astonishment, and a hissing,
without an inhabitant.
38 (Jer 2:15) They will roar together like young lions;
they will growl as lions' whelps.
39 (Jer 51:57; 25:27) When they become heated up,
I will make their feasts,
and I will make them drunk,
that they may rejoice,
and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake,
says the Lord.
40 (Jer 50:27) I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams with male goats.
41 (Jer 25:26; Isa 13:19) How Sheshak has been captured!
And how the praise of the whole earth has been seized!
How Babylon has become an astonishment
among the nations!
42 (Isa 8:7-8; Da 9:26) The sea has come up over Babylon;
she has been covered with the multitude of the waves.
43 (Isa 13:20; Jer 2:6) Her cities have become a desolation,
a dry land and a wilderness,
a land in which no man dwells,
through which no son of man passes.
44 (Jer 51:34; 51:58) I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and I will bring forth from his mouth what he has swallowed up;
and the nations will not flow together any more to him.
Indeed, the wall of Babylon will fall.
45 (Jer 51:6; Isa 48:20) My people, go out of her midst,
and deliver every man his soul
from the fierce anger of the Lord,
46 (2Ki 19:7; Isa 13:3-5) lest your heart grows faint, and you are afraid
for the report that will be heard in the land-
for the report will come one year, and after that in another year will come
another report,
and violence will be in the land,
ruler against ruler-
47 (Jer 50:2; Isa 46:1-2) therefore the days are coming
when I will punish the graven images of Babylon;
and her whole land will be humiliated,
and all her slain will fall in her midst.
48 (Isa 44:23; Rev 18:20) Then the heaven and the earth,
and all that is in it,
shall sing for joy over Babylon;
for the destroyers will come to her
from the north,
says the Lord.
49 (Jer 50:29; 51:24) As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall,
so at Babylon the slain of all the earth will fall.
50 (Jer 44:28; Dt 4:29-31) You who have escaped the sword,
go away, do not stand still.
Remember the Lord afar off,
and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 (La 1:10; Ps 44:13-16) We are humiliated
because we have heard reproach.
Shame has covered our faces,
for strangers have come into
the holy places of the house of the Lord.
52 (Jer 51:47; 50:38) Therefore, surely the days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will punish her graven images,
and the mortally wounded shall groan
through all her land.
53 (Jer 49:16; Ge 11:4) Though Babylon should mount up to heaven,
and though she should fortify the height of her strength,
yet from Me will destroyers come to her,
says the Lord.
54 (Jer 50:22; 48:3-5) A sound of an outcry comes from Babylon,
and great destruction
from the land of the Chaldeans,
55 because the Lord has devastated Babylon,
and destroyed the great voice out of her.
When her waves roar like great waters,
a noise of their voice is uttered.
56 (Ps 46:9; 94:1-2) Because the destroyer is coming against her,
even upon Babylon, and her mighty men will be captured,
every one of their bows are broken.
For the Lord is a God of recompense;
He will completely repay.
57 (Jer 46:18; 25:27) I will make her officials drunk, and her wise men,
her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men;
and they will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake,
says the King whose name is the Lord of Hosts.
58 (Jer 51:64; Hab 2:13) Thus says the Lord of Hosts:
The broad wall of Babylon will be utterly broken,
and her high gates will be burned with fire;
and the peoples will labor in vain,
and the nations become exhausted only for fire.
[15] He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by
his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
[16] When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he
maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his
treasures.
[17] Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by
the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath
in them.
[18] They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation
they shall perish.
[19] The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all
things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his
name.
[20] Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break
in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
[21] And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with
thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
[22] With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will
I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the
young man and the maid;
[23] I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and
with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and
with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
[24] And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea
all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
[25] Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which
destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and
roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
[26] And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
[27] Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations,
prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of
Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the
horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
[28] Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the
captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his
dominion.
[29] And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD
shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant.
[30] The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in
their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have
burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
[31] One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another,
to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
[32] And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with
fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
[33] For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of
Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little
while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
[34] Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed
me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon,
he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
[35] The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the
inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall
Jerusalem say.
[36] Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take
vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
[37] And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an
astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
[38] They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lion's whelps.
[39] In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken,
that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the
LORD.
[40] I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he
goats.
[41] How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth
surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
[42] The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of
the waves thereof.
[43] Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land
wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
[44] And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his
mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow
together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
[45] My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his
soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
[46] And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be
heard in the land; a rumour shall both come one year, and after that in
another year shall come a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler against
ruler.
[47] Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the
graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all
her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
[48] Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for
Babylon: for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the
LORD.
[49] As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall
fall the slain of all the earth.
[50] Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the
LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
[51] We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered
our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house.
[52] Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do
judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall
groan.
[53] Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify
the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith
the LORD.
[54] A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the
land of the Chaldeans:
[55] Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the
great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their
voice is uttered:
[56] Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty
men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of
recompences shall surely requite.
[57] And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and
her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and
not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
[58] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be
utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people
shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 (Jer 32:12; 36:4) The word which Jeremiah the prophet
commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah,
when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon
in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a quartermaster.
60 (Isa 30:8; Jer 30:2-3) So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll
all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words
that are written against Babylon.
61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you come to Babylon, then see
that you read aloud all these words,
62 (Jer 50:3; 50:13) and say, 'O Lord, You have spoken against
this place to cut it off, that no one will remain in it,
neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate forever.'
63 (Jer 19:10-11; Rev 18:21) It will be that when you have made
an end of reading this scroll that you will bind a stone to it,
and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,
64 (Jer 51:58; Job 31:40) and say, 'Thus Babylon will sink
and not rise from the disaster that I will bring upon her,
and they will become weary.' "
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
[59] The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of
Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah
into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet
prince.
[60] So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon,
even all these words that are written against Babylon.
[61] And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt
see, and shalt read all these words;
[62] Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to
cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it
shall be desolate for ever.
[63] And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that
thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates:
[64] And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from
the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are
the words of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 52
The Fall of Jerusalem Reviewed
2Ki 24:18-20; 25:1-21; 2Ch 36:11-20; Jer 39:1-10
1 (2Ki 24:18; Jos 10:29) Zedekiah was 21 years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
2 (1Ki 14:22) He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all
that Jehoiakim had done.
3 (2Ch 36:13; Isa 3:4-5) Through the anger of the Lord this came to pass in
Jerusalem and Judah until He had cast them out from His presence.
Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Jeremiah 52
[1] Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
[2] And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all
that Jehoiakim had done.
[3] For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and
Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled
against the king of Babylon.
4 (Jer 39:1; Eze 24:1-2) In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came,
he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it;
they built a siege wall all around it.
5 So the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
[4] And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month,
in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he
and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts
against it round about.
[5] So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 (Isa 3:1; 2Ki 25:3) In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month,
the famine was so severe in the city that there was no bread for the people
of the land.
7 (2Ki 25:4; Jer 39:4-7) Then the city was breached, and all the men of war
fled and went out of the city by night by way of the gate between
the two walls, which was by the king's garden, though the Chaldeans
were all around the city, and they went by way of the Arabah.
8 (Jer 21:7; 32:4) But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king
and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho,
and all his army was scattered from him.
9 (Nu 13:21; Jer 39:5) Then they took the king and carried him up
to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath
where he passed sentence on him.
10 (Jer 22:30; 2Ki 25:7) The king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah
before his eyes; he also slew all the officials of Judah in Riblah.
11 (Eze 12:13) Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and the king of Babylon
bound him in chains and carried him to Babylon and put him in prison
until the day of his death.
[6] And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was
sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
[7] Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth
out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which
was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:)
and they went by the way of the plain.
[8] But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him.
[9] Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to
Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
[10] And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he
slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
[11] Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him
in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of
his death.
The Temple Burned
12 (2Ki 25:8; Jer 39:9; 52:29) Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day
of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon came into
Jerusalem,
13 (2Ch 36:19; Ps 79:1) and burned the house of the Lord,
and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem.
Even all the large houses, he burned with fire.
14 (Ne 1:3; 2Ki 25:10) And all the army of the Chaldeans who were
with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem
all around.
15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
some of the poorest of the people, and the rest of the people
who remained in the city, and those who fell away, who fell
to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
16 (2Ki 25:12) But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left
some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and farmers.
17 (Jer 27:19-22; 2Ch 4:12-15) Also the pillars of bronze
that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands,
and the bronze sea that was in the house of the Lord,
the Chaldeans broke and carried all their bronze to Babylon.
18 (Ex 27:3; Nu 4:14) The cauldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers,
and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of bronze with
which they ministered, they took away.
19 (1Ki 7:49-50) The captain of the guard also took away the basins,
and the fire pans, and the bowls, and the cauldrons, and the lampstands,
and the spoons, and the cups, what was of fine gold,
and what was of fine silver.
20 (1Ki 7:47; 2Ki 25:16) The two pillars, one sea, and twelve bronze bulls
that were under the bases, which King Solomon had made
in the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
21 (2Ki 25:17) Concerning the pillars: the height of one pillar
was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference a
nd in thickness it was four fingers,
[About 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference,
or 8.1 meters high and 5.4 meters in circumference.]
and hollow.
22 A capital of bronze was upon it, and the height of one capital was five
cubits, [About 7 1/2 feet, or 2.3 meters.] with network and pomegranates
upon the capital all around, all of bronze. The second pillar also
and the pomegranates were like these.
23 (1Ki 7:20) There were 96 pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates
were a hundred upon the network all around.
The Babylonian Exile
24 (2Ki 25:18; 1Ch 6:14; Jer 21:1) The captain of the guard took Seraiah
the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest,
and the three officers of the temple.
25 (Est 1:14; 2Ki 25:19) He also took out of the city one official
who had charge of the men of war, and seven men of the advisers
of the king who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander
of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men
of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.
26 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them
and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
27 (Isa 6:11-12; 27:10) The king of Babylon struck them
and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath.
Thus Judah was carried away captive out of its own land.
[12] Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the
nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan,
captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
[13] And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the
houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
[14] And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the
guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.
[15] Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain
of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in
the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and
the rest of the multitude.
[16] But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of
the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
[17] Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the
bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans
brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon.
[18] The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls,
and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took
they away.
[19] And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and
the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in
gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard
away.
[20] The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the
bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of
all these vessels was without weight.
[21] And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen
cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness
thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.
[22] And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was
five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about,
all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto
these.
[23] And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side; and all the
pomegranates upon the network were an hundred round about.
[24] And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and
Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door:
[25] He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of the men
of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which were
found in the city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the
people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were
found in the midst of the city.
[26] So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought
them to the king of Babylon to Riblah.
[27] And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in
the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own
land.
28 (2Ki 24:2-3; 24:12-16) These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar
carried away captive:
in the seventh year three thousand and twenty-three Jews.
29 (Jer 52:12) In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar
he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons.
30 In the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
of the Jews 745.
All the persons were 4600 .
[28] This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the
seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty:
[29] In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from
Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons:
[30] In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the
captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty
and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
Jehoiachin Released
2Ki 25:27-30
31 (Ge 40:13; 40:20) In the 37th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin,
king of Judah, in the 12th month, on the 25th day of the month,
Awel-Marduk, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign lifted up
the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison,
32 and spoke kindly to him, and set his throne
above the throne of the kings who were with him in Babylon.
33 (2Sa 9:7; Ge 41:14) Therefore Jehoiachin changed his prison garments
and continually ate meals before him all the days of his life.
34 (2Sa 9:10) For his allowance, there was a continual allowance
given him by the king of Babylon, every day a portion all the days
of his life until the day of his death.
[31] And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth
day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of
his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him
forth out of prison,
[32] And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the
kings that were with him in Babylon,
[33] And changed his prison garments: and he did continually eat bread
before him all the days of his life.
[34] And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of
Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his
life.
2) Our Daily Bread for 22 August 2023 titled God's Eternal Church
Ephesians 2:14-22 , Matthew 16:18
14 (Gal 3:28; Mic 5:5) For He is our peace, who has made both groups one
and has broken down the barrier of the dividing wall,
15 (Col 2:14; 2:20) by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, that is,
the law of the commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself
He might make the two into one new man, thus making peace,
16 (Eph 2:15; Col 1:20-22) and that He might reconcile both to God
into one body through the cross, thereby slaying the enmity.
17 (Ps 148:14; Dt 4:7) And He came and preached peace to you who were
far away and peace to those who were near.
18 (1Co 12:13; Eph 3:12) For through Him we both have access by one
Spirit to the Father.
19 (Gal 6:10; Php 3:20) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers
and foreigners, but are fellow citizens with the saints and members
of the household of God,
20 (Mt 16:18; Isa 28:16; Rev 21:14) having been built upon
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone,
21 (1Co 3:16-17) in whom the entire building, tightly framed together,
grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
22 (1Co 3:16) in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling
place of God through the Spirit.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us;
[15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so
making peace;
[16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby:
[17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them
that were nigh.
[18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
[19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
[20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord:
[22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through
the Spirit.
18 (Jn 1:42; Job 38:17) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
"Is church over?" asked a young mother arriving at our church with two
children in tow just as the Sunday service was ending. But a greeter told her
that a church nearby offered two Sunday services and the second would start
soon. Would she like a ride there? The young mother said yes and seemed
grateful to travel the few blocks to the other church. Reflecting later, the
greeter came to this conclusion: "Is church over? Never. God's church goes
on forever."
The church isn't a fragile "building." It's the faithful family of God who
are "members of his household," wrote Paul, "built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In
him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling
in which God lives by his Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Jesus Himself established His church for eternity. He declared that despite
challenges or troubles facing His church, "the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18 kjv).
Through this empowering lens, we can see our local churches-all of us-as a
part of God's universal church, being built "in Christ Jesus throughout all
generations, for ever and ever!" (Ephesians 3:21).
By: Patricia Raybon
Reflect & Pray
What about your local church makes you grateful?
How can you help God's universal church grow?
As a part of Your church, dear Jesus, keep building me in You.
3) Daily verses taken from Billy Graham Evangelical Organisation
Words in Season Scripture Memory Tools
Week 5 Rejoice in Grace - Day 3 The song of Exaltation
Exodus 15:2
2 The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
2 The LORD is my strength and song,
And he is become my salvation:
He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation;
My father's God, and I will exalt him.
The world is full of music that communicates human emotion:
love, joy, sadness, separation.
A love song makes us misty-eyed; a song of protest arouses anger; a song
describing loss stimulates feelings of hurt and abandonment.
Music is a powerful force to sway the human spirit.
Exodus 15:2 indicates that God should be the source of the songs in our hearts.
Human emotions vacillate; human relationships disappoint,
but God is our "strength" and our "song".
To exalt the Lord includes many different type of "songs".
"I can't carry a tune in a bucket," one woman complained.
"How can I sing to the Lord anything that will be pleasing to him?"
But the Lord does not delight in the professionalism of our songs,
but in the motivation of our hearts. We can "sing to the Lord"
when we enjoy a Bach organ piece played for his glory.
We can exalt him in the words of Scripture - either remembered or sung.
We can worship him by enjoying the songs of others.
The key to making the Lord our song is exaltation. When our thoughts
lift him up in praise, we are singing a song of exaltation to the Lord.
When God is exalted in our songs, in our hearts, and in our thoughts,
that focus gives strength to our lives. We can face the difficulties
that are an inevitable part of experience,
because God is our "strength and our song".
Application
a) What is the difference between a song that is professionally performed
and one that exalts the Lord?
b) What practical steps can I take to make
my daily life a "song of praise" to God?
4) From Prosperity Promises - Kenneth Copeland
Romans 13:7-8
7 (Mt 17:25; 22:21) Render to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes
are due, respect to whom respect is due, fear to whom fear is due,
and honor to whom honour is due.
8 (Ro 13:10; Mt 7:12) Owe no one anything, except to love one another,
for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law.
5) From a Book called God's Promises for you:
God's Eternal Faithfulness
Ps 117
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations! Exalt Him, all you peoples!
2 (Ps 63:1; 84:2) For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
1 O praise the LORD,
All ye nations: Praise him, all ye people.
2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us:
And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.
Praise ye the LORD.
Remember God's promises when You pray
The Lord's prayer
Matthew 6:9-13
9 "Therefore pray in this manner:
Our Father who is in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
10 (Mt 3:2; 4:17) Your kingdom come;
Your will be done
on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 (Pr 30:8; Isa 33:16) Give us this day our daily bread.
12 (Ex 34:7; Ps 32:1) And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 (1Co 10:13; Jn 17:15) And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
6) This come from Praying for Muslims in Canada 2015 (Is there a 2021 edition?)
New Brunswick
Total population 753900
Muslim population (est.) 4543
Moncton, followed by Fredericton and Saint John, each have a growing Muslim
population in New Brunswick, In 2007, the building that was formerly a Baptist
church was converted into Moncton's 1st mosque. The University of Moncton
also has a Muslim student association hosting prayer services, fellowship
getherings, and outreaches on campus.
Fredericton also has one mosque and a Muslim student association serving the
campuses of the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University.
Fredericton's Muslim population consists in 2014 of about 50 families,
and between 300 to 400 university students.
Saint John is home to the 1st Muslim Association for the province,
which also helped foster the Islamic associations of Fredericton and Moncton.
a 'musalla', or prayer location that is not officially structured as a mosque,
has been established in the Uptown area with the intention of seeing it grow
into a 2nd official place of Muslim worship. Demand for this new location has
been primarily for university students moving into the area.
Pray for Muslims and New Brunswick
- that the eyes of pastors, believers and entire congregations will be opened
to see this growing body of Muslims, and their hearts will be opened
to sharing God's love in Jesus Christ with them
- that intentional ministries to Muslims will grow and flourish in these
areas of concentration
- that cooperative CNNMM Networks will form to really, encourage,
and equip believers to lovingly reach Muslims in this province.
Adding further
30 days of prayer for the Muslim World 24 April to 23 May 2020
Under the Keep Praying page
When the new moon is sighted it marks the beginning of t he new Islamic month
and Eid al-Fitr, the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", will start! After 30 days
of fasting, the Eid celebration at the end of Ramadan is a joyful time that
usually lasts about 3 days. Muslims will buy new clothes, exchange gifts and,
of course, enjoy special foods. In Muslim-majority nations, the streets may be
decorated and festivals will be held.
For many Muslims, Eid-al-Fitr begins with communal prayers at daybreak and the
distribution of money (zakat) to the poor, which is one of the 5 pillars of
Islam.
You can greet Muslim friends during this time by saying "Eid Mubarak",
which means Blessed Eid!"
Ramadan is over for this year, but you can continue to pray for Muslims you
know, and Muslims around the world:
- Despite the unsettling developments in our world today that involve actions
in the name of Islam, there is at the same time a largely untold story about
unprecedented movement to Christ among Muslims. There have been more such
movements of thousands or more new disciples among Muslims in the last three
decades or so than in all the previous history of Christian Muslim
relationships! Pray for this momentum to continue.
Acts 2:12-17 : 17 12 They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other,
"What does this mean?"
13 (1Co 14:23) Others mocking said, "These men are full of new wine."
Peter's Speech at Pentecost
14 (Ac 1:26) But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice
and said to them, "Men of Judea and all you who dwell in Jerusalem,
let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose,
since it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 (Isa 44:3; Ac 10:45) 'In the last days it shall be,' says God,
'that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.'
- Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to continue to inspire you to have god's heart for
Muslims, to see them as He does, and to be the light that then to Jesus.
Matthew 5:14-15 : 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under
a basket, but on a candlestick. And it gives light to all who are in the
house."
Ideas for prayer
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
And
Thank you for praying through the
5 Days of Prayer for Sikhs.
"My name is Kam. I'm 29 years of age, and I grew up Sikh. As a teenager,
I struggled with depression, brokenness, and addiction to
cannabis. I didn't know how to stop or how to get help.
Then a friend invited me to church. As I spent time with Christians
and heard the message of the Gospel, I experienced the
love of Jesus Christ, and it was like nothing I'd known before.
One night I had a dream where I saw Him - a figure surrounded by
light who I knew was Jesus, the light of the world.
As I began to understand the gospel message, I encountered a reassuring and
confident solution to the problem of sin. I knew that I needed a solution
to my sin problem, and I gave my life to Christ.
Slowly, God began to heal my broken heart and my addiction.
Nine years have passed, and I am a devoted husband and a father
to two beautiful boys. I grow deeper in love with Jesus each day.
I ask you to continue praying with me, and others around the world, for Sikhs.
God is the only one who can draw people to Himself. He works in and through
the prayers of His people. I want Sikhs to know the freedom
and healing that is only available through Jesus Christ."
13 (Ro 14:17; 12:12) Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope,
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[13] Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that
ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
ROMANS 15:13
My paternal side is of Muslim heritage and will offer this section to further
call for Muslim converts to Christian and any other converts to Christianity
(Hindus, Jews, aboriginals Canadian, atheists, secular humanists, ...) .
7) Prayers for the nation (Canada) coming from Prayer map of Canada
http://www.ehc.ca
22 Day of the Month
a) Pray for the Province of Quebec
I) Pray for the leaders of Quebec,
that God's Spirit would influence
then to act justly,
serve with integrity
and honour high moral standards. ( 1 Tim 2:1 - 4
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone,
2 (Ezr 6:10) for kings and for all who are in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty,
3(1Ti 1:1; Lk 1:47) for this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 (Eze 18:23; 18:32)who desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
II) Pray for the churches of the province,
that they would be lighthouses
beaming forth the illuminating truth of God's Word.
III) Pray that the Lord would use
the Finding the Hope Campaign
and booklet to turn many hearts to Jesus
b) Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
(
2 Cor 10: 3 - 5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds,
5 casting down imaginations and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ;
)
Conclusion:
Pray to the Lord and pray a prayer of intersession for your nation.
Pray to the Lord: "As a part of Your church, dear Jesus,
keep building me in You."
Pray to the Lord and pray to give Him a Song of Praise.
Pray to the Lord and pray to owe no one.
Pray for Muslims and New Brunswick
- that the eyes of pastors, believers and entire congregations will be opened
to see this growing body of Muslims, and their hearts will be opened
to sharing God's love in Jesus Christ with them
- that intentional ministries to Muslims will grow and flourish in these
areas of concentration
- that cooperative CNNMM Networks will form to really, encourage,
and equip believers to lovingly reach Muslims in this province.
Pray for Christian workers an organisations focused on seeing effective
discipleship movements among Muslim people.
- Pray for opportunities to show the love of Christ to Muslims around you
- Pray for, and offer generous hospitality to, those you know who are serving
Christ among Muslim people -
Romans 12:13 "contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality."
- When you gather with fellow believers, remember to pray for Muslims
throughout the year and encourage them to also participate in 30 Days!
Pray that the influence of the Holy Spirit would dissolve
every argument and pretension exalted against the knowledge
of God.
Pray for the healing of Indonesian Christians who have witnessed the
martyrdom of other believers.
Pray to the Lord that to know the Holy Spirit.
and Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
Remember eternity starts now -
Pray for the direction you take to the Ever lasting loving God.
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