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The Punishment of Zion
4 How the gold has become dim!
How the most fine gold has changed!
The stones of the sanctuary lie scattered
at the head of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
comparable to fine gold,
how they are esteemed as earthen pots,
the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even the jackals offer the breast;
they nurse their young,
yet the daughter of my people has become cruel,
like ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the infant cleaves
to the roof of his mouth for thirst;
the children beg for bread,
but no one divides it for them.
5 Those who once ate delicacies
are desolate in the streets;
those who were brought up in scarlet
embrace ash heaps.
6 For the iniquity of the daughter of my people
is greater than the sin of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment,
and no hands were wrung for her.
7 Her princes were purer than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than rubies,
their appearance like sapphire.
8 Their form is blacker than coal;
they are not recognized in the streets;
their skin cleaves to their bones,
it has become as dry as wood.
9 Those killed by the sword
are better off than those who die of hunger,
for they pine away,
stricken for want of the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food in the destruction
of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has fulfilled His fury,
He has poured out His fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion,
and it has devoured its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world,
would not have believed
that the adversary and the enemy could enter
the gates of Jerusalem.
13 This was for the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.
14 They wandered,
blind, in the streets;
they have defiled themselves with blood,
so that no one could touch their garments.
15 They cried out to them, “Depart! Unclean!
Depart, depart, do not touch us!”
Therefore they fled and wandered;
men among the nations said,
“They shall live with us no longer.”
16 The presence of the Lord scattered them;
He will regard them no more;
they do not respect the priests,
nor show favor to the elders.
17 Our eyes failed us,
watching vainly for help;
in our watchtowers we watched
for a nation that could not save us.
18 They tracked our steps
so that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end drew near; our days were numbered,
for our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were swifter
than the eagles of the skies.
They pursued us on the mountains;
they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our life, the anointed king of the Lord,
was captured in their traps,
of whom we said, “Under his shadow
we shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
you who dwell in the land of Uz!
The cup shall also pass to you;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;
He shall exile you no longer.
He shall punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!
A Prayer for Restoration
5 Remember, O Lord, what has come upon us;
look, and see our reproach!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans and fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
4 We must pay for the water we drink;
our wood is sold to us.
5 Our pursuers are at our necks;
we labor and have no rest.
6 We have given our hand to Egypt and to Assyria,
to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers sinned and are no more,
but we bear their iniquities.
8 Slaves rule over us;
there is no one to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives,
because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is hot as an oven,
because of the terrible famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion,
the virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung up by their hands,
the faces of elders were not honored.
13 Young men ground at the millstones;
boys staggered under loads of wood.
14 The elders have left the city gate,
the young men stopped their music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen from our head;
woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 For this our heart is faint;
for these things our eyes grow dim;
18 because of Mount Zion, which is desolate,
with foxes walking upon it.
19 You, O Lord, remain forever;
Your throne endures from generation to generation.
20 Why do You forget us forever,
and forsake us for so long a time?
21 Restore us to Yourself, O Lord, that we may return!
Renew our days as of old,
22 unless You have utterly rejected us,
and are very angry with us.
The Great Salvation
2 Therefore we should be more attentive to what we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was true, and every sin and disobedience received a just recompense, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation, which was first declared by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him? 4 God also bore them witness with signs and wonders and diverse miracles and with gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His own will.
The Pioneer of Salvation
5 For it was not to the angels that He has subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 But someone in a certain place testified, saying:
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
or the son of man that You care for him?
7 You made him a little lower than the angels;
You crowned him with glory and honor,
and set him over the works of Your hands.
8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”[a]
For in subjecting all things under him, He left nothing that is not subjected to him. Yet now we do not see all things subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels to suffer death, crowned with glory and honor, so that He, by the grace of God, should experience death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying:
“I will declare Your name to My brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing praise to You.”[b]
13 And again:
“I will put My trust in Him.”[c]
And again:
“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”[d]
14 So then, as the children share in flesh and blood, He likewise took part in these, so that through death He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver those who through fear of death were throughout their lives subject to bondage. 16 For surely He does not help the angels, but He helps the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things it was necessary for Him to be made like His brothers, so that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself suffered while being tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Psalm 103
A Psalm of David.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquities,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord does righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse,
neither will He keep his anger forever.
10 He does not treat us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord gives compassion to those who fear Him.
14 For He knows how we are formed;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass;
as a flower of the field he flourishes.
16 For the hot wind passes over it, and it is gone;
the place where it was is not known.
17 But the mercy of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting
upon those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children’s children,
18 to those who keep His covenant,
and to those who remember to do His commandments.
19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
and His kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
who are mighty, and do His commands,
and obey the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts;
you servants who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
in all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
23 Burning lips and a wicked heart
are like earthenware covered with silver dross.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.