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The Lord's message about Moab
48 The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, spoke this message about Moab:[a]
‘Nebo city is in terrible trouble!
It will soon become a heap of stones.
The people of Kiriathaim city will be ashamed.
Its enemies will take it for themselves.
They will knock down its strong buildings,
and its people will be ashamed.
2 People will no longer praise Moab.
In Heshbon, Moab's enemies will decide how to destroy the nation.
They will say, “We must completely destroy Moab!”
The town of Madmen will become silent,
as a great army chases out the people.
3 The people of Horonaim will shout for help,
because a strong army is destroying them.
4 Moab will come to an end!
Its children will cry loudly.
5 They will go up the hill to Luhith.
They will weep as they go.
As they go down the road towards Horonaim,
they will cry about their town that the enemy is destroying.
6 People say, “Run away to save your lives!
Go and live in the desert.”
7 People of Moab, you trusted your riches and your skills to save you.
Because of that, your enemies will catch you.
They will even take your god Chemosh away as prisoner,
together with his priests and officers.
8 Your cruel enemy will attack every town.
No town or city will escape.
The enemy will destroy every place in the valley,
and every place on the high ground.
They will become heaps of stones.
I, the Lord, tell you this!
9 Dig a grave to bury Moab![b]
Its land will become like a desert.
Its cities will become heaps of stones.
Nobody will live in them.’
10 The Lord will curse anyone who refuses to do his work! He will punish anyone who does not use his sword to kill his enemies!
Moab's peace will come to an end
11 The Lord said, ‘Moab's people have lived in peace since they first became a nation. No enemy has taken them away to a foreign land as their prisoners. They have been like the wine in a bottle that nobody has moved. Nobody has poured it into another bottle, so its taste and smell have never changed. Moab has always been the same.
12 But the time will soon come when I will send people to attack Moab. They will pour out Moab's people like somebody pours wine out of a bottle. They will pour out all the wine so that the bottles are empty. And they will break the bottles into pieces!
13 Then Moab's people will be ashamed because their god Chemosh has not saved them. They will be like the Israelites who trusted in their idol at Bethel and they became ashamed.
14 Men of Moab, you should no longer say,
“We are brave soldiers who know how to fight.”
15 I am the King, the Lord Almighty, and I tell you this:
The enemy will soon destroy Moab and its cities.
They will kill its strongest young men.
16 Moab will soon come to an end.
Terrible trouble will quickly destroy it.
17 You nations that live around Moab,
you know how famous it has been.
But now you must weep for it.
Say, “Moab's royal power is finished!
They no longer have great power to rule!”
18 You people who live in Dibon must stop being proud.
Come down from the places where people give you honour.
Sit on the ground in the dirt.
Moab's cruel enemy has arrived.
They will cause your strong buildings to become heaps of stones.
19 You people who live in Aroer,
stand beside the road and watch.
Ask the people who are running away what has happened.
20 They will reply, “The enemy has won against Moab
and its people are ashamed.
So weep and cry out!
Stand beside the Arnon river and tell the news.
Tell people that the enemy has destroyed Moab.”
21 The Lord has judged the cities on the high ground and he will soon punish them:
Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,
22 Dibon, Nebo and Beth-Diblathaim,
23 Kiriathaim, Beth-Gamul and Beth-Meon,
24 Kerioth and Bozrah.
He will punish all the towns of Moab, near or far away. 25 Moab has lost its power. Its strength has finished.’
That is what the Lord says.
26 ‘Moab has turned against me.
So my anger will make him like a person who is drunk.
He will lie down in the place where he has been sick.
People will laugh at him.
27 You people of Moab laughed at my people, the Israelites.
Why did you insult them?
You said that they were no better than a group of robbers.
28 Now you must all leave your towns.
Go and live among the rocks.
Live like doves that make their nests high up among the rocks.
29 We have heard that Moab's people are very proud.
They think that they are better than everyone else.
We know how much they boast.’
30 The Lord says,
‘I know about Moab's proud thoughts.
But their pride is false.
Whatever they do, it will be useless.
31 So I am sad for Moab. I am crying for all their people.
I weep for the people of Kir-Heres.[c]
32 I weep for the vines of Sibmah, more than Jazer weeps.
The branches of those vines reached across the sea as far as Jazer.[d]
But the cruel enemy will destroy all the fruit that grows on your vines and trees.
33 People will no longer be happy in the land where this fruit grows.
I will stop them making wine from their grapes.
They will not stamp on their grapes and shout with joy.
Instead, the shouts will be shouts about trouble.
34 In Heshbon and Elealeh people cry out because of their pain.
The noise reaches as far as Jahaz.
It reaches from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-Shelishiyah.
Even the Nimrim river has become dry.’
35 The Lord says this:
‘I will remove the people of Moab who worship other gods.
They offer sacrifices to them
and they burn incense at their altars.
36 So I am very sad for the people of Moab.
I weep like a flute that plays a funeral song.
I am sad for the people of Kir-Heres,
because all their riches will disappear.
37 All the men will be very upset.
They will cut the hair off their heads and their faces.
They will use knives to cut their hands.
They will wear sackcloth as their clothes.
38 People are standing on the roofs of their houses.
They are standing in the streets.
They are all crying and weeping.
They are sad because I have destroyed Moab.
I have broken it in pieces, like a jar that I no longer want.’
That is what the Lord says.
39 ‘Yes, Moab will be like a broken jar.
Its people will weep with loud voices.
They will turn away because they are ashamed.
All the nations around there will laugh at Moab.
They will see the terrible trouble that it has received.’
40 The Lord says,
‘Look at the enemy that suddenly arrives!
It comes like an eagle that flies down to catch its food.
41 The enemy will take Moab's towns and its strong buildings.
Moab's soldiers will be afraid,
like a woman who will soon give birth.
42 Moab has been proud and it has turned against the Lord.
So they will no longer be a nation.’
43 The Lord says this:
‘People of Moab, there will be danger, deep holes and traps that are ready to catch you!
44 Anyone who runs away from danger, will fall into a deep hole.
And a trap will catch anyone who climbs out of the deep hole.
Yes, the time will soon come when I will punish Moab's people.
45 People will run away to Heshbon to be safe.
They will be helpless as they stand outside its walls.
Flames of fire will come out from Heshbon,
the city where King Sihon once ruled.
It will burn as far as Moab's borders.
It will destroy those proud people who love to fight.
46 It will be very bad for you, you people of Moab!
The enemy will destroy you people who worship Chemosh.
They will take away your sons and your daughters.
They will take them as prisoners to a foreign land.
47 But one day I will cause Moab to be strong again.’
That is what the Lord says.
That is the end of the Lord's message against Moab.
A message about Ammon
49 The Lord gave this message about the people of Ammon:
‘There are plenty of Israel's descendants who are still alive.
They are strong enough to live in the land that is their home.
So why have people who worship the god Molech moved in to the land of Gad's tribe?
They should not be living in towns that belong to Gad's people.’[e]
2 The Lord says,
‘A time will come when an army attacks Rabbah, Ammon's capital city.
Its people will hear the noise of a battle.
The city will become a big heap of stones.
Fire will destroy the villages around it.
Then the Israelites will chase out the people who had taken their land from them.’
That is what the Lord says.
3 ‘You people in Heshbon, cry aloud,
because the enemy has destroyed Ai.
Weep, you people who live in Rabbah.
Dress yourselves in sackcloth, because you are so sad.
Run around inside the city.
The enemy will take away your idol of Molech.
They will take Molech's priests and their officers to a foreign land.
4 You people of Ammon boast about your power.
But that will soon come to an end!
You have not been faithful.
You have trusted in your riches and you say,
“Nobody will be able to attack us!” ’
5 But the Lord God Almighty says,
‘I will bring terror all around you.[f]
Your enemy will chase you away in all directions.
Nobody will be able to bring you together again.
6 But in future days, I will make Ammon's people strong again.’
That is what the Lord says.
A message about Edom
7 The Lord Almighty gave this message about Edom:
‘It seems that wisdom has disappeared from Teman.
Edom's clever men have no good advice.
Their great ideas have gone away.
8 You people who live in Dedan, run away and escape!
Go and find somewhere safe to hide!
The time has come for me to punish Esau's descendants.
I will cause them to have terrible trouble.
9 If people came to pick your grapes,
they would leave a few grapes on the vines.
If robbers came at night to take your things,
they would only take the things that they needed.
10 But I will take everything from Esau's descendants,
so that they have nothing.
I will open their secret places,
so that they have nowhere to hide.
The enemy will destroy them and their children, family and friends.
None of them will remain alive.
11 But I will take care of your widows and the children who have no family.
You can trust me to keep them safe.’
12 The Lord says, ‘I had to punish even those people who did not deserve my great punishment. So you will certainly not escape my punishment! You will have to drink my anger from the cup that I give to you.[g] 13 I, the Lord, promise you this, with the authority of my own name: Bozrah city will become a heap of stones. The people of other nations will think that it is disgusting. They will laugh at it. They will use its name as a curse. All the towns and villages around it will be heaps of stones for ever.’
14 I have heard a message from the Lord. He has sent someone with this message to the nations:
‘Prepare your armies to attack Edom.
Prepare to fight a battle against Edom!’
15 The Lord says to Edom's people,
‘I will make you a weak nation that nobody respects.
16 You are proud people.
You boast that you cause other people to be afraid of you.
But your thoughts have deceived you.
You live high up among the rocks,
and on the tops of mountains.
But I will bring you down from there,
even if you are as high as an eagle's nest.’
That is what the Lord says.
17 ‘People will see how disgusting Edom is. Everybody who goes there will be very surprised. They will see all the terrible trouble that has happened to the nation, and they will insult it.
18 Edom will become a heap of stones where nobody lives.
The same thing happened to Sodom and Gomorrah,
and the towns that were near them.
Edom will be as empty as a desert.’
That is what the Lord says.
19 ‘I will attack the people of Edom
and I will chase them out of their land.
I will be like a lion that has been hiding in the forest.
It attacks the sheep in the fields beside the Jordan River.
Like that lion, I will suddenly chase Edom's people out of their country.
Then I will choose a leader to rule that nation.
There is nobody who is like me.
Nobody can accuse me of anything.
No ruler can stand against me.
20 So listen to me, the Lord!
This is what I have decided to do to Edom.
Yes, this is the trouble that I will bring to the people who live in Teman.
Soldiers will catch their children and take them away,
like little lambs that they take from their mothers.
I will completely destroy their homes.
21 When Edom's people fall,
the noise will cause the whole earth to shake.
The sound of their sad voices will reach as far as the Red Sea.
22 A nation will rise up high, like an eagle in the sky.
It will fly down to catch its food in Bozrah!
When the brave soldiers of Edom see that, they will become very afraid.
They will be afraid, like a woman who will soon give birth.’
Timothy must continue to do his work for God
4 Timothy, I tell you this seriously, as God and Christ Jesus see everything that we do. When Christ Jesus comes to rule as king, he will judge everyone. He will judge the people who are alive and also those who have already died. When he appears, he will decide what should happen to them all. So I tell you this now: 2 Tell God's message to people. Always be ready to speak God's message clearly to people, whether they want to listen to you or not. Warn people when they are doing something wrong. Tell them to stop doing wrong things, and explain to them what they ought to do. But be very patient while you teach them what is true.
3 Do this, because a time will come when people will not listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to hear all kinds of new messages that will make them happy. So they will find many teachers for themselves who will tell them what they want to hear. 4 People will refuse to listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to listen to silly stories that are false. 5 But you yourself must continue to think seriously and clearly. Be patient and brave when troubles come. Continue to tell the good news about Christ to people. Do all the work that God has given you to do as his servant.
6 As for me, it is nearly time for me to die. My death will be like a drink offering that they pour out to God. My life as God's servant will end.[a] 7 I have worked to serve Christ well. I have finished everything that God wanted me to do. I am like a runner who has run to the end of the race. I have continued to believe God's true message. 8 So now a gift is waiting for me. The Lord will make me completely right with him. That will be like a crown which the Lord will give me on that great day when he judges people. He is the judge who is fair and right. He will not only give that gift to me. He will give it to all those people who love him. They will be happy to see him when he comes again.[b]
Paul's last words to Timothy
9 Timothy, please come to see me as soon as you can. 10 Demas has left me and he has gone to Thessalonica city. He wanted to enjoy the things of this world too much.[c] Crescens has gone to Galatia region.[d] Titus has gone to Dalmatia region.[e]
11 Only Luke is with me now.[f] Bring Mark with you when you come. He can help me very much with the work for God. 12 I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.[g]
13 I left a coat with Carpus in Troas.[h] Bring it when you come. Also bring the books for me. If you cannot bring all of them, then be sure to bring my special papers.
14 Alexander, the man who makes things from metal, caused a lot of trouble for me. The Lord will punish him because of the wrong things that he did. 15 You must also be careful that he does not cause trouble for you. He argued very strongly against our message.
16 I had to explain to a judge that I had not done anything wrong. The first time I did that, nobody helped me. All my friends stayed away. I pray that God will forgive them for that. 17 But the Lord was there to help me. He made me strong so that I could tell his message clearly. Gentile people from many countries could hear what I said. So the Lord saved me from the danger of death. 18 The Lord will continue to save me from every bad thing. And he will bring me safely to heaven, where he rules. He is great and we should praise him for ever! Amen! This is true!
19 Say ‘hello’ for me to Priscilla and Aquila, and to the family of Onesiphorus.[i][j] 20 Erastus remained at Corinth city.[k] I left Trophimus at Miletus city because he was ill.[l]
21 Please try to come before the winter. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus and Claudia say ‘hello’ to you. All the other believers here also say ‘hello’.
22 I pray that the Lord will continue to make you strong in your spirit. I pray that he will be kind to all of you.
Worship God and obey him[a]
95 Come now! Let us sing together to worship the Lord!
We will shout aloud
to praise God, the strong Rock who makes us safe!
2 Let us come near to God
and thank him![b]
Let us sing songs to praise him,
because we are so happy!
3 Yes, the Lord is the great God.
He is the great king who rules over all gods.
4 The deepest places of the earth are in his hand.
The highest mountains belong to him.
5 The seas are his,
because he made them.
He also made the dry land,
with his own hands.
6 Come now! Let us bend down to worship him!
Let us bend our knees in front of the Lord.
He is the one who made us.
7 He is our God.
He takes care of us,
like a shepherd takes care of his sheep.[c]
As his sheep, he gives us what we need.
Today, you must listen to him
and obey him.
8 He says, ‘Do not refuse to obey me,
like my people did at Meribah.
They also did that one day at Massah,
in the desert.
9 Your ancestors tested me there,
to see if I would punish them.
But they had already seen the great things
that I had done for them!
10 So I was angry with those people
all the time for 40 years.
I said, “These people love to go the wrong way.
They refuse to follow my ways.”
11 I was very angry and I promised,
“They will never come into my place of rest.” ’[d]
Sing a new song![e]
96 Sing a new song to praise the Lord!
All the world,
sing to praise the Lord!
2 Sing to praise the Lord's great name!
Every day, tell people the message
that he has rescued us.
3 Tell the other nations that he is very great.
Tell all of them
about the great things that he has done.
4 Yes, the Lord is great!
Everyone should praise him as he deserves.
People should respect him with fear,
more than all other gods.
5 All the other nations' gods are useless idols.
But the Lord made the heavens.
6 We see that he is a very great king.
His holy home is full of his power and his beauty.
7 You people of other nations,
recognize that the Lord is great and powerful.
8 Agree that the Lord's name is great.
Bring a gift to offer to him in his temple.
9 Worship the Lord,
who is beautiful and holy.
Everyone on earth must shake with fear in front of him.
10 Tell all the nations,
‘The Lord rules as King!’
He has fixed the world in its place,
so that nothing can shake it.
He will judge all the people of the world fairly.
11 The earth and the sky
should be happy!
The sea and everything in it
should shout aloud!
12 The fields and all their crops should shout with joy!
Then all the trees in the forests will also sing
because they are so happy!
13 They will sing to praise the Lord,
for he will come to judge the earth.
He is a fair judge.
He will judge all the people of the world with his truth.
9 A fool who speaks a proverb is like a drunk person with a thorn in his finger.
He does not know what to do with it.
10 A soldier who shoots his arrows everywhere is useless.
It is the same if you ask a stupid person to do work for you.
11 A sick dog goes back to eat what it could not keep in its stomach.
A fool goes back and makes the same mistakes again.
12 Some men think that they are already wise.
A fool is more likely to learn something than they are.
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