Daily Reader's Bible - Flipbook - Page 25
Household gods give worthless advice,
fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
falsehoods that give no comfort.
So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
they are attacked because they
have no shepherd.
“My anger burns against your shepherds,
and I will punish these leaders.
For the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies has arrived
to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
like a proud warhorse in battle.
From Judah will come the cornerstone,
the tent peg,
the bow for battle,
and all the rulers.
They will be like mighty warriors in battle,
trampling their enemies in the
mud under their feet.
Since the LORD is with them as they fight,
they will overthrow even the
enemy’s horsemen.
“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel;
I will restore them because
of my compassion.
It will be as though I had never
rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God, who
will hear their cries.
The people of Israel will become
like mighty warriors,
and their hearts will be made
happy as if by wine.
Their children, too, will see it and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
When I whistle to them, they
will come running,
for I have redeemed them.
From the few who are left,
they will grow as numerous
as they were before.
Though I have scattered them like
seeds among the nations,
they will still remember me
in distant lands.
They and their children will survive
and return again to Israel.
I will bring them back from Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will resettle them in Gilead
and Lebanon
until there is no more room
for them all.
They will pass safely through
the sea of distress,
for the waves of the sea
will be held back,
and the waters of the Nile will
dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be crushed,
and the rule of Egypt will end.
By my power I will make my
people strong,
and by my authority they will
go wherever they wish.
I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Open your doors, Lebanon,
so that fire may devour your
cedar forests.
Weep, you cypress trees, for all
the ruined cedars;
the most majestic ones have fallen.
Weep, you oaks of Bashan,
for the thick forests have
been cut down.
Listen to the wailing of the shepherds,
for their rich pastures are destroyed.
Hear the young lions roaring,
for their thickets in the Jordan
Valley are ruined.
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MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME?
[PSALM 22:1-18]
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.”
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
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Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
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