The Berean Pursuit
This is the burden of the word of the LORD
against the land of Hadrach
and Damascus its resting place-
for the eyes of men
and of all the tribes of Israel
are upon the LORD-
and also against Hamath,
which borders it,
as well as Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very shrewd.
Tyre has built herself a fortress;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.
Behold, the Lord will impoverish her
and cast her wealth into the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.
Ashkelon will see and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
as will Ekron,
for her hope will wither.
There will cease to be a king in Gaza,
and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
A mixed race will occupy Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the abominations from between their teeth.
Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
But I will camp around My house because of an army,
because of those who march to and fro,
and never again will an oppressor overrun My people,
for now I keep watch with My own eyes.
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your King comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem,
and the bow of war will be broken.
Then He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.
As for you,
because of the blood of My covenant,
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold,
O prisoners of hope;
even today I declare
that I will restore to you double.
For I will bend Judah as My bow
and fit it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, O Zion,
against the sons of Greece.
I will make you like the sword
of a mighty man.
Then the LORD will appear over them,
and His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord GOD will sound the ram's horn
and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
The LORD of Hosts will shield them.
They will destroy and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and roar as with wine.
And they will be filled like sprinkling bowls,
drenched like the corners of the altar.
On that day the LORD their God will save them
as the flock of His people;
for like jewels in a crown
they will sparkle over His land.
How lovely they will be,
and how beautiful!
Grain will make the young men flourish,
and new wine, the young women.
Ask the LORD for rain in springtime;
the LORD makes the storm clouds,
and He will give everyone showers of rain
and crops in the field.
For idols speak deceit
and diviners see illusions;
they tell false dreams
and offer empty comfort.
Therefore the people wander like sheep,
oppressed for lack of a shepherd.
"My anger burns against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders.
For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock,
the house of Judah;
He will make them
like His royal steed in battle.
The cornerstone will come from Judah,
the tent peg from him,
as well as the battle bow
and every ruler together.
They will be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets.
They will fight because the LORD is with them,
and they will put the horsemen to shame.
I will strengthen the house of Judah
and save the house of Joseph.
I will restore them because I have compassion on them,
and they will be as though I had not rejected them.
For I am the LORD their God,
and I will answer them.
Ephraim will be like a mighty man,
and their hearts will be glad as with wine.
Their children will see it and be joyful;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
I will whistle for them to gather,
for I have redeemed them;
and they will be as numerous
as they once were.
Though I sow them among the nations,
they will remember Me in distant lands;
they and their children
will live and return.
I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon
until no more room is found for them.
They will pass through the sea of distress
and strike the waves of the sea;
all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will depart.
I will strengthen them in the LORD,
and in His name they will walk,"
declares the LORD.
Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that the fire may consume your cedars!
Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen;
the majestic trees are ruined!
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
for the dense forest has been cut down!
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their glory is in ruins.
Listen to the roaring of the young lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are destroyed.
This is what the LORD my God says: "Pasture the flock marked for slaughter, whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, 'Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!' Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.
For I will no longer have compassion on the people of the land, declares the LORD, but behold, I will cause each man to fall into the hands of his neighbor and his king, who will devastate the land, and I will not deliver it from their hands."
So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. And in one month I dismissed three shepherds.
My soul grew impatient with the flock, and their souls also detested me. Then I said, "I will no longer shepherd you. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish; and let those who remain devour one another's flesh."
Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
Then I told them, "If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"-this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Then I cut in two my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
And the LORD said to me: "Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May a sword strike his arm
and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered
and his right eye utterly blinded!"