The Berean Pursuit
Now, O daughter of troops,
mobilize your troops;
for a siege is laid against us!
With a rod they will strike the cheek
of the judge of Israel.
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come forth for Me
One to be ruler over Israel-
One whose origins are of old,
from the days of eternity.
Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of His brothers will return
to the children of Israel.
He will stand and shepherd His flock
in the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD His God.
And they will dwell securely,
for then His greatness will extend
to the ends of the earth.
And He will be our peace
when Assyria invades our land
and tramples our citadels.
We will raise against it seven shepherds,
even eight leaders of men.
And they will rule the land of Assyria with the sword,
and the land of Nimrod with the blade drawn.
So He will deliver us
when Assyria invades our land
and marches into our borders.
Then the remnant of Jacob will be
in the midst of many peoples
like dew from the LORD,
like showers on the grass,
which do not wait for man
or linger for mankind.
Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations,
in the midst of many peoples,
like a lion among the beasts of the forest,
like a young lion among flocks of sheep,
which tramples and tears as it passes through,
with no one to rescue them.
Your hand will be lifted over your foes,
and all your enemies will be cut off.
"In that day,"
declares the LORD,
"I will remove your horses from among you
and wreck your chariots.
I will remove the cities of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.
I will cut the sorceries from your hand,
and you will have no fortune-tellers.
I will also cut off the carved images
and sacred pillars from among you,
so that you will no longer bow down
to the work of your own hands.
I will root out the Asherah poles from your midst
and demolish your cities.
I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
upon the nations that have not obeyed Me."
Hear now what the LORD says:
"Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, O mountains, the LORD's indictment,
you enduring foundations of the earth.
For the LORD has a case against His people,
and He will argue it against Israel:
'My people, what have I done to you?
Testify against Me how I have wearied you!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery.
I sent Moses before you,
as well as Aaron and Miriam.
My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.'?"
With what shall I come before the LORD
when I bow before the God on high?
Should I come to Him with burnt offerings,
with year-old calves?
Would the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you
but to act justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The voice of the LORD calls out to the city
(and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name):
"Heed the rod
and the One who ordained it.
Can I forget any longer,
O house of the wicked,
the treasures of wickedness
and the short ephah, which is accursed?
Can I excuse dishonest scales
or bags of false weights?
For the wealthy of the city
are full of violence,
and its residents speak lies;
their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.
Therefore I am striking you severely,
to ruin you because of your sins.
You will eat but not be satisfied,
and your hunger will remain with you.
What you acquire, you will not preserve;
and what you save, I will give to the sword.
You will sow but not reap;
you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
You have kept the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab's house;
you have followed their counsel.
Therefore I will make you a desolation,
and your inhabitants an object of contempt;
you will bear the scorn of the nations."
Woe is me!
For I am like one gathering summer fruit
at the gleaning of the vineyard;
there is no cluster to eat,
no early fig that I crave.
The godly man has perished from the earth;
there is no one upright among men.
They all lie in wait for blood;
they hunt one another with a net.
Both hands are skilled at evil;
the prince and the judge demand a bribe.
When the powerful utters his evil desire,
they all conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier;
the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns.
The day for your watchmen has come,
the day of your visitation.
Now is the time of their confusion.
Do not rely on a friend;
do not trust in a companion.
Seal the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms.
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
A man's enemies are the members
of his own household.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will arise;
though I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be my light.
Because I have sinned against Him,
I must endure the rage of the LORD,
until He argues my case
and executes justice for me.
He will bring me into the light;
I will see His righteousness.
Then my enemy will see
and will be covered with shame-
she who said to me,
"Where is the LORD your God?"
My eyes will see her;
at that time she will be trampled
like mud in the streets.
The day for rebuilding your walls will come-
the day for extending your boundary.
On that day they will come to you
from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates,
from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
Then the earth will become desolate
because of its inhabitants,
as the fruit of their deeds.
Shepherd with Your staff Your people,
the flock of Your inheritance.
They live alone in a woodland,
surrounded by pastures.
Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old.
As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
I will show My wonders.
Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their might.
They will put their hands over their mouths,
and their ears will become deaf.
They will lick the dust like a snake,
like reptiles slithering on the ground.
They will crawl from their holes
in the presence of the LORD our God;
they will tremble in fear of You.
Who is a God like You,
who pardons iniquity
and passes over the transgression
of the remnant of His inheritance-
who does not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in loving devotion?
He will again have compassion on us;
He will vanquish our iniquities.
You will cast out all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
and loving devotion to Abraham,
as You swore to our fathers
from the days of old.
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
'No,' said the wise ones, 'or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
Later the other virgins arrived and said, 'Lord, lord, open the door for us!'
But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent-each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.
The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more. Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'
The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, 'Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.'
His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'
Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, 'Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.'
'You wicked, lazy servant!' replied his master. 'You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.
Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.'
Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?'
And the King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.'
Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
And they too will reply, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.'
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."